Mr Grumpy

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By Mr Grumpy - Fri 5th Oct 2012

 

If there is one thing that I have to begrudgingly admire and respect about the typical and average Spaniard it has to be the fact that very little seems to bother them.

Let me explain, before any of my many detractors shoot me down in flames and remind me that I am spouting unfounded crap again :

The Spanish (in my opinion at least) rarely seem to get het up about things that are simply ‘not important’. Sure, the health of their family, their homes or their livelihoods is called into question and there is understandably likely to be some upset.

However, the average Spaniard working in an office or bank, or in some function at the town hall is unlikely to be heard of as “throwing a sicky” at work due to reasons of stress because they rarely get het up about seemingly trivial issues and let stress affect them in this way.

Put simply, the majority of them seemingly just don’t care.

And the fact of “not caring” has been interpreted by many an Expat as poor customer service, and in turn Spanish Business Culture has often been criticised for ‘missing the bigger picture’.

Sure, when I try and renew my Padron or obtain a dangerous dog licence from the Ayuntamiento it is like extracting teeth without an anaesthetic, and yes, it often seems that the staff in my bank are doing me huge favour by keeping my cash for me, but you have to question which culture is actually in the right here ?

Is customer service really “that” important? Are we as Northern Europeans conditioned to expect too much, and therefore place “too much” emphasis on the importance of good customer service, and see it as a right, rather than a privilege to expect it ?

By “not caring”, or “not stressing out” – whichever way you look at it – the average Spaniard seems to have extended his life expectancy, and quality of life into old age considerably more than most Northern European countries. Who’s missing the bigger picture now ?