Why does customer service here suck?

[fifs2]

Unfortunately many tourists will be exploited by the locals as they are quick to take advantage . I remember the first years here the problems I had in taxis and restaurants but nowadays this is a very rare occurence as I transmit the energy of being from here.

Couldnt agree more..I can honestly say never, not once in 7 years did we ever get overcharged or badly treated in a restaurant in Caballito..shame the food and selection is so basic in the neighbourhood that we often do eat out in the microcenter, Palermo o Belgarno and the common denominator for bad service is whether there is a significant % of clients who are tourists. No empirical data to quote just that feeling that restaurants who cater to locals give excellent, old world customer service and care that you return ..and those catering to tourists try to make you order more food than you need and expensive wines.

 

[JoeBlow]

My theory, re poster's original question:

Argentines in general do not treat each other very well when they don't know each other. Being cold and, dare I say, a bit rude is commonly how two strangers will treat each other.

The thing that is hard to except is: when this behaviour is the norm, it is basically no longer that you are rude, but rather acting normally.

Capiche?

 

[pauper]

many Argentine friends have suggested that by hearing mine (Spanish from Spain) most will automatically assume I've got plenty of bucks to frivolously blow here

I sympathise with you, but please don't think this behaviour is exclusive to Argentina, citizens from wealthy countries have to bear this burden almost everywhere they go in the third world. In fact others on this forum who don't even hail from nations in the elite and prestigious PIGS group could tell you similar stories.

 

[captainmcd]

I don't blame anyone for this problem. It is simply a cultural thing.
In the United States business managers from their earliest years in business school are taught to instill in employees good customer service. Greet the customer by name, if possible. SMILE, provide quick and efficient service, and finally, invite them back. Those points must be memorized by all new employees hired where I work.
In Japan they go even farther. Young women at the door bow deeply and respectfully greet anyone entering a department store.
But in Argentina and Europe many people feel uncomfortable with this. It is not expected, and seems false, and makes them uncomfortable. Last week in Garabino I wanted to buy an appliance, and wanted to ask questions about different models. I saw many sales people on the floor, but noone approached me until I asked a manager behind a counter for service. I was not offended. I was in a different country, with different customs, and I had no expectations of anything else.

 

[fifs2]

I was not offended. I was in a different country, with different customs, and I had no expectations of anything else.[/quote]


It`s a fair point..but then that means that these locals should only cater to locals who are in the know. As I run a company providing service to developed world customers I dont have the luxury of our PMs having a "you come to me attitude" and have faced issues where discussions of giving good customer service have been greeted with cries of "But Im not a servant"..if the locals could learn the difference between servitude and service then we would all be happier.

 

[fifs2]

Good Customer Service is Simple Business 101 if you ask me.

You want your business to stand out from all the rest...offer what the others do not:

OFFER GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE

You want repeat customers...the life blood of any business (101):

OFFER GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE

Simple and universal "rules" regardless of what country you are in.

And to be fair the bad eggs are not always the rule as we have excellent staff who amaze me time and time again with their professionalism and extra effort to please customers..but I and they feel they are exceptions to their countrymen and often criticise their fellow countrymen for poor attitude more than I do!

 

[TravisJames]

Has anyone encountered something like this:

Yesterday I went to Clover in Microcentro and ordered the "Warsteiner special" with my friend (porteño).The deal is 30 pesos for 2 pints of Warsteiner. We drank a round, asked for the check and when we got it, it was 44 pesos.

"Hmm, that is weird," we are thinking and ask the waitress to explain the math.

She says that the deal is only valid if the beers aren't being shared between people.

"Ok, that blows...welllll, can we get two more and still get the deal?"

"No, you guys already got your check."

/facepalm
//tequila shots and then leave

 

[dani28]

Has anyone encountered something like this:

Yesterday I went to Clover in Microcentro and ordered the "Warsteiner special" with my friend (porteño).The deal is 30 pesos for 2 pints of Warsteiner. We drank a round, asked for the check and when we got it, it was 44 pesos.

"Hmm, that is weird," we are thinking and ask the waitress to explain the math.

She says that the deal is only valid if the beers aren't being shared between people.

"Ok, that blows...welllll, can we get two more and still get the deal?"

"No, you guys already got your check."

/facepalm
//tequila shots and then leave

Yep. They are huge on inventing technicalities as they go along. A few examples:

I arrived at a restaurant lured by their MENU LUNCH SPECIALS on the big blackboard outside. I arrived around 15:55 mind you, sat down, and the waiter finally came round by my table at 16:00 sharp.
I asked for the menu lunch special. The waiter frowned and said, ¨Was the sign still outside when you came in?¨ I replied yes. He went outside to verify, took the sign off and then came back to my table and said that the lunch special was only valid till 16:00.

WTF?!

 

[PhilipDT]

2 restaurants, 1 night. In the 1st restaurant, empty save for 1 other table, it takes about 30 minutes to pay and leave after I've asked for the check, and I leave a flat 5 centavos as a tip; in the 2nd its more like 3 minutes and I leave 15%. There are few things I hate more than not being able to leave a restaurant at my leisure, especially after I just spend 130 pesos for 2 beers and an appetizer. Ugh. If you cater to foreigners you should know better.