# What is it with the Spanish business mentality?



## Guest (Jun 18, 2013)

Whilst I accept, to a certain degree, the manana mentality, there are times when I would willingly wring the neck of Spanish business men and women, and face the inevitable consequences. For instance, yesterday my almost new printer would not work. It is still under guarantee, I went back to the shop and the proprietor told me that he would be at my house at 11.30 this morning. OK, so that is any time between 11.30 and 1300 hours. It is now almost 3 pm and no sign of him so he is obviously a) full to the gills with lunch and b) snoring his fat ass off. In the meantime I have been sitting at home waiting for the idle piece of detritus when I should have been a) having my own lunch and b) taking the dogs for a walk. No wonder the country is in the state it is. All I hear here is that everyone is complaining about the lack of business, but they don't seem to want to do anything about rectifying it.

Where's the gin?


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## Jumar (Mar 14, 2012)

Or you go into a shop and ask, for example "Do you have a pale blue shirt?" A straight NO is the answer. Not no sorry, but we have a mid blue shirt or a dark blue shirt or a grey shirt and hope you´ll buy one of them.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jaws101 said:


> Or you go into a shop and ask, for example "Do you have a pale blue shirt?" A straight NO is the answer. Not no sorry, but we have a mid blue shirt or a dark blue shirt or a grey shirt and hope you´ll buy one of them.


Actually, that to me is good customer service, and a straight NO is not. Besides which, you can bet that most shop staff would risk putting their job on the line if they answered a straight NO.
However, the OP does have something with the lack of seriousness in a lot of Spanish businesses. On the other hand, does this really never happen in the UK? I don't know 'cos I don't think I was ever in this situation when I was living there.


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

yep I know what you mean, there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I have a local builders merchant who opens at ridiculous early o clock (usually before 8am) and often does not close in the afternoon, and is till open at 8pm - he knows he needs to be available and so his gate is often open when you least expect it to be.

On the other hand, other shops I know of often open later than their stated times (and I have seen the staff sauntering down the road in no hurry at 10:20 for example) & staff in cafes being really stroppy & banging stuff around. One the other day went to give my OH his drink and smacked it so hard on the edge of his plate the juice slopped into his lunch!

What I am noticing is more and more service provider companies being harder to get refunds from or sort anything contractual out but in saying that Leroy Merlin the other day were exceptionally good when I returned part of a broken ceiling light and wanted to just change the one shade rather than the whole unit - my experience has always been here that they want the entire thing to exchange but having just had an electrician install it, the shades were the last piece to be unpacked and one was broken. They were BRILLIANT, no quibble just did it


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Hey, just like plumbers, builders, etc in the US! 

Careful with this type of generalization. I havent seen any of this "mañana mentality" where I am and the folks up north take real offense when you make a statement like this about "the Spanish."


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## JoCatalunya (Mar 16, 2011)

Here you go, two stories that happened to me.

I bought a cooker, duly taking it home and using it for what it was intended for, cooking on.

A few weeks into owning it the knobs on the front of the cooker suddenly started to melt, EEEEEKKKKKK! Obviously this was not normal. So off I went with cooker in the back of my trailer to the shop to get a replacement (it was after all only a couple of weeks old and surely under warranty).
After having to explain what had happened to around half a dozen people in the shop eventually the manager/owner came up, took one look at the cooker and said.

'It is your fault it happened.'

So I asked him why?

'Because you put a pan on it.' 

Doh! 

A couple of months back I went to buy a new blanket for my grandsons bed. We literally scoured the market and the local shops and decided on buying it from our local supermarket as they had a few on special offer.
Taking one marked as being 19.99 on the shelf but on the packet 26.00 euros from the shelf I went to pay for it. As it was rung through the till we noticed the price was 26.00 so I told the young lady it was on special offer (we made sure of this by reading the description on the ticket on the shelf). So the young woman called for the person responsible for the department. Up she came and was told that I thought the price in the computer was not the same as on the shelf.
Without going to look, without a moments hesitation the woman said. 'The price is correct, the special price is for a different model'. So I said, 'no, it is for this blanket.' 

But she was having none of it. Even when we went, retrieved the ticket from off the front of the shelf and showed her.

So guess who walked out without the blanket.

Yep me and hubby.

Customer service does not exist in this country and I agree, it surely can come as no surprise that this place is in such a pickle when you get argumentative staff who can't be arsed to do their job properly.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> Hey, just like plumbers, builders, etc in the US!
> 
> Careful with this type of generalization. I havent seen any of this "mañana mentality" where I am and the folks up north take real offense when you make a statement like this about "the Spanish."


Well. lucky you. Down here in 'the south' it happens all of the time and several company's have lost a lot of my business because of their attitude. Where I live there is more than 27% unemployment and it is no wonder when they treat would-be customers with the contempt that they do. My comment was not 'generalization' it is fact, perhaps their northern neighbours might like to educate their southern neighbours about how to live, work and earn a living in the 21st century.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

4tunate said:


> Well. lucky you. Down here in 'the south' it happens all of the time and several company's have lost a lot of my business because of their attitude. Where I live there is more than 27% unemployment and it is no wonder when they treat would-be customers with the contempt that they do. My comment was not 'generalization' it is fact, perhaps their northern neighbours might like to educate their southern neighbours about how to live, work and earn a living in the 21st century.


Saying "the Spanish way of doing business" is a generalization.

They could argue back that you have "unreasonable British expectations."

I got water, electric, and phone connected a day after asking for them and a smile on the face of the provider.

I think the brusqueness is shocking for many, but I think that is something we are just not used to. For example, at family meals I am used to family members getting into heated debates and saying horrible thinga. What I would be mad about for weeks, they are laughing about in 15 min. 

Regarding customer service, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Get good at the game, not frustrated. If you want anglo-saxon customer service, you would do better going home than to tell someone they must do it your way.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> Saying "the Spanish way of doing business" is a generalization.
> 
> They could argue back that you have "unreasonable British expectations."
> 
> ...



Don't you dare tell me to 'go home' . Spain is my home and has been for many years. I pay taxes here and live the Spanish way of life, but it doesn't mean that I have to accept the way things are done, or not done. If the Spanish do not treat me correctly then I will complain and hit them where it hurts most - in their pockets. I am glad that you got the services you required, and with a smile. I look forward to the day when you post a message telling us that something has gone wrong. I won't hold my breath.


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## ScottJaniceKyleErinFreya (Jan 11, 2013)

elenetxu;1209976[I said:


> *]Hey, just like plumbers, builders, etc in the US! *[/I]
> Careful with this type of generalization. I havent seen any of this "mañana mentality" where I am and the folks up north take real offense when you make a statement like this about "the Spanish."[/QUO
> 
> Just as bad in the UK too


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

JoCatalunya said:


> A couple of months back I went to buy a new blanket for my grandsons bed. We literally scoured the market and the local shops and decided on buying it from our local supermarket as they had a few on special offer.
> Taking one marked as being 19.99 on the shelf but on the packet 26.00 euros from the shelf I went to pay for it. As it was rung through the till we noticed the price was 26.00 so I told the young lady it was on special offer (we made sure of this by reading the description on the ticket on the shelf). So the young woman called for the person responsible for the department. Up she came and was told that I thought the price in the computer was not the same as on the shelf.
> Without going to look, without a moments hesitation the woman said. 'The price is correct, the special price is for a different model'. So I said, 'no, it is for this blanket.'
> 
> ...


This reminds me of something that happened to me recently. It was in Carrefour. There was a big table in the middle of the aisle with vacuum sealed packs of sliced serrano ham. A big sign was on the table that said, '2 for 1 serrano ham: buy 2 and each pack costs €3.99' (or some such cheap price for serrano ham). So I took two packs and added them to my other purchases. It wasn't until I got home that I looked at the sales receipt and saw that they had charged me _€12.99_ each. So I took the ham back to Carrefour, and before getting in the customer service line to complain I went inside to check the price again. Yep, the sign on the table definitely said €3.99 each. Well guess what customer service told me? It wasn't the ham on the table that was €3.99. It was some other ham that was located in an undisclosed location not near the sign. The ham that was on the table in fact did cost €12.99, which is what the label said. And I couldn't return it because they took no returns on perishables. They said I should have looked at the label and not the sign - so sad too bad goodbye. I was furious! Talk about deceiving the customer!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

4tunate said:


> Whilst I accept, to a certain degree, the manana mentality, there are times when I would willingly wring the neck of Spanish business men and women, and face the inevitable consequences. For instance, yesterday my almost new printer would not work. It is still under guarantee, I went back to the shop and the proprietor told me that he would be at my house at 11.30 this morning. OK, so that is any time between 11.30 and 1300 hours. It is now almost 3 pm and no sign of him so he is obviously a) full to the gills with lunch and b) snoring his fat ass off. In the meantime I have been sitting at home waiting for the idle piece of detritus when I should have been a) having my own lunch and b) taking the dogs for a walk. No wonder the country is in the state it is. All I hear here is that everyone is complaining about the lack of business, but they don't seem to want to do anything about rectifying it.
> 
> Where's the gin?


Maybe the problem with Spanish business is that every time a foreigner gets poor service from some bloke in a shop they post it on the internet claiming it is typical of the other 45 million Spaniards as well?

Maybe the Spanish then come to the conclusion that no matter how hard they try are never going to overcome the tired old stereotypes so they might as well not bother?

Inevitably there are times when people get frustrated with things in every country. I remember in the UK having to put up terrible service in restaurants because the waiters were often students who didn't take their job seriously, pubs that would serve up appalling food and then the bar staff would shout at you repeatedly to "DRINK UP!" at 10.40pm because they wanted to close early. And don't tell me there aren't any dodgy builders, mechanics, plumbers, etc in the UK either. Some are good, some aren't, just like in Spain.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2013)

Maybe the problem with Spanish business is that every time a foreigner gets poor service from some bloke in a shop they post it on the internet claiming it is typical of the other 45 million Spaniards as well?

Why a foreigner? Do not Spanish people get bad service too? Or is it that they are too cowed to complain? 

Tired old stereotypes? You have been watching too many re-runs of Fawlty Towers.

Yes. I agree, there were many terrible 'service providers' in the UK, but this is a forum for Spain, not the UK.


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## Karen58 (Aug 1, 2012)

donz said:


> yep I know what you mean, there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I have a local builders merchant who opens at ridiculous early o clock (usually before 8am) and often does not close in the afternoon, and is till open at 8pm - he knows he needs to be available and so his gate is often open when you least expect it to be.
> 
> On the other hand, other shops I know of often open later than their stated times (and I have seen the staff sauntering down the road in no hurry at 10:20 for example) & staff in cafes being really stroppy & banging stuff around. One the other day went to give my OH his drink and smacked it so hard on the edge of his plate the juice slopped into his lunch!
> 
> What I am noticing is more and more service provider companies being harder to get refunds from or sort anything contractual out but in saying that Leroy Merlin the other day were exceptionally good when I returned part of a broken ceiling light and wanted to just change the one shade rather than the whole unit - my experience has always been here that they want the entire thing to exchange but having just had an electrician install it, the shades were the last piece to be unpacked and one was broken. They were BRILLIANT, no quibble just did it


Leroy Merlin is a French company... go figure.. if it was Bricoman things would be very different believe you me


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## Karen58 (Aug 1, 2012)

Look, I have learnt to shop locally and support the village businesses and build relationships with a smile and when something goes wrong fairness will follow. I have introduced friends to independent Spanish shops and they have been delighted with their customer service. Yes I have helped them with the language and they have reconciled themselves with paying perhaps 
paying a little over the so called 'bargains' in the chain stores but with the money saved in fuel for the driving back & forth it is worth not having the hassle of dealing with disinterested sales staff.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

I needed a plumber and a builder last year for a burst pipe under the terrace. They were both there working within 30 minutes. A few weeks ago, I had a serious electrical fault. I was recommended an electrician who I have never met. He stopped working on a job and was with me in 20 minutes. You can't generalise, some of these tradesmen are excellent. Once we integrated into our village, got to know the locals, they will help you with recommendations.
I have no problems with the Spanish I live my life like they do.


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## Karen58 (Aug 1, 2012)

Aron said:


> I needed a plumber and a builder last year for a burst pipe under the terrace. They were both there working within 30 minutes. A few weeks ago, I had a serious electrical fault. I was recommended an electrician who I have never met. He stopped working on a job and was with me in 20 minutes. You can't generalise, some of these tradesmen are excellent. Once we integrated into our village, got to know the locals, they will help you with recommendations.
> I have no problems with the Spanish I live my life like they do.


Well said!! but one has to acknowledge that large retail chains as a general have no idea of 5 star customer service and to compete with online UK competitive stores that now despatch here the Spanish attitude must alter and soon!!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

4tunate said:


> Don't you dare tell me to 'go home' . Spain is my home and has been for many years. I pay taxes here and live the Spanish way of life, but it doesn't mean that I have to accept the way things are done, or not done. If the Spanish do not treat me correctly then I will complain and hit them where it hurts most - in their pockets. I am glad that you got the services you required, and with a smile. I look forward to the day when you post a message telling us that something has gone wrong. I won't hold my breath.


Something will go wrong anywhere I live.

Also, I am not telling you to leave. I am simply stating that we are the guests here and we truly should not walk in boldly stating that our way is the best way and that our host should completely change. You are very unlikely to find help if you go around stating "we do this x-way. Your way is wrong."


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

AS Karen and Aron have said you CAN get good service and that has always been our experience. 

The big difference is whether it is a small business where you quite possibly are dealing with the owner or whether you are dealing with an employee of some anonymous employer who doesn't give a dam about the staff. Most of the businesses we deal with are small and know that repeat business depends on satisfied customers, unlike the employees of big businesses who may see lots of business being done, they are rushed off their feet trying to keep shelves stocked and umpteen other tasks because the employer has cut staff to cut costs but still wants the same amount of work done.

The exceptions to this, in our experience, seem to be Lidl and Mercadona where staff are helpful and pleasant.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I've had good and bad service in
Spain
UK
Colombia
France
The USA
Peru

Need I go on...??


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

Karen58 said:


> Well said!! but one has to acknowledge that large retail chains as a general have no idea of 5 star customer service and to compete with online UK competitive stores that now despatch here the Spanish attitude must alter and soon!!


I know of a certain large UK retailer, selling online as well as having stores all over the country who gave me appalling customer service earlier this year. They took my money, failed to communicate with me, neither replying to emails nor calling me back when I called and did not deliver what I'd ordered within the stated time. I eventually got some response when I went public on Facebook and Twitter. After a month, when they then claimed they would deliver the following week although their website said the item was not in stock (it was when I ordered), I demanded my money back. I will certainly never use their online service again. 
The point is that you get good and bad service everywhere, not just in Spain.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> Something will go wrong anywhere I live.
> 
> Also, I am not telling you to leave. I am simply stating that we are the guests here and we truly should not walk in boldly stating that our way is the best way and that our host should completely change. You are very unlikely to find help if you go around stating "we do this x-way. Your way is wrong."


Rubbish! I will never state that 'our way is best'. I expect that I should be treated as an equal, after all I am treated as an 'equal' when it comes to paying taxes. I am not a 'guest' in Spain, I am a citizen.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

4tunate said:


> Rubbish! I will never state that 'our way is best'. I expect that I should be treated as an equal, after all I am treated as an 'equal' when it comes to paying taxes. I am not a 'guest' in Spain, I am a citizen.


no - you're a resident, not a citizen

unless you've taken Spanish nationality?


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> no - you're a resident, not a citizen
> 
> unless you've taken Spanish nationality?


Semantics


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

4tunate said:


> Semantics


you & I know the difference - but the casual reader might not, so I just wanted to be clear


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

4tunate said:


> Semantics


Err...no. Definitely more than 'semantics'. Citizenship is a legal status as is residency, but they are certainly not equal.
I agree with you. It is very frustrating to get poor service. But **** happens the world over. I don't think customer service is so great in the UK. Running a business of any size can be just as frustrating in the UK as in Spain.
It may be luck on my part but anyone who's said they'll turn up at a certain time has turned up at said time. I did wait all day once for a swimming pool man who eventually turned up the next day and said frankly that he had forgotten our appointment. Then he did an excellent job and stayed for a general chinwag afterwards. I spent the 'wasted' waiting time lying in the sun reading, anyway.
I do find dealing with the Ayto. very frustrating at times...yet at other times they are very efficient..and the Councillors and others I have dealings with are always so damn nice it's hard to get angry.
Our gardener Manolo used to annoy me. He'd say'I come tomorrow' but rarely did. One day I when he said that I just replied: 'Manolo, you know you won't be coming. I know you won't be coming. So don't say it because you think it makes me happy because it doesn't, it pisses me off big time'. He stopped. 
For me, living in Spain has taught me to take a balanced view of things. I used to rage and storm about the house if things didn't go as I thought they should. 
'Tranquillo tu!' was said a lot to me in my first months here.
Now I've got more of a sense of proportion. After all, in the global scale of things, with wars, famine, starving babies, terrorists who want to blow us to pieces, global warming.....if I'm going to raise my blood pressure it won't be over some guy not turning up on time for what might be very good reasons.
Besides, raised blood pressure could bring on a heart attack, says my lovely Spanish doctor and I want to live to go on enjoying my life in Spain..


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## Hombre62 (Jun 13, 2013)

4tunate said:


> .... yesterday my almost new printer would not work. It is still under guarantee, I went back to the shop and the proprietor told me that he would be at my house at 11.30 this morning.


What printer did you buy, and how much did you pay for it?


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

It is what it is.....and you just accept it on that basis.

Though speaking as someone who was formerly a computer susperstore manager back in the 90's....try calling PC World out to look at your printer.

Won't happen unless you've bought an extended warranty with an on-site option. It'll be return to shop or manufacturer collect by ParcelForce.

So despite the fact he didn't show today, you'll still probably get it sorted quicker than the UK.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

4tunate said:


> Maybe the problem with Spanish business is that every time a foreigner gets poor service from some bloke in a shop they post it on the internet claiming it is typical of the other 45 million Spaniards as well?
> 
> Why a foreigner?


Well it's not the Spanish who go round posting on expat websites about how the Spanish in general provide poor service and have a poor attitude to business.



4tunate said:


> Do not Spanish people get bad service too? Or is it that they are too cowed to complain?




Yes they do occasionally get bad service, and in my experience they will ask for that hoja de reclamaciones in a flash. They also tend to check their supermarket receipts much more carefully because they don't trust the cashiers, and as clients they are generally more demanding (in my experience).

My point is that what also holds back Spanish business is a stereotype of the mañana attitude which perhaps is more prevalent in rural areas, but certainly not in the areas where most business is done. And this stereotype doesn't help Spain either, neither does propagating this stereotype because you had a bad experience.

Foreigners read this website, they read your post, and the stereotype lives on.



4tunate said:


> Tired old stereotypes? You have been watching too many re-runs of Fawlty Towers.




Completely lost me here - maybe that gin is kicking in?



4tunate said:


> Yes. I agree, there were many terrible 'service providers' in the UK, but this is a forum for Spain, not the UK.


I think that even on Spanish forums you are allowed to make comparisons with other countries


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

4tunate said:


> Rubbish! I will never state that 'our way is best'. *I expect that I should be treated as an equal, after all I am treated as an 'equal' when it comes to paying taxes. * I am not a 'guest' in Spain, I am a citizen.


You're being treated just like a local, trust me. 

Don't forget that if you receive truly bad treatment, you should (as a previous poster mentioned) ask for an _hoja de reclamaciones_. There are also consumer protection organizations such as _consumidor_ (at your local town hall, I believe) and FACUA which can help or point you in the right direction.


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## IanB (Feb 11, 2013)

Interesting discussion. I have a relation, 7 years older than myself, in Spain who has lived there for over 16 years now. Absolutely loves the place, everything about it and would not live or reside anywhere else.

He spent most of his working life in the installation, servicing and support of high tech equipment for a large multi national corporate, in the end at very senior level internationally. Yet, he says if there is one thing wrong in Spain, for him, it is the Spanish lack of knowledge and support for the ethos of customer service. Before, anyone gets over sensitive on this I don't think his comments are based on a direct comparison with the UK but on a much wider view as at times he will qualify those comments with the fact that there are worse places.

regards


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

IanB said:


> Interesting discussion. I have a relation, 7 years older than myself, in Spain who has lived there for over 16 years now. Absolutely loves the place, everything about it and would not live or reside anywhere else.
> 
> He spent most of his working life in the installation, servicing and support of high tech equipment for a large multi national corporate, in the end at very senior level internationally. Yet, he says if there is one thing wrong in Spain, for him, it is the Spanish lack of knowledge and support for the ethos of customer service. Before, anyone gets over sensitive on this I don't think his comments are based on a direct comparison with the UK but on a much wider view as at times he will qualify those comments with the fact that there are worse places.
> 
> regards


All very good points. My gripe is more the wording of the op. If they'd written something like "Another case of poor customer service in Spain" then I'd have nodded in agreement (so would many Spaniards I know). It was just the assumption that it is indicative of the Spanish business mentality in general, and bringing up the old "mañana" stereoptype that I took issue with. It didn't seem very constructive to me.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Chopera said:


> All very good points. My gripe is more the wording of the op. If they'd written something like "Another case of poor customer service in Spain" then I'd have nodded in agreement (so would many Spaniards I know). It was just the assumption that it is indicative of the Spanish business mentality in general, and bringing up the old "mañana" stereoptype that I took issue with. It didn't seem very constructive to me.


Yes, the wording of thread titles is very important. A recent thread on animal charities is a good example of how generalisations can needlessly provoke wrath

I smile ruefully when people complain about Spanish bureaucracy, poor customer service and similar issues and think to myself that these complainers should try living in a former socialist country! Bureaucracy there can be easily circumvented...if you can afford to pay a large 'sweetener'. Those who can't must endure weeks, months of frustration accompanied by unbelievable rudeness.
Socialism of course focuses attention on 'producers' not consumers and even though thirty years has passed since the end of socialism in Eastern Europe old attitudes linger on. The 'worker' is still far too often the most important person in the enterprise, not the customer who pays his/her wages.
Mind you, sometimes I think that in western countries the pendulum has swung too far the other way. As consumers, we expect instant attention to our various demands. When we were in business our attitude had to bethat if a customer said 'Jump' our response was 'How high?' Workers are now consumers too, thanks to capitalism, and we should remember that we are not cogs in some kind of inexorable commercial machine and that all humans have 'off' days.

Personally, I think the so-called 'manana' attitude is largely myth. It goes with the idea that before we immigrants came the locals rode donkeys and grew tomatoes, occasionally breaking off to perform some colourful folk dance or stab each other over women. Spain is a modern, middle-class economy, despite all its current troubles. When you decide to make your home in a foreign country you just have to accept it, warts and all, and any perceived deficiencies in Spain are more than compensated for by the very many good things..


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

IanB said:


> Interesting discussion. I have a relation, 7 years older than myself, in Spain who has lived there for over 16 years now. Absolutely loves the place, everything about it and would not live or reside anywhere else.
> 
> He spent most of his working life in the installation, servicing and support of high tech equipment for a large multi national corporate, in the end at very senior level internationally. Yet, he says if there is one thing wrong in Spain, for him, it is the Spanish lack of knowledge and support for the ethos of customer service. Before, anyone gets over sensitive on this I don't think his comments are based on a direct comparison with the UK but on a much wider view as at times he will qualify those comments with the fact that there are worse places.
> 
> regards


I've lived here for 27 years.
As you'd expect, I've seen different parts of Spain, experienced different situations, and seen some changes in that time.
Customer service depends on so much it's not possible to talk about it in general. Here she goes AGAIN!! I hear you people, but this time it's not only dependant on the region, but the kind of shop you go into, the time of day you go in, the season... But what I can tell you, which the majority of people are willing to acknowledge is that where ever you go you'll get good and bad. Maybe Spain is worse. Could be, but I wouldn't want to bet on it.

Examples. You're welcome to skip this part
My MIL (Spanish, very classy, polite, and expectant of good customer service) went into a independant shoe shop in a medium sized shopping centre. The woman behind the counter didn't move, grunted answers to MIL,. When asked if she had size XX in XX shoe was told- no, although she made no pretence of looking, offering an alternative or just being polite and/ or respectful. That was probably 10 years ago and we still talk about it!!
I've been going to my hairdresser for about 20 years. She often doesn't even say hello when I go in to the salon to book an appointment, yet we've shared our pains and joys over the years and have known our children since they were babies.
In 3 bars I've used regularly over the years they'd have my coffee (descafinado, de maquina, leche templado) on the go as soon as I walk in through the door without me asking for it.
I had people working in my kitchen at 11:00 at night when I was redoing it, to get things finished.
At that time the builder came at 8:30 every morning on the dot, May, June, July.
I've had Orange phone company and Lagun Aro insurance company run circles around me.
I've walked out of Corté Inglés for the bad service they've given me in Calle Princesa in Madrid, yet in Bilbao I had excellent service from a middle aged man in the toy department who was working at 1:30 and was still there at 9:00pm when I went back to buy something.
I remember going to a turismo rural and the owner taking my then young daughter strawberry picking to give us a rest after a long hot journey.
In another turismo rural they gave us presents of txakoli and alubias because we got on so well.

Conclusion
I really don't think we can talk about bad customer service in Spain - nor good in the UK. It depends very much on who, what, where


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Conclusion
> I really don't think we can talk about bad customer service in Spain - nor good in the UK. It depends very much on who, what, where


I think that goes for most situations in life, really.
Yesterday I asked a Spanish friend where all the 'bad people' were in Spain, as in five years I've yet to come across one and explained that everyone was so nice and helpful.
She answered that of course there were plenty of bad people but the reason I hadn't come across any was that I was a 'nice person'myself, a comment which may not be appreciated by some posters on this forum.

But that is surely true: treat people as you would like to be treated' is a very good principle on which to conduct not only business but life in general. Whilst I haven't yet got round to 'loving my neighbour as myself' I do find that greeting hostility with a smile usually disarms.
But then teaching in a tough neighbourhood with every social problem under the sun has taught me a variety of survival strategies.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> She answered that of course there were plenty of bad people but the reason I hadn't come across any was that I was a 'nice person'myself, a comment which may not be appreciated by some posters on this forum.
> 
> But that is surely true: treat people as you would like to be treated' is a very good principle on which to conduct not only business but life in general. Whilst I haven't yet got round to 'loving my neighbour as myself' I do find that greeting hostility with a smile usually disarms.


I agree. The response *you* get depends on the approach that *you* make. I have always made the effort to be warm and friendly and that is the response I get from people throughout the village. As far as I am aware, I am the only male who gets kiss/kiss from one of the nuns, most other males get ignored.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> I agree. The response *you* get depends on the approach that *you* make. I have always made the effort to be warm and friendly and that is the response I get from people throughout the village. As far as I am aware, I am the only male who gets kiss/kiss from one of the nuns, most other males get ignored.


Kissed by a nun, eh.....

How do you get greeted by the priest???


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2013)

Hombre62 said:


> What printer did you buy, and how much did you pay for it?


Sorry for the delay in replying. Got taken rather ill yesterday evening. Not before I had dispatched an email asking why de didn't turn up. Got a reply saying that he would be at my house at 9.30 this morning. He turned up at 11.30 and got the printer working. It is a Brother DCP-J315W, don't remember what I paid for it. Just short of 90 Euros I think.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Kissed by a nun, eh.....
> 
> How do you get greeted by the priest???


He's too busy with the other males!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

4tunate said:


> Sorry for the delay in replying. Got taken rather ill yesterday evening. Not before I had dispatched an email asking why de didn't turn up. Got a reply saying that he would be at my house at 9.30 this morning. He turned up at 11.30 and got the printer working. It is a Brother DCP-J315W, don't remember what I paid for it. Just short of 90 Euros I think.


At least it's working again.
Shame you had to insist and wait around.
Hopefully you'll find someone more reliable in the future.
And hopefully you're feeling OK today!


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2013)

Thanks. I am feeling much better but had a dreadful night - some vomiting bug or other. It was the black ink cartridge apparently. It persuaded the printer that it was empty when it was brand new.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

I think there is an exclusive club in Spain where, if the British state pension was stopped, you had to pay for all your healthcare, taxes trebled, iva quadrupled, and there was a special tax for just being British and breathing Spanish air, you would still find people saying they loved Spain and everything about it!(while sipping red wine, watching the sunset of course)


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

extranjero said:


> I think there is an exclusive club in Spain where, if the British state pension was stopped, you had to pay for all your healthcare, taxes trebled, iva quadrupled, and there was a special tax for just being British and breathing Spanish air, you would still find people saying they loved Spain and everything about it!(while sipping red wine, watching the sunset of course)


There's probably one in every country.
I know there's a club in the UK where people can see evidence of a crumbling health system that has been accused of neglecting its patients, riots in its streets at times, ASBO's,miserable weather and an awful lot of miserable people - yet people still see it as a "Green and Pleasant land".
:noidea::loco::wacko:Life is WEIRD, isn't it?:wacko::loco::noidea:


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

4tunate said:


> I am feeling much better but had a dreadful night - some vomiting bug or other. It was the black ink cartridge apparently.


Didn't they tell you that you weren't supposed to eat them?


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2013)

Thought that they were a bit tough.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

True, but at least those living in K accept the "warts and all," whereas those in Spain are in a constant state of denial, beaming away like Stepford wives/husbands!


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

Karen58 said:


> Well said!! but one has to acknowledge that large retail chains as a general have no idea of 5 star customer service and to compete with online UK competitive stores that now despatch here the Spanish attitude must alter and soon!!


People shop online with British companies because they are cheaper. Many prefer British computers because of the operating systems. I do the same, but I prefer to help the Spnish economy where I can.
I had great customer service when we bought new sofas, but shortly afterwards the company went bust. It was nothing to do with business mentality, it was to do with this bad recession.
I just bought a new car. It was the same kind of car I bought 9 years ago. I bought it from the same garage because I got 5 star treatment all through the after sales.
I appreciate there will be people with other companies who are not good, but you can get that anywhere.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

extranjero said:


> True, but at least those living in K accept the "warts and all," whereas those in Spain are in a constant state of denial, beaming away like Stepford wives/husbands!


You reckon??!!
Maybe around your way...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

extranjero said:


> True, but at least those living in K accept the "warts and all," whereas those in Spain are in a constant state of denial, beaming away like Stepford wives/husbands!


Has it ever occurred to you that the reason why we are not interested in your jeremiads is quite simply that most of us can afford to live here whatever? 

That we are quite content with our easily affordable lifestyles?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

extranjero said:


> True, but at least those living in K accept the "warts and all," whereas those in Spain are in a constant state of denial, beaming away like Stepford wives/husbands!


Would you like us to club together and get you a ticket back to Leamington Spa or wherever? 

You must be living in a constant state of anxiety. Spain is for enjoying, not fretting over 'ifs'.

I enjoy my life here. We live in a very nice house with a pool and large gardens for our two dogs. We are not wealthy but will have no money worries with or without the measly British pension. We don't do 'cheap' but enjoy a comfortable modest lifestyle. We had a good life in the UK and in Prague so we're just carrying on as normal here in Spain. We had thought of moving on to France but intend to stay here. There are very many immigrants like us here, embedded in our local communities, with friends of all nationalities.
It is sad that you cannot just relax and enjoy.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Has it ever occurred to you that the reason why we are not interested in your jeremiads is quite simply that most of us can afford to live here whatever?
> 
> That we are quite content with our easily affordable lifestyles?


and match those lifestyles to our incomes not some "head-in-the-clouds" aspirations based on sun, sand, sea and sangría.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Aron said:


> People shop online with British companies because they are cheaper. Many prefer British computers because of the operating systems. I do the same, but I prefer to help the Spnish economy where I can.
> I had great customer service when we bought new sofas, but shortly afterwards the company went bust. It was nothing to do with business mentality, it was to do with this bad recession.
> I just bought a new car. It was the same kind of car I bought 9 years ago. I bought it from the same garage because I got 5 star treatment all through the after sales.
> I appreciate there will be people with other companies who are not good, but you can get that anywhere.


I bought a printer/scanner/copier from amazon.es. It was an updated version of a printer I bought eight years ago in the UK for £60 but I paid €45.
It's basic but if it lasts as long as the old one....


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Well, bully for you!"Easily affordable" is the clue here.Some of us have a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here and don't have rose coloured glasses stuck to our heads!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

extranjero said:


> Well, bully for you!"Easily affordable" is the clue here.Some of us have a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here and don't have rose coloured glasses stuck to our heads!


How can you say that mrypg9 is wearing rose tinted glasses if she is, at this very moment living the very life that she wants and decribes, and has been for several years?
It just doesn't make sense. Wearing rose tinted glasses means that the person in question isn't seeing life as it really is. She's not only seeing it, she's living it!
It seems that you think that people who are happy living in Spain are not living real lives.
I work here, have my ups and downs here (have just heard today that a company I've been working in for ten years has been taken over by a national company. Will they be needing English classes???), and am still happy to live here and not in the UK.
Am I wearing the famous rose tinted glasses????????


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

We've been happy here since 2005.....and we'll never leave! So all good here and no rose tinted glasses!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

I have... for now... another 39 years to go until I'm a pensioner. Just starting out and still relatively freshly married in a family dealing each day with the consequences of the cuts to government spending. No rose tinted glasses here.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

extranjero said:


> Well, bully for you!"Easily affordable" is the clue here.Some of us have a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here and don't have rose coloured glasses stuck to our heads!


 Some of us came here with money to match the lifestyles we wanted. So yes, my lifestyle is 'easily affordable'.
I don't need rose-coloured or any other glasses apart from my Oakleys
If you can't afford to live here, don't go sour on those who can. Spain isn't for you if you are constantly worried about your bank balance.
Best go home because it seems that for you Spain will never be home as it is to us.
I've just come back from walking the dogs - the countryside is beautiful at seven in the morning. OH is now preparing breakfast which we'll take on the terrace by the pool.
All over Spain contented British immigrants are settling down to another day in paradise.
Shame you're obviously not one of them...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

extranjero said:


> Well, bully for you!"Easily affordable" is the clue here.Some of us have a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here and don't have rose coloured glasses stuck to our heads!


I would suggest that you have things ass about face.

Easily affordable is the prerogative of those who researched properly and matched their lifestyles to their incomes so didn't need rose-coloured spectacles. Those who had expectations and ambitions way above what they could afford are the ones who came with rose-coloured spectacles and are now disillusioned and have to face a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> I would suggest that you have things ass about face.
> 
> Easily affordable is the prerogative of those who researched properly and matched their lifestyles to their incomes so didn't need rose-coloured spectacles. Those who had expectations and ambitions way above what they could afford are the ones who came with rose-coloured spectacles and are now disillusioned and have to face a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here!


Very true, Baldy.
We have a fairly simple lifestyle, similar to yours. We don't go to bars, eat out maybe twice a month but at 'good' restaurants so it's something to look forward to and spend most of our time reading, walking the dogs -twice a day for a couple of hours- or with friends. After a hectic former life it's sheer bliss.
Then there's our charity work which plays a major role in our lives.
Our major expense is the house but we get a lot of enjoyment out of living where we do. 
This may sound strange but we haven't changed how we live one iota since we left the UK. We are creatures of habit.
It's the scenery that has changed...for the better.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Very true, Baldy.
> We have a fairly simple lifestyle, similar to yours. We don't go to bars, eat out maybe twice a month but at 'good' restaurants so it's something to look forward to and spend most of our time reading, walking the dogs -twice a day for a couple of hours- or with friends. After a hectic former life it's sheer bliss.
> Then there's our charity work which plays a major role in our lives.
> Our major expense is the house but we get a lot of enjoyment out of living where we do.
> ...


and for us the warmth, friendliness and quality of the neighbours.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> and for us the warmth, friendliness and quality of the neighbours.


Yes, I forgot to mention Meri and Juan and Manolo and Gregoria.
We have been forbidden to do anything with any machinery in our house, including the Landrover, without consulting Juan.
Sometimes sexism can be beneficial...


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> and match those lifestyles to our incomes not some "head-in-the-clouds" aspirations based on sun, sand, sea and sangría.


 :clap2:


This, I have to say, is the same issue back here in the UK, people who live above there incomes, I am now 55, I have been the sole income earner for 2 years, we have a mortgage etc, we now live on one salary where we lived very well on two, are we any less happy, no, we live differently thats what you do when money is tight, when life changes adapt or die.



extranjero said:


> Well, bully for you!"Easily affordable" is the clue here.Some of us have a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here and don't have rose coloured glasses stuck to our heads!


It occurs to little old me, who is coming to Spain, but not there yet, so maybe I should not comment, but hey ho I am going to.

There is a definite attitude that, and this has been demonstrated on another thread here ( lady from France) and on other forums, and not only about Spain, those who declare they have no issues, they are content etc are wearing "rose coloured glasses. I do not think Mrspj, Baldi, Aron etc are wearing any coloured glasses, I am sure they have great days, worse days and crap days, actually what they are having is LIFE. I think the issue lies with the reasons people go to Spain or anywhere, what their expectations are. IMHO, many WENT with Rose tinted glasses, never expected any change to occur, such as exchange rate changes, tax law changes, residency issues and do not accept that they are visitors/immigrants in another country, I am sure some immigrants in the UK, arrive thinking all will be well as soon as they arrive, then they get the shock, those who arrive with a desire to blend in and learn the language, and go with the flow I suspect last the course, as will those in Spain. I really hope that we will adapt and cope, who knows we may not, but as I have said before, it will not be Spain that is at fault, there will be no fault. 

Well thats me done, ramblings of a mad women over
x


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

cambio said:


> :clap2:
> 
> 
> This, I have to say, is the same issue back here in the UK, people who live above there incomes, I am now 55, I have been the sole income earner for 2 years, we have a mortgage etc, we now live on one salary where we lived very well on two, are we any less happy, no, we live differently thats what you do when money is tight, when life changes adapt or die.
> ...


Well, here's another cabra loca in total agreement with you. Well said!:clap2:

We were unlike you in that from deciding to leave the UK to actually moving into our new home in Prague with all our goods and chattels took less than three months. We decided to go when we were walking my partner's employee's dog one day -I'd already packed up paid work - and we just decided we weren't rats and had had enough of the rat race. We had enough to continue the comfortable but not OTT lifestyle we had been fortunate enough to enjoy for some years in the UK more or less anywhere we went. OK , so we could have lived in a palazzo in Tuscany, I would have loved that, or a chateau in the Loire region...but after a fairly short time our money would have run out. Then we too would be sour and whingeing.
But first Prague and then Spain were affordable after an afternon's financial calculation and planning so off we went, a decision we have never regretted and never will.
We lived a bit high on the hog in Prague - buying flash cars, treating our friends to dinner in nice restaurants, travelling around,being 'ladies wot lunch' even.....until the exchange rate crashed and we had to cut back. It's what you do if you've got half a brain.
Our biggest expense is our big house. We intend to spend a few more years here then downsize as we and the dogs will be getting on a bit and there's a lot of marble and stairs in this house. As we spend less on rent, we'll have more to spend on those things you need when you're older.
But for the present, our house is our pride and joy. We both come from 'umble backgrounds, neither of us was allowed to have 'airs and graces', as my Dorset nan frequently put it, so we are really happy to be able to live like this in our retirement. We've both worked hard all our lives, OH gave employment to many people and we put our present life down to luck, hard work and a sense of reality.
We have also learnt that life is too short to whinge, moan and wring one's hands. Carpe Diem! is a very good motto to live by. Besides, being happy and positive leads to a longer, healthier life.
I'm sure that when you get to Spain you will be as happy as we are.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

extranjero said:


> Well, bully for you!"Easily affordable" is the clue here.Some of us have a more realistic, unblinkered view of life here and don't have rose coloured glasses stuck to our heads!


Help me out here extranjero...

Do you mean we _shouldn't_ be enjoying our lives here in Spain or do you mean that we aren't - we just think we are?:confused2:


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

jimenato said:


> Help me out here extranjero...
> 
> Do you mean we _shouldn't_ be enjoying our lives here in Spain or do you mean that we aren't - we just think we are?:confused2:


Nothing to do with enjoyment-it's a matter of being realistic.. I find that some people refuse to accept any criticism whatsoever of aspects of life in Spain, talk about being guests etc when they are actually tax paying residents who are allowed an opinion; On voicing a bad experience, criticism or injustice people are frequently told to go back to the UK if they don't like it.If you enjoy your life-fine;I also enjoy it, but when I have something critical to say I shall feel free to express my opinion.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

extranjero said:


> Nothing to do with enjoyment-it's a matter of being realistic.. I find that some people refuse to accept any criticism whatsoever of aspects of life in Spain, talk about being guests etc when they are actually tax paying residents who are allowed an opinion; On voicing a bad experience, criticism or injustice people are frequently told to go back to the UK if they don't like it.If you enjoy your life-fine;I also enjoy it, but when I have something critical to say I shall feel free to express my opinion.


And nobody is stopping you from doing that.
But in the opinion of most posters you go too far with your 'What ifs' and your doomsday scenarios. You also make unfounded assumptions about other immigrants of whose circumstances you know nothing.

We are not all cash-strapped pensioners, you know Most of us live well within our means and have lifestyles many folk in the UK would envy.
The bottom line is and always will be: if you can't afford it, forget about it, it's not for you.
That goes for many things, not just emigrating to Spain


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Incidentally, it seems that the new Governor of the BoE may well favour devaluation.

Now there's something that will cut the incomes of those receiving them in £sterling. And Spain can't be blamed for that.
We won't lose a wink of sleep ....


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

extranjero said:


> Nothing to do with enjoyment-it's a matter of being realistic.. I find that some people refuse to accept any criticism whatsoever of aspects of life in Spain, talk about being guests etc when they are actually tax paying residents who are allowed an opinion; On voicing a bad experience, criticism or injustice people are frequently told to go back to the UK if they don't like it.If you enjoy your life-fine;I also enjoy it, but when I have something critical to say I shall feel free to express my opinion.



Look, since I was the clown that said most of what you're citing, I'll reply.

I stand firm by what I said, and I am sorry if I offended anyone. I'm sure I did, but it wasn't the reason behind saying it. I am fully aware that I am a guest in this country. I pay taxes and am married to a local. However, I also know that the card I have in my wallet has an expiration date on it and that I will never (despite x-number of hybrid Spanish-American children, and x-number of years here) be considered to be Spanish. As a non-EU citizen, I'm the first one out. The vast majority of the rest of you have a right to be here (for now). I don't necessarily. 

My qualms are with the fact that the OP was not just an opinion, but what I perceived to be a flat out stereotype and "my way is better" superiority. That is where I feel the opinion crossed the line. 

I am not refusing to accept any negative aspects of life here. Heck, as a young adult and wife of a teacher in the public system, a lot of the bologna related to the economic crisis is really affecting my family in a way that I doubt is affecting many of those who don't have to work anymore on this board. However, again, I did not find the OP fair - at all - and that's why I said what I did.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

elenetxu said:


> Look, since I was the clown that said most of what you're citing, I'll reply.
> 
> I stand firm by what I said, and I am sorry if I offended anyone. I'm sure I did, but it wasn't the reason behind saying it. I am fully aware that I am a guest in this country. I pay taxes and am married to a local. However, I also know that the card I have in my wallet has an expiration date on it and that I will never (despite x-number of hybrid Spanish-American children, and x-number of years here) be considered to be Spanish. As a non-EU citizen, I'm the first one out. The vast majority of the rest of you have a right to be here (for now). I don't necessarily.
> 
> ...



:clap2::::clap2:::clap2:


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## JoCatalunya (Mar 16, 2011)

In my local village there is an Agro-Botiga, in it they sell all the locally grown veg folks wish to sell, though I have yet to get them to accept any of my veg even though it is organic and the like, but that is a different story.

Anyhow in the next village there is another Agro-Botiga, selling the same kind of stuff etc, etc. The difference between however, is marked. In the first you walk in and feel you have just stepped into a wild west saloon where the piano player stops playing and all of those within turn to look at you and give you the evils.
The other village botiga they wish you good morning/afternoon and offer to carry your purchases to the car.

Yes there are good and bad in all walks of life, builders, plumbers, shoe shop assistants, supermarket shelf fillers. They are not only to be found in Spain but can be found worldwide. However, what I have found here is the way a great many of the people respond is what rankles most folk. 

I do not expect someone to grovel at my feet when I go in to complain that my cooker knobs have melted and are now plastic dribbles down the front. But what I do expect is for whomever I am speaking to, to at least acknowledge that I have the right to complain, even if they don't agree with it. 
Now I have worked in hospitality for most of my adult life in one shape/form or other and I was taught, 'you do not argue, you do not belittle, you listen and if you cannot deal with the complaint appropriately then you find someone who can.' I don't think this is unfair in the least to expect where-ever I am in the world.
What I do not expect is to hear someone blaming me for 'putting a pan' on something that one is supposed to 'put a pan' as way of getting out of dealing with the problem.

Here is another story.

Took my car in for repair to the bodywork.
Car was due a service, but I specifically told them 'I do not want a service at this time, I cannot afford it.'
When I went to collect the car the first time they called, all the trims were missing from the car, when we pointed this out we were told they were in the boot and were easy enough for me to fit.
No, not having that, thank you.
Also damage was not repaired.
So we left car with them, one week later, car was done they said. So off we went to collect, only to find the back door had been stoved in. We pointed out the damage and they said it had come in like this. Out came mobile on which we had taken initial damage photos, also photos of it when they had left trims off and on both occasions door was fine.
So they accepted damage was likely down to them and said they would repair, also they would repair the damage car had been brought in for in first place. (due to Linea Directa screaming at them not us might I add).
Got a phone call, car ready for pick up.
Linea Directa sent down an engineer to check on car before we collected and he approved of repairs, so we went down and was told they had also done a service.

At no point had we signed for them to do a service or asked for one. In fact we had specifically told them. 'DON'T!

Garage wouldn't release car until we paid for service.

Four and a half weeks later we had saved up the money to spring our car. 

No words of apology, not even a kiss my ar$e and bu66er off and don't come back came from their lips.

Just a TUTT that they had, had to wait for us poor people to save up the money to get their car back.

Well guess what, that little escapade went down in their A+ book.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

extranjero said:


> Nothing to do with enjoyment-it's a matter of being realistic.. I find that some people refuse to accept any criticism whatsoever of aspects of life in Spain, talk about being guests etc when they are actually tax paying residents who are allowed an opinion; On voicing a bad experience, criticism or injustice people are frequently told to go back to the UK if they don't like it.If you enjoy your life-fine;I also enjoy it, but when I have something critical to say I shall feel free to express my opinion.


As someone who has been "accused" of not accepting cricism of Spain in the past, I trust that my posts on this thread and many others have actually been read and not scanned as they contain negatives as well as positives.
I'd also like to say that after many years of living in this country I know, and more now than ever, that Spain is not perfect, but I *do* prefer it to the UK and I, like you, will express my opinion!
Like elenexu I work here and my husband works in state education. I don't know if you ever read/ listen to Spanish news, but life in state ed. is not a bed of roses now - in fact, it never has been.
I also have a child of 19, in state ed. Spain, and if that isn't scary I don't know what is!!
I know people on short time, unemployed, our health centre is closing, cases of corruption are daily, and even the weather isn't that good, but I STILL want to live here.
I do wear glasses, but only for driving and they are a rather attractive shade of blue - not rose and definitely not tinted.
And I'm b*ggered if I'm going to carrying on defending my happiness to a disbelieving forum member.
I LIKE MY LIFE HERE


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> As someone who has been "accused" of not accepting cricism of Spain in the past, I trust that my posts on this thread and many others have actually been read and not scanned as they contain negatives as well as positives.
> I'd also like to say that after many years of living in this country I know, and more now than ever, that Spain is not perfect, but I *do* prefer it to the UK and I, like you, will express my opinion!
> Like elenexu I work here and my husband works in state education. I don't know if you ever read/ listen to Spanish news, but life in state ed. is not a bed of roses now - in fact, it never has been.
> I also have a child of 19, in state ed. Spain, and if that isn't scary I don't know what is!!
> ...


I agree and so do many of us who are happy because they do see that nowhere is perfect but took all those minor negatives into account when when balancing against the greater positives. This thread has degenerated in to petty criticisms and jealousies of those who have no axe to grind about Spain. I, for one, as they say, am out of here, life is too short and I have too much to do to waste any more on this thread.


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