Someone in the business should know better

[Cufflinks]

Not a half an hour ago, this family walks in and looks around the jewelry store (we are goldsmiths and we make custom jewelry, but many things in the store are bought from other companies). The family leaves, and the woman looks at me and says:
"Is anything here handmade?"
"Yes much of it is"
"Well that's debateable"
(No comment)
"I am a goldsmith from Europe" (she is American by the way)
"Many of our things are made in Europe; England; Italy; Germany."
"It's just interesting what I see here in American shops"
Then she asks for a card and leaves.
Now, I don't know who the farfignugen she thinks she is, but I would never, I repeat, NEVER go into a jewelry store and trash someones shop. It's a tough enough business as it is.
I just gave here deadpan looks because I didn't know what else to say.
Man the nerve. She must be (I hope, I really hope) on the wholesale end and doesn't deal on the retail end, so she can be an SC and not think twice about it.
Boy, Europe must be proud of this American.

[Crow The Robot]

"Is anything here handmade?"
"Yes much of it is"
"Well that's debateable"
(.

Um, What? what's debatable? Did she want to start going into persentages of handmade stuff w/ you or something. And Why'd she ask for a card? Man, it's frustrating to get workers who act like SCs.

[PuckishOne]

"I am a goldsmith from Europe" (she is American by the way)

I have yet to meet someone from the EU who refers to themselves first as "European." What with the new currency and all, there may be a big wave of unity, but all the Italians I meet say they're Italian, and ditto for the French, German, English.... She could be from Europe, Ohio, perhaps....where it is undoubtedly pronounced "errrrr-ope." (Midwesterners will get that joke.)

That would be the time I'd use my Sketchy European-Language Vocab just to bust her hump:

"You're European? Ah! Je parle francais!"
her: *duh*
"Sprechen zie Deutsch?"
her: *duh*
"Govorite po-russki?"
her: *duh*
"Habla espanol?"
her: *duh*

What a pretentious weenie that woman was. Hope you've seen the last of her.

[beercashier]

It is amazing that some people are so insecure that they have to go somewhere and act that way to make themselves feel better. What a bitch.

[Cufflinks]

What a bitch.

Couldn't have said it better myself

[Canarr]

Well, I can confirm the PuckishOne: I'm German, and would definitely introduce myself as such. Now, the woman *may* have been in doubt about an American's ability to know the location of a particular country, and thus simply have said, from Europe, but in general, we tend to think of ourselves more as people from our countries, not "from Europe".

I still get a kick out of CNN's misplacement of Switzerland....

[Mixed Bag]

Now, the woman *may* have been in doubt about an American's ability to know the location of a particular country

You're probably right about her overgeneralizing, but then again, would Frisians or Basques, for instance, prefer to introduce themselves by their official nation than more ambiguously when speaking with those unlikely to know about their culture?

[Barefootgirl]

would Frisians or Basques, for instance, prefer to introduce themselves by their official nation than more ambiguously when speaking with those unlikely to know about their culture?

Have you ever been to the Basque country? Believe me, those chaps do NOT introduce themselves as French !!!! If you don't know about the Basque country and culture before you meet a Basque, he will feel sorry for you as an uneducated barbarian, and proceed to teach you everything there is to know about his native land. If you get away without having to eat a giant slice of Basque cake, you'll be lucky.

We go to Biarritz quite a lot, and it is one of my favourite places in France. The first time we went, we were chatting with some locals and talking about the "traditional" rivalry between England and France. One of the men laughed a lot at this idea, and then told us cheerfully that Basques prefer the English to the Parisians !

[Mixed Bag]

Yes--in case I wasn't clear, I was suggesting that such people would identify with their culture rather than their country--and therefore wondered, in cases where they didn't want to take extra time to explain their obscurity, if they'd find it more tolerable to calls themselves Europeans rather than French, Spanish, German, etc.

[dragonflygrrl]

She could be from Europe, Ohio, perhaps....where it is undoubtedly pronounced "errrrr-ope." (Midwesterners will get that joke.)

*gets the joke*
She could also be from Versailles, Missouri...where it is in fact pronounced "verr-sayles"

We have a customer that used to sell cell phones in Germany, and he always comes in wanting to know if we have any new phones. Every time, he looks at our phones and says, "We have better in Germany. American phones are a joke." Yes, I know that, and I have no control over that. Get a German phone, unlock it, use it, and stop coming in here and bothering me.

btw, I don't think he would ever introduce himself as "European," EU or not. LOL

[Canarr]

Yes--in case I wasn't clear, I was suggesting that such people would identify with their culture rather than their country--and therefore wondered, in cases where they didn't want to take extra time to explain their obscurity, if they'd find it more tolerable to calls themselves Europeans rather than French, Spanish, German, etc.

Interesting question... I know that especially the Basques are very sensitive on the subject of being French - or Spanish - but I don't know any personally, so I couldn't say if they'd introduce themselves as Europeans. I doubt it, though; such strong nationalistic feelings usually come along with a perfect willingness to educate complete strangers on the details of their nativity.

[Barefootgirl]

I don't know anyone who introduces themselves as European, rather than British, French, Basque, etc.

In my experience, though, a Basque is MORE likely to introduce himself as Basque, and then give you a long lecture about why he isn't actually French, than a German from Munich is to introduce himself as Bavarian.

[Mixed Bag]

Oh, I don't doubt that they bask in being Basque

[Canarr]

Oh, damn... that one actually hurt...