Just about every dealing I have had with Telefonica has ended in extreme annoyance, large bills, or infuriating delays. I know I claimed in the expat manifesto that it is no good complaining about life in your adoptive country, but Telefonica has pushed more than the occasional expat and just about every telecommunicating Spaniard to the limit of their patience at one time or another.
And today it became crystal clear that this may never change. Why bother with the angry little consumer who should have had his ADSL line installed last week when you are busy buying your way into China? Why worry about honouring that 2 week domestic line installation promise when you are the largest corporation in Spain and the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world (source: wikipedia)? It’s all about infrastructure. If you own the wires – and they do in most of Spain and much of South America – then you call the shots. As Borat would say, ‘Nice!’
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 