SPAIN The observant reader will have noticed that on almost any product, box, packet or whatever, there is a 902 number, usually under the heading Atención al Cliente ('customer service') - if you can actually find it, of course. Similar to a free call number, it is decidedly not free (from June 1 this year it costs you €0.010 (1 cent) to 'establish' the call and €0.072 per minute. Not a lot, you may think, but it adds up quickly. The tariff is in between an inter-provincial call (i.e. from Cádiz to Málaga provinces) and a local call (more or less within the same province). If you have ADSL with free national calls, though, these calls are NOT free.>>>
IF YOU FIND THIS ARTICLE INTERESTING, USEFUL OR ENTERTAINING, PLEASE CONSIDER THE WORK, EFFORT AND COST IT TAKES TO BRING IT TO YOU. WE WOULD APPRECIATE A DONATION TO CONTINUE A FREE SERVICE.
A law says that manufacturers must have a Customer Service number - but the law does not say that it must be answered. Given the notorious lack of customer service from the vast majority of firms in Spain, another law had to be made that says the 902 number -preferred by most companies as the cost is mostly the caller's- must be answered. Our illustration shows how legible the number is on some if not most products, in this case a packet of crisps we're munching on right now. If we were to call the number on the packet, chances are that it will not be answered, or, even worse, that it would have an automated answering machine that leaves you hanging on the line for a good long time, while the meter keeps running.
The new law, which has yet to be fully approved by Congress (and who knows if it will before the national elections on November 20, even though it was presented to Parliament as'urgent'?) and is therefore a Proyecto de Ley (i.e. White Paper) and not yet in force, is aimed at, among other things, forbidding callers/clients from being charged for the call and will not allow the number to be used for selling other products. In other words it must be free of everything other than a particular complaint - and cost to the client.
Principally, the objective is to get what the law and the media have called grandes empresas (big business), about whose Customer Service departments have been the subject of many complaints and negartive reports, to offer better protection for the consumer and 'guarantee their rights'.
Included in the law is a maximum one month for these businesses to 'resolve their clients' complaints'. Telephone communication must be 'free, quick and personalised'. A note from La Moncloa (Spain's Number 10, officially Palacio de La Moncloa) reminds us that most registered complaints are regarding defficient customer service.
It establishes a minimum degree quality that must be adhered to by the customer service departments of companies in the following sectors: 'water, gas and electricity supply, travel transport, postal services, audiovisual media of conditional access and electronic communications services.'
These businesses must have a centralised system for managing complaints, and therefore ensure proper follow up on all complaints, claims and incidents presented.
A maximum waiting time of one minute for 90% of such calls is also part of the law, as is the public opening hours of the service, which must 'adjust to the characteristics of the basic supply'. In other words a service that is provided over 24 hours must have its customer service department available 24/7 for 365 days in the year.
Also, the companies must inform the consumer of any 'contractual incidences' that impact severely on the service being provided or its continuity, 'once such impact is known and without the client requesting (such information)'.
Regarding external controls of the customer service department, the law states that businesses will develop systems with which to measure the improvements to the service and will have to meet the requirements of annual external audits. The law foresees that 'in the future' businesses will have properly trained and qualified staff to attend to customers' complaints.
The new law, which has yet to be fully approved by Congress (and who knows if it will before the national elections on November 20, even though it was presented to Parliament as'urgent'?) and is therefore a Proyecto de Ley (i.e. White Paper) and not yet in force, is aimed at, among other things, forbidding callers/clients from being charged for the call and will not allow the number to be used for selling other products. In other words it must be free of everything other than a particular complaint - and cost to the client.
Principally, the objective is to get what the law and the media have called grandes empresas (big business), about whose Customer Service departments have been the subject of many complaints and negartive reports, to offer better protection for the consumer and 'guarantee their rights'.
Included in the law is a maximum one month for these businesses to 'resolve their clients' complaints'. Telephone communication must be 'free, quick and personalised'. A note from La Moncloa (Spain's Number 10, officially Palacio de La Moncloa) reminds us that most registered complaints are regarding defficient customer service.
It establishes a minimum degree quality that must be adhered to by the customer service departments of companies in the following sectors: 'water, gas and electricity supply, travel transport, postal services, audiovisual media of conditional access and electronic communications services.'
These businesses must have a centralised system for managing complaints, and therefore ensure proper follow up on all complaints, claims and incidents presented.
A maximum waiting time of one minute for 90% of such calls is also part of the law, as is the public opening hours of the service, which must 'adjust to the characteristics of the basic supply'. In other words a service that is provided over 24 hours must have its customer service department available 24/7 for 365 days in the year.
Also, the companies must inform the consumer of any 'contractual incidences' that impact severely on the service being provided or its continuity, 'once such impact is known and without the client requesting (such information)'.
Regarding external controls of the customer service department, the law states that businesses will develop systems with which to measure the improvements to the service and will have to meet the requirements of annual external audits. The law foresees that 'in the future' businesses will have properly trained and qualified staff to attend to customers' complaints.
IF YOU FIND THIS ARTICLE INTERESTING, USEFUL OR ENTERTAINING, PLEASE CONSIDER THE WORK, EFFORT AND COST IT TAKES TO BRING IT TO YOU. WE WOULD APPRECIATE A DONATION TO CONTINUE A FREE SERVICE.
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