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Poor Portuguese Customer Service

EDITOR, Stephen Craggs’ letter (The Portugal News. 8 January) mirrors my own experience of customer service in Portugal. It reminds me of customer service in the UK way back in the 1950/60’s. Firms then took your money and that was the end of the relationship without any thought for ongoing responsibility for their product or indeed any long-term view that their brand name might be compromised.

in Letters · 25 Jan 2022, 14:19 · 2 Comments

Customer service here seems an alien concept and, a product or service once paid for, it’s the devil’s own job to obtain satisfaction when things go wrong. An exception to this phenomenon is Leroy Merlin whose customer care service, I have discovered, is exceptional (I have to declare I have no shares in this firm!). This company seemed to understand from the outset that a satisfied customer simply meant they’d come back again. By comparison I would not put my foot inside a Worton store.

Thank goodness for DECO and AFPOP without which our only recourse would be to line the pockets of the legal profession who, apparently, seem to be a law to themselves!

When will firms here recognise that it is in their long-term interests to ensure that customer care is ongoing? It could make the difference between their profits escalating or going bust. Some seem to make it their business to go out of business!

Ken Butterfield,

By email

Disclaimer:
The views expressed on this page are those of the author and not of The Portugal News.

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Comments

Ken B., you´re absolutely right. A friendly advice, stemming from my own(frustrating!!) experience: write down the whole ridiculous chain of events that usually accompanies costumers trying to solve pbs constructively, send it in an e-mail to ASAE-Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica- with all the pertinent info that can help. The situations 1 is frequently subjected to are so grinding and surreal that space in”Complaints” book is too often insufficient. ASAE never replied to me in words but they do better: their job. The ppl who tried to s***w me over end up crying or closing their businesses after repeated abuses (unfortunately, abusers tend to abuse reasonable ppl better at 1rst, but then when ASAE comes in I find my being reasonable and abused then leaves offending party way worse). If you can´t do it in Portuguese, maybe they have a kind soul in ASAE who can translate for colleagues? Dates, specific data tends to help them do the job. They were my saviours in many circumstances throughout the years; Pt is lousy at accountability on many fronts but ASAE does its job when it is justified.

By guida from Lisbon on 28 Jan 2022, 07:17

So true! I am using XD software since it's obligated in PT to use a recognised billing-software. I had to update to the professional version that enables me to edit my invoice and print on A4. Unfortunately the Mac-version only includes a windows-version of the tiny, very basic and unprofessional looking editing-software. So actually a PC user gets more for his money than a Mac-user. When I call them they friendly say that they can not speak directly with clients. Only via one of the partners that they work with (a technician ??) I said that I pay to them and not to the partner and that this is an issue within XD software, the partner has nothing to do with it.. They just get upset and hang up the phone. What's the next step? Invoices are obligated to be made on a Windows-PC?

By Tom Cools from Alentejo on 22 Dec 2022, 12:07