One was a guest of the hotel and the other was the desk clerk. The desk clerk was trying to explain that the hotel was full and he was not able to get the type of room he had booked. The guest could not understand that he was getting a better room at the same price as the cheaper room.
They went back and forth each saying the same thing and the guest not understanding what was being said. I have never seen to this day such a polite conversation.
Finally, because I was tired of waiting in line, and because I understood what they did not seem to, I butted in and explained. They both thanked me. I can't understand why the desk clerk was unable to get his information across to the guest and I was able to do it in one sentence.
I have been to England Scotland and Ireland twice, once in the 60’s and again in the 80’s I didn't see the rudeness that others are talking about, France was a different thing. I am sorry that things have changed.
Surprisingly, I didn’t experience the famous French rudeness, but then I could speak French pretty well at that time. The French are pleased if someone makes the effort to even speak broken French. After you say a few words, you can switch to English and they’ll speak it too.