French waiter says he shouldn't have been fired for being rude because it's part of his culture


Canadians have a reputation for being unfailingly nice, while the French ... don't, and waiter Guillaume Rey says this clash of cultures cost him his job.
Rey was fired from his job at a Vancouver restaurant for being "aggressive, rude, and disrespectful," The Guardian reports. The French waiter is not denying that he can be short with people, but he doesn't see the problem with his behavior and has filed a complaint with British Columbia's Human Rights Tribunal. Rey said French people tend to be "more direct and expressive," and his firing shows clear "discrimination against my culture."
While Rey is fighting for his right to be as rude as he wants to be, his former employer, Cara Operations, argues that he was warned verbally and in written performance reviews that he needed to reel it in, and because he continually violated the code of conduct, his firing was justified. Rey and the restaurant both agreed he was good at his job, bad attitude notwithstanding, and the tribunal has agreed to let Rey "explain what it is about French heritage that would result in behavior that people misinterpret as a violation of workplace standards of acceptable conduct," member Devyn Cousineau said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
July 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include an extrajudicial detainment camp, 'alligator Alcatraz', and tax cuts for billionaires.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of July
Cartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?
In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off