In September, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) lodged a complaint against Pâtisserie Obsession in Châteauguay. A customer claimed that he had not been served in French at the cash. The company’s owners refute this accusation, saying that their staff are bilingual. They also complain that they have little information about the incident that led to the complaint.
Translation Amanda Bennett
In the letter sent to the bakery on September 19th, the OQLF states that it received a complaint on August 29th “about services that are not available in French in your business”.
Nicolas Néron and Anne Fradette Brunet, the bakery’s co-owners, were shocked by the complaint. “It’s completely false. We know that we respect the language regulations in Quebec,” said Mr. Néron in an interview. He assured us that his staff are bilingual and that they adapt to the language of the customer’s choice. “The only employee who is not completely bilingual is a Ukrainian woman we took on last year. She is taking French lessons and is not assigned to cashier service,” said the baker.
Confidential Complaint
The entrepreneurs lament the fact that they were not given more details about when the service was allegedly not offered in French. The complaint does not specify which day it was. “We could at least check with our employees to see what might have happened. Right now, we don’t know anything,” explained Fradette Brunet.
“All complaints, whether anonymous or named, are handled in the same way by the Office. The identity of the complainant is never divulged, nor is any information contained in the complaint that could make it possible to identify the complainant,” explained Chantal Bouchard, spokesperson for the OQLF.
When it receives a complaint, the Office informs the company concerned, points out the rules in force and mentions the various support services available to help companies learn French.
“In all its dealings with businesses, the Office favours an approach based on awareness and cooperation, so that they adopt business practices that respect consumer rights,” said Ms. Bouchard.
The owners of Pâtisserie Obsession saw the complaint as a way of reigniting the “English-French battle” in Châteauguay. “For us, it’s a form of intimidation. Our objective is to serve all our customers well, whether they are English-speaking or French-speaking,” retorted Mr. Néron. Why didn’t you tell us about this before filing a complaint?