One of the biggest complaints about life in Spain is the appalling customer service – business owners are just not interested in going out of their way to help customers (Telefonica are the number one culprits as we know).
Well, today I had a whole new experience in customer service. I am the proud new owner of an Apple Macbook laptop. I noticed that the bottom half of the screen was considerably lighter than the top when watching DVDs, so, having paid a lot of money for this beautiful new object, I thought I would go back to the shop and check that everything was OK. I showed the problem to the Tech guy, explained that I travelled often and would be watching lots of DVDs (not entirely true), and he agreed that there was a difference in screen brightness from one end to the other. He took the laptop off to show his boss. When he came back the following conversation ensued:
Tech guy: The boss says it’s fine and there’s nothing we can do about it, but you said you travel a lot, right?
Me: Uh, yes, I suppose so.
Tech guy: Where are you from?
Me: England.
Tech guy: Well, next time you are in London you could take it to the Apple shop there, we are just a little Apple shop, but they are a lot bigger and might be able to help you.
So there we have it… A whole new level in Spanish customer service: “I’m sorry we can’t help you here, but you can probably get your problem solved in another country!!”
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 