Less than Enchanting Customer Service

One of the things I find most frustrating about living in Puerto Rico is the terrible customer service I often get. Generally speaking, whether it be at restaurants, shops, insurance companies, etc., it just seems to pervade every corner of the service industry. As for contacting government agencies, where you'll be lucky if anyone ever picks up the phone, I shall touch upon on a future blog entry.

Obviously, I do realize the fact that this is not New York City and people work at a different pace. However, what annoys me is the inefficiency and lack of training that people get. The local culture doesn't place much emphasis on giving its customers the best service possible. I've lost count how many times we've gone to restaurants where the waiter just seemed to have disappeared or paid no attention to us at all. What happens is I usually don't end up ordering the dessert I usually crave so much.

It's a shame how people don't realize the importance of providing good customer service. Perhaps, they just don't want repeat customers. Recently, we had a plumber come to our house to give us an assessment of some work that needed to be done. He had promised to contact me with a quote shortly. Unfortunately, more than a week has passed, and we still haven't heard from him. "El cliente es primero" literally means "the client comes first." I'm afraid this is a principle that does not apply to the "Island of Enchantment."

(Photo credit: www.ideasparapymes.com)