Customer Service

Last night our cable went out. Why? I don't know. At first I thought maybe it was because of the rainy weather. So, I figured I would sleep on it. Well, I woke up this morning and we still weren't getting any channels. I wanted to call customer service, because it's Friday and who wants to go without TV all weekend, right? Well, let's just say Dutch customer service is a little different. First of all, it costs money to call customer service even though you are a paying customer. I think I was on the phone for about 30 minutes at 10 euro cents per minute. So, the phone call only cost me about 3 euros, but it's still irritating that it cost me anything. And then, like the U.S., you don't actually get a person but a menu of options. Not a big deal, right? Well, there's no English option. So, I took my best guess and pressed number 3. After being on hold for about 5 minutes a kind Dutch man answered the phone. I asked if I could get some help in English. He said he would do his best - thank heavens! And he actually did a really good job. After trying a few things we were able to get everything fixed. So, I survived my first phone call to customer service. I'm not always the nicest person when I call customer service, but this time I was extremely nice. Why the change of the heart? I was just extremely grateful to have someone help me in English. It's funny how our perspectives change...

We have definitely noticed that customer service has a different meaning here in The Netherlands. For example, no one bags your groceries - well, they don't even give you bags, you have to buy them. And no one asks to help you out to your car. You have to put a coin deposit to get a grocery cart (I've seen this occasionally in the U.S.), but it's at every store here. Of course you get your coin back once you return the cart. You usually have to go back into the store to return the cart though, which is a pain with a toddler. When you go out to a restaurant, unless you want to spend the whole evening there, you've pretty much have to ask them to take your order and bring you the check. And even then it takes forever. I guess in America we've gotten too used to having things right away. They're just a little more laid back here. We are trying to learn and follow along.

The next time you have to call customer service about losing service or something going wrong, just think of me. At least you aren't paying for the phone call, the menu options will be in English, and eventually you may even get an English speaking person (although they might have a heavy accent because you're really calling India)!