Second Cup affirme qu'elle reverra sa politique d'affichage au Québec

[WestAust]

Au bout de la ligne, si on se fait servir en francais c'est ce qui compte, regarder Eaton dans le temps de nos parents, ils avaient beau avoir enlevé le 's du nom, ca restait que les vendeuses dedaignait parler en francais aux clients francophones.

 

Je peut bien aller chez American Eagle Outfitters ou chez Hooters, je vais me faire servir en francais sans probleme, tout comme tu va en Angleterre chez Pret-A-Manger et ils te servent en anglais meme avec un nom clairement francais

[mtlurb]

Je crois que l'essentiel du problème des commerces au Québec est bien décrit par WestAust. Par contre, on ne parle pas d'ici de service en anglais, mais bien de l'image qu'on veut avoir de Montréal.

 

On veut se distinguer du reste du continent et on veut que tout le monde le voit en arrivant ici.

[mtlurb]

Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup

 

October 19, 2007 – 7:46 pm | Posted in Activism, Montreal, In the news, Quebec politics, Business |

A protest by members of Mouvement Montréal Français yesterday has prompted Second Cup (in one of the shortest press releases I’ve seen in quite a while) to announce offhandedly mention that it will review its policy concerning its signs.

The tiff was caused when the coffee giant decided it would remove “Les Cafés” from its coffee shop’s signs and just become “Second Cup”. They can do this, despite Bill 101, because Second Cup is a registered trademarked, like McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and Future Shop.

MMF wasn’t happy with this. So they protested. No firebombing or anything like that, but they held signs and asked people to take their patronage elsewhere (Starbucks? Java U? Tim Horton’s? Dunkin Donuts?)

Good for them.

I’m no fan of Bill 101, and I oppose government over-regulation of commercial signs. But this isn’t government regulation, it’s regular citizens expressing their right to free expression in attempting to get a company to change its ways. Second Cup’s signs should be French not because the government forces it on them, but because it’s respecting the population to speak to them in their language. Imagine having English-only signs in China, or Spanish-only signs in the U.S. It’s understandable for a mom-and-pop operation or a store in an ethnic village, but for a major company it’s a slap in the face to French-speaking Quebecers.

Second Cup’s move was just plain stupid. It’s not like nobody recognizes “Second Cup” when it’s “Les Cafés Second Cup”. Instead, this smacks of a decision made by a clueless manager who has far too much free time on his hands and doesn’t know anything about Quebec politics.

Hopefully they’ll come to their senses and leave “Les Cafés Second Cup” alone.

 

http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/

[Kilgore Trout]

i see no real problem in concerned citizens asking that second cup reinstate the "les cafés" on their signs.

 

now as for the "money talks" response malek posted from some reader of le devoir:

 

Lorsque je vois que ce n'est pas le cas, j'informe le gérant de ce qui me dérange ( musique en anglais, personnel anglophone ne parlant pas français, affichage etc.)et je termine en lui disant « Sorry for you, but my money speaks french ».

 

i can understand her anger if the staff doesn't speak french, but i can't imagine what kind of a small-minded bigot would avoid a store because it plays english music! is it just english music that she doesn't like or does she hate any non-french music? her head would explode if she ever deigned to wander into a shop in chinatown or park extension.

[mtlurb]

yeah the music comment was over the top.

[Habsfan]

Habsfan I gotta disagree with you on this one; pretty much everyone in the United States, or the world for that matter, knows that Quebec is a French province. I've travelled around the world and when I tell people I'm from Montreal, they always ask "oh, so do you speak French"? I'd like to have your point of view on this one as why you feel Americans, or anyone else for that matter, sees Montreal as a "place just like the rest of Canada".

 

Fist of all, there's no logical way for you to state that "pretty much everyone in the U.S and the World know that Montreal is French"! Have you spoke to all of them? I doubt it.

 

You asked me for examples...well, the americans I spoke to, most of them had no idea that Québec was french, they just assumed that it was Canada, and we all speak english. You think some rice farmer in China, or someone from Jakarta knows that Montreal is French? I doubt it!

 

In any case, i continue to believe that as long as Québec is part of an English country, we will always have to fight for our survival!

[Habsfan]

yeah the music comment was over the top.

 

Just a little bit buddy!

[chris]

Fist of all, there's no logical way for you to state that "pretty much everyone in the U.S and the World know that Montreal is French"! Have you spoke to all of them? I doubt it.

 

You asked me for examples...well, the americans I spoke to, most of them had no idea that Québec was french, they just assumed that it was Canada, and we all speak english. You think some rice farmer in China, or someone from Jakarta knows that Montreal is French? I doubt it!

 

In any case, i continue to believe that as long as Québec is part of an English country, we will always have to fight for our survival!

 

Your experience is completely the opposite from what I experience. I happen to travel a lot and I've met different people from around the world. Some people even end up trying to speak French to me...I just tell them I speak English and that Montreal is actually a bilingual city. If you think my comment is illogical, then so is yours...how can you base your opinion on the "americans you spoke to"?

[Kilgore Trout]

Habsfan, I've met people who think that all of Canada is French. Anecdotes mean nothing!

[chris]

Habsfan, I've met people who think that all of Canada is French. Anecdotes mean nothing!

 

Amen! Actually same here. Besides who cares how people "perceive" our province. Are peoples perceptions a threat to a culture or language? no. The French language in Quebec has flourished in Quebec throughout its 400-year history, regardless of peoples "perceptions".