Can't say better than that

Yes, happens all over, you are not alone in noting a problem when it comes to getting served in a bar/restaurant. And these are people that love living in Spain, but still find it hard to fathom out.
http://dinzo.wordpress.com/guidetohell/
http://scribblerinseville.com/2012/0...ving-in-spain/

I must have been extremely lucky on various occasions spread over 25 years, even when living in Madrid then.
Even when I spent a month in Barcelona, in Gracia, a couple of bar-restaurants I went in were great - even started giving me free tapas with my drink which is very unusual in Barcelona.
There have been a couple of poor service examples I've found over the years (particularly one Valencian place), but I've generally found service in Spanish establishments a lot more prompt than in the UK, whether in London, Oxford or Nottingham. Especially the coffee. Getting served - nearly always a doddle. Paying the bill - a different matter altogether.

Yes I can't relate either. Barcelona doesnt have very good customer service in the tourist areas, but...

We went to Santa Catalina market almost daily for almost 2 years. It is an excellent market and the people on the market stalls are knowledgeable and friendly

I suspect that the person from the blog has a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp and just doesnt know how to behave. Given that they have spent many times waiting "over half an hour to get served" it baffles me when a quick word in the ear of the waiter and a smile always works!

Yes, it's back to that shabby Spanish customer service issue again.

In many respects they're still back in the dark ages, partly due to lack of training and inability to get their priorities right I suppose.

It's little surprise they chose a Spanish stereotype from Barcelona for Manuel in Fawlty Towers.

I certainly don't hang around anywhere for half an hour waiting of service.
I just keep moving on till I eventually find a bar with helpful, considerate staff who have moved into the 21st century.
There are usually one or two,..... if you keep looking long enough.

bet if you owe them for a few drinks they will be there if you try to leave

we had a meal in a top restaurant in Granada, (also one of the highest in the city with amazing views), we thought we were late for our 8pm slot, but went up in the lift with the Maitre'D who was half dressed and carrying the rest under an arm. Service was appalling, food not very good, hot meat onto freezing cold plates, waitress didnt know which side to serve from because of a stupid flower arrangement on each table - gave me a dirty look because I moved it.
even the menu was printed on a poorly hacked A5 from A4 with the printing wonky and barely legible
Luckily the company paid for it. I wouldn't.

Yes, we've walked out of many places, fed up with waiting, no way would I wait half an hour! Except for the bill of course! I'm not opposed to waiting a while, a nod or a wink to let you know they have seen you and will be with you as soon as possible is all it takes. I don't have the pleasure of CM's valuable contributions but I'm sure he's disagreeing. In the case of the lady in Sevilla, she is married to a Spaniard, speaks the lingo, has lived there for years, but I still expect CM could tell her where she's going wrong. She's a very experienced journalist, written for all the top publications, she's been around, knows the difference between good and bad service. And in all the other replies, and there are many, the vast majority, some living there 20 years, agree with her findings re crap service etc. But I expect they are all wrong, or doing something wrong.

She obviously doesnt speak the lingo well if nobody can understand her!

I've spent a lot of time with Andalucians and they had no problem understanding me

The lady from Sevilla is an idiot, she is trying to impose English norms onto Andalucians and viewing everything that is different as negative or "Backwards"

You could equally view the differences as positive. As for customer service, you know my views, I feel it is way superior in Spain than in the UK. BUT, the importance is on the customer to open a dialogue. If foreigners are incapable of that then they will receive poor customer service. I guess that means that customer service is less professional, but it is more genuine and better if you can engage them, or more importantly, if they can engage you!

And Domino, the food in Granada is amazing, one of the best places in Spain for eating out, but again, what are you doing in the restaurant at 8pm? You are not in the UK! People wouldnt be ready for you. In the summer you shoudn't be there before 9.30pm. You are a foreigner in Spain, adapt and get it right!

When I decide I have waited long enough for the bill I get up and head for the door.
The bill then appears very quickly

Well some of us who've actually lived/worked there (and if CMs posts are right he still does) have never found this. We must be extremely lucky - I've always been able to get served almost straight away when entering a place, and that includes visiting different parts of Spain for 25 years.

If I have to wait more than 5 minutes I use my mouth and remind the waiter, always works

Why are they incapable of this?

That is a good point. The staff often like to feign indifference to the bill, but show any signs of being a "sinpa" and attention quickly returns.

We had a very reasonably priced lunch in Torre del Mar yesterday - just wanted a pasta dish so OH had spaghetti al pesto and I had tagliatelle al ragu. We were served a smoked salmon appetizer (and not stingy with the salmon) and offered a liqueur or coffee of our choice, on the house, when settling the bill - which was all of €14.50 including drinks. The chef is Italian and his wife, who looks after front of house, is Spanish, both very pleasant and attentive. If anyone is in the area and wants a good, very reasonably priced meal, it's Bar Italia on Av Duque de Ahumada - not the place to go for a special occasion as it's a very small, unassuming place, but the food was really good and I thought their attitude to customers very generous.

Actually, Cman is right. Attentive service just isn't a highly valued aspect of running a restaurant or bar or business here, so get used to it.

We've been conditioned to believe that if you are in business, you have an obligation to pay attention to customers, and make them feel as though you actually value their business. In fact, as customers, we'll simply go to another shop or restaurant if we don't receive attention or don't feel as though they care about your business. In our world, shops actually have to compete for our business.

It wasn't all that long ago that Spanish business operated much more "below" the table than "above" it. They catered to friends and family much more than strangers and outsiders. It didn't matter whether you pay attention to a stranger. You'll likely never see them again anyway.

Besides, there was less need to "compete" to keep your business alive. What you didn't make on the street you could get from the government anyway - not to mention the other "black" side business you'd normally engage in to help pay the bills.

Besides, back then, it was a lot harder to trust anyone you didn't know (the law was not on the side of the public), so people were more likely to patronise the places they know, not where they felt the most catered to. And to a certain extent, I often still see it. One shop has a product for €49, and in the next shop the exact same thing is €19. But many people keep to buying from to the shop they know rather than the one with the lower price. Trust is a powerful thing. But the law becomes more and more protective of the public, people feel much safer to patronise a place without necessarily "knowing" it.

CMan would like to claim it's all about language, but I'd argue that the concept of extraordinary customer service is just relatively new to many Spanish businesses.

To be fair, in the past decade, I've seen a lot of improvement. 10 years ago, it was obvious the shops and restaurants and service businesses could care less whether you want to buy something or not. Today they pay a lot more attention.

Customer service has got worse in Spain. Dropped off when they got drunk on their boom times. Perhaps it will recover now they are at rock bottom. People from the North of Spain including Madrid complain when in Andalucía. Interesting all this it's the customers fault We had excellent food and service in Italy last year and my knowledge of the language is odd words

I would wait a while if the menu and drinks arrived otherwise I would be out of there. Wouldn't wait long for the bill either, just leave the table and tell the waiter we are going and it does the trick!