I bet you thought I was going to complain about it. Well sorry to disappoint you. I have read a lot about how bad it is in Italy. It's true that it's not all smiley faced like the US but my experience is that if you need something done or you have a problem with something you've bought, and you approach the issue in a logical way being polite and sometimes insistent you will usually get the service you need. Generally you can't get a refund except from some major stores or perhaps in a special situation. So you can't really wear that party dress once and return it pretending that the deodorant stains at the armpits were there when you bought it. But generally you can exchange something or get a credit for future use.
I had a good experience this morning that prompted me to write this. A couple of weeks ago I went to the local Bricko, a major hardware chain, to buy a portable gazebo sort of thing they had on sale. I thought it would be great to use with our camper. But they didn't have them yet. The guy told me to come back after May first. Well I went today the 6th. Now they were not on sale, and the price was much higher. So I asked and told the cashier my story. At first she was hesitant but I think she realized that I wasn't going to give up easily so she called a manager, I told him that I tired to buy it when it was on sale. He asked if I had something like a raincheck. I said no that the sales person I spoke to before told me to come back in a week or two and it wouldn't be a problem and if I had been told to I would have asked for the raincheck. So in the end they sold it to me for the sales price.
"if you need something done or you have a problem with something you've bought, and you approach the issue in a logical way being polite and sometimes insistent you will usually get the service you need"...
ReplyDeleteHummm. I'd have to disagree with this, totally.
After 15 years in Rome I can say that is is not the norm, unfortunately! All the politeness and insistence in the world won't work a majority of the times.
The main reason you were successful is because you were dealing with a big chain store. They tend to be a bit more reasonable and flexible, while the average mom & pop shop would have laughed in your face.
More often than not, I've had horrible store customer service experiences in Rome.
Anonymous, I won't disagree with your experience, it is what it is. The interesting thing is that the one time I was in Rome some years ago when my daughter was in a stroller it broke down after many hours on cobble stone streets. A trip to a small mom and pop hardware store with me speaking much worse Italian than I do now left me feeling that the Romans were quite nice and somewhat generous. I left the store with the parts I needed admittedly just some cheap screws with no charge.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the chain stores having better customer service, they are learning from a broader example, perhaps American. I also find the same thing most places I go but also make it a policy to never return to a store that doesn't treat me fairly.
Italians in italy are not educated E.G management = zero..
ReplyDeleteThey are also racist and very much living in a bubble, maybe the mafia wants it that way, because the day italy is gonna be more open, italy will have better customer service.
I went to rome, i was shocked..