# What's the most annoying or frustrating thing for you about living in Spain?



## DavidO (May 3, 2010)

Okay, we all know how wonderful Spain is... but there's still 101 things that can drive each of to despair sometimes.

And it doesn't have to a big issue. For me some of the little annoyances can irk the most.

Just to get started... I really hate the way you can stand at a checkout, completely ignored by the girl (usually) while she chats with her mate or maybe the young fishmonger. She can do the whole transaction without looking at you once.

But at my local Carrefour I think they've recently held a customer relations course as they now greet you most of the time. But the real tip-off is the way every one of them now looks at you and says "hasta pronto" in a very rehearsed way.

But I shouldn't complain, it's an improvement.

Another thing, although this is improving too, is the way you get honked at if you hesitate by even a millisecond getting away when the light goes green. In fact, I've noticed driving becoming more civil in a number of small ways...

Damn! If they keep improving like this it will no longer be Spain!

(by the way, my profile shows expat in U.K. but we live equal parts of the year in Spain)


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## Guest (May 6, 2010)

Expat forums


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Being told a load of things that I know for a fact are untrue!!!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

The roads! And the winters!

Jo xxx


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

effing car threads.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Tallulah said:


> effing car threads.



Oh they drive me mad! ..... and the football threads 

Jo xxx


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## NorthernLass (Nov 9, 2009)

my little pet hate is when you stop my car at a zebra crossing for the pedestrians and they walk so slow...

Spain has such fast drivers but many walk slow like snails..

Another irk...the nursery my little girl goes to, she's only 2 and they put cologne in her hair..


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## Guest (May 6, 2010)

NorthernLass said:


> my little pet hate is when you stop my car at a zebra crossing


You see that's where you're going wrong.. no one stops at those!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Actually that reminds me. The zebra crossings are nearly always put in stupid places, just before or after a junction or bend!! 

And the zebra/pelican crossings, the lights change to green for the drivers turning into the main road and the lights change to green for the pedestrians crossing them same road!

Jo xx


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## NorthernLass (Nov 9, 2009)

ShinyAndy said:


> You see that's where you're going wrong.. no one stops at those!


Ha yes..I honestly don't stop often but when I do I expect them to scurry across.


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## Guest (May 6, 2010)

I've come to the conclusion that traffic light signals and road markings must be purely advisory as they don't seem to count for much. Blummin' thugs these Spanish, breaking the law everyday as they shoot through red lights that seemingly aren't meant for them. I actually saw an accident the other day where a UK plated car stopped at a traffic light that was red and a Spaniard ploughed into the back of it.. the Spaniard was most indignant that the bloke had stopped, made for a very funny exchange (moreso that shock horror for Little Britain the person in the UK plated car spoke perfect Spanish!!)


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## Guest (May 6, 2010)

I really miss customer service. 

1. We've got a horrible Peugeot 407 in which the motor broke after 86,000km. Peugeot Spain did had the courtesy not to laugh, but told us kindly that even though it broke due to a chain reaction from a faulty turbo, it's more than two years old and we're hosed. After putting 11.000EUR into the car, we were happy for two months. Until two days ago when the "catalizador" (don't ask me, dunno what it is. The car has four wheels. The OH understands.) broke to the tune of 1.100 more. Same response from Peugeot, except this time it's a "IF YOU DONT CHANGE THIS NOW, WE'RE GOING TO VOID YOUR NEW MOTOR'S GUARANTEE." Awesome. What a bunch of weenies, to put it lightly. Please, *don't buy Peugeots. *

2. We just bought a mobile from Vodafone in which the Wifi doesn't work. We've been sent to all the Vodafone stores in this city, we've spent hours on the phone, and the response from the girl this afternoon? "The phone is faulty, you need to go online and search forums for the answer." I can't even muster the politeness to say "hasta luego" after bull**** answers like that. 

I'm losing my mind.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

halydia said:


> I really miss customer service.
> 
> 1. We've got a horrible Peugeot 407 in which the motor broke after 86,000km. Peugeot Spain did had the courtesy not to laugh, but told us kindly that even though it broke due to a chain reaction from a faulty turbo, it's more than two years old and we're hosed. After putting 11.000EUR into the car, we were happy for two months. Until two days ago when the "catalizador" (don't ask me, dunno what it is. The car has four wheels. The OH understands.) broke to the tune of 1.100 more. Same response from Peugeot, except this time it's a "IF YOU DONT CHANGE THIS NOW, WE'RE GOING TO VOID YOUR NEW MOTOR'S GUARANTEE." Awesome. What a bunch of weenies, to put it lightly. Please, *don't buy Peugeots. *
> 
> ...


Yes, customer service (or lack of) that is one of my pet hates too - often seems to be an alien concept. Either that or the attitude is "The customer is always wrong!"
BTW, Halydia, go down to Vodafone and ask for the official complaints book, that should get them moving! Usually works. :boxing:

My other frustration here is the paperwork. Whatever it is you want to do, you can be sure you will be asked to show some certificate of some sort, naturally you will not know about this and will definitely not have it with you! Or you will be given a lengthy list of documents which you need to hand in, and will then spend the next month or two tracking them all down, photocopying them, only to find some of them are already out of date when you hand them in. 

The other one is the lack of communication in organisations or last minute notifications. I find that a lot with my son's school - with a lot of the public holidays, a lot of the time we are not told the school will be closed - you are expected to know, including all the local ones. Or sometimes if you are lucky enough to get a note about it, they are advising you about activities that are happening the following day or even the same evening, (or the day before!) so you have to be alert! 

And as for the "enchufe" system (ie knowing someone on the inside), well that can work for you or against you lol! :eyebrows:


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## Guest (May 6, 2010)

Caz.I said:


> BTW, Halydia, go down to Vodafone and ask for the official complaints book, that should get them moving! Usually works. :boxing:


We've already done one!!!!
Just got off the phone with Sony Ericsson and they claim it's a problem with our router. That's what everyone else on the forums I'm finding said about what they were told by the "service technicians."


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

telefonica


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dunmovin said:


> telefonica



Thats a very rude word on this forum LOLOL Altho there are some who seem to quite like them 

Jo xxx


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

jojo said:


> Thats a very rude word on this forum LOLOL Altho there are some who seem to quite like them
> 
> Jo xxx


I have several other names for them, but most would be snipped...... so how about telefrustration...telef***up, tosserfonica etc etc etc

As I have said their slogan should be "Telefonica. .... Putting the Pain in Spain"


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

dunmovin said:


> I have several other names for them, but most would be snipped...... so how about telefrustration...telef***up, tosserfonica etc etc etc
> 
> As I have said their slogan should be "Telefonica. .... Putting the Pain in Spain"


yep - [email protected] would top my list too


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## Guest (May 7, 2010)

I REALLY need to retract what I said about cars and customer service yesterday. 

Our "trusty mechanic" just called. I guess he went to talk with the big guys at our local car dealer to tell them it wasn't our fault, and to ask what they could do for us. They're giving us a discount on the repair work. I could hug our mechanic! The only problem is, we have to send the car to the dealer to get the work done so that we get the discount. The saint of a man said we should do it instead of doing the repair with him. This is not a cheap repair job, either, so the poor guy is losing a good chunk of cash by sending us there. If anyone every breaks down in the Bilbao/Barakaldo area and needs a mechanic, I've got one for you.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

halydia said:


> I REALLY need to retract what I said about cars and customer service yesterday.
> 
> Our "trusty mechanic" just called. I guess he went to talk with the big guys at our local car dealer to tell them it wasn't our fault, and to ask what they could do for us. They're giving us a discount on the repair work. I could hug our mechanic! The only problem is, we have to send the car to the dealer to get the work done so that we get the discount. The saint of a man said we should do it instead of doing the repair with him. This is not a cheap repair job, either, so the poor guy is losing a good chunk of cash by sending us there. If anyone every breaks down in the Bilbao/Barakaldo area and needs a mechanic, I've got one for you.


I am constantly amazed by the amount Of times I have seen & benefited from Spanish tradesman doing things like this at a loss to themselves in reality. In all my time in the UK I cannot recall even one occasion. 

Just referring back to your original problem with the car, personally I would make an official complaint to Peugeot Spain & / or peugeot Europe regarding the
a) the failure of the turbo on a car barely out of warranty. It shouldn't happen.
b) the destruction of the engine requiring replacement due to the premature failure of a part on a new vehicle barely out of warranty.
c) the replacement of the catalizador in no circumstances should be paid for by you as any reputable & knowledgeable mechanic/dealer knows that when a turbo disintegrates the catalizador will ALWAYS sustain damage & need replacing.
This is why your local man has spoken to them I reckon, because he knows you've had new engine & they haven't changed it !

I reckon a new dealer supplied catalytic converter , even at peugeot's inflated prices would be no more than 500€ ( & I'm struggling with a price that high ! ) 

That leaves 600€ to fit it!! Now they are having a laugh. I am an engineer , not a mechanic , but a car aficionado, & can & have done everything to all types of vehicles. I can change a catalyst in less than 1, 1/2 hrs & that's without use of lifting equipment, assuming the bolts have to be cut off, checking & cleaning the exhaust down pipe from the turbo for foreign matter.Unless of course that it's some b******ised piece , tucked out of the way in an inaccessable position, which is quite possible for them or renault ! In a garage with lifting ramps I would expect the job to take barely an hour. 
I'd find out how much a peugeot catalizador is by ringing another peugeot garage with the chassis number ( bastidor ) of your car & asking for a price.
Or check on line @ oscaro.es


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

FinanceSpain said:


> 4. Not putting the effort in to learn spanish, because there isn't the need to !


Hi!

I don't understand what you mean...

Who isn't?

Why isn't there a need??

Why is this an annoying or frustrating thing???


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

FinanceSpain said:


> That one is more my own fault - But I've tried to learn Spanish, and practice it, but
> wherever I try and use it, people always start speaking english back to me, whatever nationality they are.
> 
> I know it's something I could put more effort into, or maybe move somewhere which is less of a tourist hotspot


But, aren't you in Madrid?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

FinanceSpain said:


> Yes, but I don't know if you find, whenever you try and speak Spanish, in most
> places they'll continue the conversation in English. If I lived out in the sticks
> somewhere, then I would be 'forced' to survive on Spanish.
> 
> Anyway, it's not a major gripe - Utility bills, are what really annoy me


It used to happen to me and it used to really get me. Looking back, I realise that most of the time they were just trying to be nice and friendly and in the touristy places were probably just doing their job. You're probably right, if you lived in a smaller place they'd be less geared up to speaking English, although nowadays you never know who's going to speak to you in English.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

FinanceSpain said:


> That one is more my own fault - But I've tried to learn Spanish, and practice it, but
> wherever I try and use it, people always start speaking english back to me, whatever nationality they are.
> 
> I know it's something I could put more effort into, or maybe move somewhere which is less of a tourist hotspot


Then do what I do: when I speak Spanish and get a reply in English I ask habla espanol, por favor, me aparece muy grosero hablar ingles , estoy viviendo aqui y se necesite hablar el idioma.
(Apologies for grammar/spelling mistakes, I'm still learning and anyway, up to now I've managed to *communicate...*and language is about *communication*, not grammatical perfection.


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## NorthernLass (Nov 9, 2009)

FinanceSpain said:


> Yes, but I don't know if you find, whenever you try and speak Spanish, in most
> places they'll continue the conversation in English. If I lived out in the sticks
> somewhere, then I would be 'forced' to survive on Spanish.
> 
> Anyway, it's not a major gripe - Utility bills, are what really annoy me


I find that when I speak Spanish...I never get to finish my sentence...the other person usually finishes it in Spanish though. 

Bit annoying for me...Asturianos are not very patient with me !!

However, when they want to practice their English on me...I am sooo patient and let them finish...'Grrr


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## Guest (May 7, 2010)

gus-lopez said:


> I am constantly amazed by the amount Of times I have seen & benefited from Spanish tradesman doing things like this at a loss to themselves in reality. In all my time in the UK I cannot recall even one occasion.


It was a real "small town" moment for me. Back home, things like this happen all the time, mostly because everyone knows everyone and reputations are important. I was having a REALLY bad day yesterday, feeling as if everyone here tramples all over the consumer just because they can get away with it. Our mechanic really helped me renew my faith. I know business owners are in it for a buck, but there has GOT to be some sort of customer care. 




> Just referring back to your original problem with the car, personally I would make an official complaint to Peugeot Spain & / or peugeot Europe regarding the
> a) the failure of the turbo on a car barely out of warranty. It shouldn't happen.
> b) the destruction of the engine requiring replacement due to the premature failure of a part on a new vehicle barely out of warranty.
> c) the replacement of the catalizador in no circumstances should be paid for by you as any reputable & knowledgeable mechanic/dealer knows that when a turbo disintegrates the catalizador will ALWAYS sustain damage & need replacing.
> This is why your local man has spoken to them I reckon, because he knows you've had new engine & they haven't changed it !


I'll be writing something up this weekend in Spanish and English to send to Peugeot Europe. At the Spanish level, they've already got three pages of "reclamaciones" from us. 

a. They REFUSED everything, noting (with reason) that the car was three years out of warranty. I will never buy a car with a two year warranty again. Nor will I even consider another Peugeot. 
b. Again, they answered "tough luck." It doesn't matter that the car had 86.000 km, it was five years old.
c. We'll see what they say and what they discount us when we get to the shop. Unfortunately, I've already authorized the repair as our mechanic said I should give it the green light. It's at the dealer as we speak. 




> I reckon a new dealer supplied catalytic converter , even at peugeot's inflated prices would be no more than 500€ ( & I'm struggling with a price that high ! )
> 
> That leaves 600€ to fit it!! Now they are having a laugh. I am an engineer , not a mechanic , but a car aficionado, & can & have done everything to all types of vehicles. I can change a catalyst in less than 1, 1/2 hrs & that's without use of lifting equipment, assuming the bolts have to be cut off, checking & cleaning the exhaust down pipe from the turbo for foreign matter.Unless of course that it's some b******ised piece , tucked out of the way in an inaccessable position, which is quite possible for them or renault ! In a garage with lifting ramps I would expect the job to take barely an hour.
> I'd find out how much a peugeot catalizador is by ringing another peugeot garage with the chassis number ( bastidor ) of your car & asking for a price.
> Or check on line @ oscaro.es


Although my brother is a big ol' grump, this is when I REALLY miss him. He was my car man. If he spoke Spanish, I'd buy him a ticket over hear to let him have a chat with the dealer. That, or he could fix it himself. However, I'm stuck here in the city where seemingly nobody knows anything about cars. Heck, I'm better than my OH at the basics of car maintenance like checking the oil. Makes me feel like quite the *******, and it's definitely not within the parameters of "proper womanly behavior" here in Spain, but _a la porra_ with that business. 

The original quote was 1,100EUR for the whole job (including a cable of some sort) and the "centralita." We'll see what they surprise us with at the dealer. 

A very genuine thank you for everything you have said. I'll be doing some research and we'll see what the folks at the dealer say when they present us with the bill. Either way, Peugeot Europe will be getting a letter. We had a letter all ready for the magazine here "AutoFacil" which has a great section each month in which they help consumers with problems they are having with car companies. However, we've been advised not to send it...


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Good for you, stick at it. :argue: :boxing:


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## Guest (May 7, 2010)

gus-lopez said:


> Good for you, stick at it. :argue: :boxing:


H*** hath no fury...


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