Customer service in Spain

The concept of customer service barely seems to exist in Spain. You do not move to Spain if you want to be pandered to or made to feel like a valued customer.   Rule number one, the customer is always wrong. In fact, ironically, you are bottom of the retail hierarchy. You are an inconvenience. Here are the basics on customer service in Spain:

The Buying Process
Be prepared to hunt for assistance.  Be aggressive as this is the only way to stop people from jumping in front of you.

You should only be given any attention if you hint at spending lots of money whilst being totally undemanding. You are at the mercy of people’s moods, their character and anything that is bothering them during their day. If you approach a desk, expect them to continue their phone conversation without a glance of acknowledgement. In fact, do not be surprised if they actually pick up a phone to make a call as they notice you approaching.

Don’t expect them to stop their conversation with their fellow assistant just because you came along, since their chat is always more important than you. You must never forget that you are just a customer encroaching on their time.

If they do decide that you are worthy of their time, be prepared to be followed closely. Brace yourself for the look of death if you dare not buy anything after they have been so attentive and “interested”. Don’t you realise that they have better things to do than have you waste their time.
Remember that anyone who walks through the shop doors is a potential thief, not customer. If they have nobody to talk to then they will watch you like a hawk.

If there aren’t any out on the shop floor, you can bet your life there aren’t any more unless you are head to toe in designer clothes then you might be worth the effort so they may put themselves out.  They will give you minimum information and you will have to drag alternatives out of them. In fact, you will have to play the role of customer service offering yourself suggestions and alternatives. You won’t get much sense out of them and by the end of it you will feel like you have spent the last half hour banging your head against a brick wall.

Do not, in innocence, suggest that something might be stained or scratched as they will quickly become defensive and that will put them completely off attending to you.

Do not expect big savings or discounts as only the most hideous, unusable rubbish is marked down to bargain prices.  Do expect to get to the cash desk and be charged a different (usually higher) price than the one marked.

Returns and Refunds
Don’t you dare to return anything beyond the 30 day limit.  Don’t even think about it without your receipt (ticket).

Think yourself very grateful if you get a refund.

Do not expect any communication between staff members about your incident. Be prepared to recount your tale at least ten times.There is no such thing as being compensated for your inconvenience. Be prepared to be sent on wild goose chases. They will make you feel like it is your fault that you couldn’t put the bookcase together because there were no shelves in the box. Anything that you return to a shop will be studied in great detail making you feel like a liar and a fraud. They will never say sorry that it is broken, we will replace it for you. Any refund will be done half heartedly with minimal eye contact.  They do not care at all about your plight because you are not important to them. In fact, sometimes you might get the distinct impression that they would actually prefer it if you turned on your heels and never came back to the shop ever again.

The best advice is do not expect customer service and when it doesn’t happen (as it usually doesn’t) then you will not be disappointed. Also, ask for El Libro de Reclamaciones (complaints book) as this can be an effective way to get them to sit up and take notice.

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