Now I’m not such a tractor aficionado,

But one of my contracts took me to this unknown and sometimes cruelly unfair world, the world of tractor repair shops.

As an expat in France, my client was lost and appalled seeing that the non-anglophone tractor mechanic he sent his machine too had hugely inflated his repair bill, going from a simple part replacement to a whole rebuild, without his consent.

In this case, my expat services meant that :

1. First, clear communication was established between the anglophone client and the francophone repairman.
2. After a clear understanding of each other’s positions, negotiation came, with the help of a legal expert.
3. And finally, an agreement was found, and my client could get his tractor back, paying only for the initially agreed part replacement.

Here my role was that of an interpreter, clear communication and understanding allowed to appease the situation and come to a amicable settlement.

Getting the hands dirty.

In another case, an expat renovating his house in France had heavy work to plan and execute, namely : buying and obtaining permissions to install a brand new compact septic tank in his renovated property.

Now the difficulty was that his French was correct, but the authorities had close to no English skills (sometimes it’s from bad will let’s be honest). Another problem is that he had found that French materials shops tended to charge higher prices to supposedly wealthy anglophone expats. (I did not verify the claim)

To put it briefly what was done here consisted of :

1. Researching the required authorizations and forms for the installation of the tank.
2. Studying the terrain and filing the paperwork accordingly, including details about the tank model and specifications.
3. Contacting various material shops and requesting estimates.
4. Comparing the prices and ordering the tank, setting up the delivery.
5. After installation, making sure conformity tests are passed with the French speaking authorities.

After much work, the client had completed a huge and complicated part of his renovation plan, saving both time, money and stress of dealing with non-anglophone professionals, a successful mission that lead to a satisfied client, and enjoyment of his renovated property.