Re: observations.
 

Yes indeed. Most shops in spain/UK will exchange, JL for example give a 28 day no quibble refund, but as far as I am aware they are not oblidged to. :thumbdown:

You may be thinking of distance selling regulations, where buyer is entitled to a refund within 14 dyas if the buyer changes their mind. :thumbup:

Re: observations.
 

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Re: observations.
 

Lisbon is a big city...and like every big city it attracts lowlifes(lots of different nationalities).I live there,so see it all.Major drug problems etc.You don't know for sure who stole your wallet tho' do you?

Re: observations.
 

Too true - and the waitress probably wasnt Portuguese either

I was just being ironic, I have nothing against the Portuguese

Re: observations.
 

Spanish customer service has to be up there with the worst in the world.

I´m sure everyone has been to a mobile phone shop, clothes shop, estanco and the woman is usually gabbing on a phone, chatting to mates, polishing her nails, and looks pissed off that she has to serve you.:cool:

Re: observations.
 

I had that problem with the women from reception at tennis. After observing how friendly she was to a lot of Spanish speaking customers, I tried changing my tone of voice to be much friendlier and upbeat, made longer eye contact and I smiled more etc (all the things we dont do by nature in Britain). Now she is much more attentive and friendly.

I've never had any big problems, but Spanish people tend to place great importance on human relationships and hate impersonal interactions. It's one of the reasons why they are often rude to non-Spanish speakers as they see no opportunity for conversing or getting anything back from the relationship. They dont care too much if they lose a few euros especially if they are not the owner

Re: observations.
 

dunno if this has been done in another thread, im not on here every day, but i noticed the Buddha eyes restaurant in pego is doing a curry nite in the Tossal Gros restaurant on Thursday 15 euros (just in case you didnt know Mitz) but i expect you have already got your table booked............have a naan bread for me till i get there............:thumbsup:

Re: observations.
 

I used to think the opposite - or at least the service I encountered was better than in the UK. When I bought something in a shop, the attendant would offer to wrap it for me; when I ordered a beer or a coffee in a bar it would arrive promptly and far more quickly than in the UK. Yet I heard all these Brits (and sometimes Yanks) going on about bad service. I put it down to 3 possibilities 1) service where I lived in Madrid was better than in smaller places 2) I would use "Hola" on entering an establishment and make an effort to speak Spanish 3) I was lucky! I think in the end I put it down to a combination of 2) and the comments that cricketman made. If you have the language and the right attitude it's surprising how much better service (normally) is. Having said that, I do find the attendants in El Corte Ingles can be very snooty.

Re: observations.
 

Good points everyone, however I can assure you that they are equally as rude to Spanish speakers. (I am bilingual)
It is a cultural thing, like cricketman said, to do with personal releationships.

You could also mention the attitude to work. Work in the most part is just a job, there is little loyality shown to the company, as the company more often than not, pays poor wages and exploits the worker. The worker then says why should I go the extra mile.. I´ve seen it so many times.

Also a Spaniard will often express what they are thinking..I´m pissed off and you will see my face!

These are just generalisations though.

Re: observations.
 

I think that since the Crisis Economica, things have improved. Our supermarket cashiers are much more friendly now, the taxi drivers arrive within minutes of being called, telefonica engineers arrive on the same day, town hall staff answer the phones, and the dustmen have stopped racing about in the middle of the night.

Unfortunately it hasn't filtered through to the Guardia Civil, they fine you for just sitting in a car.