Just between us retailers, customers are a pain in the ass

Walt doesn't have a whole lot of followers in France. [Possibly because we rarely post anything en français? Ed.] So it's not likely you, dear typical reader, will have heard of French high-tech retailer Boulanger. They sell lots of cool electric and electronic stuff though. They have a website and a blog and of course they sell online as well as their bricks-and-mortar magasins.

You might want to think twice, though, about buying from them, if you're the kind of person who believes the customer is king... or queen... or flaming queen.... The friendly sales and service reps at Boulanger don't always see it that way. We know this because the company apologized yesterday for vitriolic comments about its customers found in its computer files by France's CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés).

CNIL is an independent administrative regulatory body whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Let's just call them the "privacy police". Naturally to do their job they have to access all the data, including very personal data, collected by the French government, businesses, ISPs, and... well... everybody!

In the course of snooping in Boulanger's database, CNIL found over 5800 instances of "inappropriate" comments about clients, including "stupid", "fat bitch", "ball-breaker", "retard", "Jew", "strong African accent", "alcoholic" and "nutcase". [The comments were in French, of course. Translations by Agence France Presse. Ed.]

After a public upbraiding by the watchdog, which gave the company three months to ensure its files contain only pertinent information about clients, Boulanger apologized. Managing Director Etienne Hurez said, "They were rare occurences, but did happen and we shouldn't try to not own up to this serious failure."

So, if you're a Boulanger customer, you must feel better now. Right? But what if you buy from other retailers -- American, British, Canadian, Dutch or whatever? Do you think the French are the only types who would vent their frustration by putting rude remarks on your file? Hm? Wouldn't you like to know what your providers of goods and services are saying about you? LMAO.