Customer care in Italy

My customer experiences have always been fairly good. I'm a "take charge" kind of person, so that means that I must make my experiences good, not the other way around. There's a lot to say about the matter, but let me give a few examples...

It's my responsibility to know the language well enough that I can order what I need or want; I would expect the same of someone visiting my country. Having said that, I know the competition is keen for valued customers, so shop owners, stores, banks, et al are usually very nice to me.

I've had a few bad experiences, mostly in Tabacchi stores, and mostly because I was in a hurry. I sometimes have to tell myself that Italy is not America and, as such, people and corporations who are in business may not have the same values or mindsets that I have. Bottom line is that I will adapt to the country, not the other way around.

Americans, for example, who are only in Italy for a week or two would expect that they should be treated as well as if they were on a trip to say, New York City or Las Vegas. The difference between Italian businesses and American businesses - and this is a "broad brush" type of reference - is that American businesses are in business to separate you from your money. Although some really touristy areas in Italy can be this way, by and large, that is not the case.

I've been in Northern Italy for seven years working in sales and after-sales service.  While I mostly deal with foreign clients, I work closely with the Italian department as well helping them out with their after-sales calls and problems.
That said, I would say that we treat them pretty fairly. We will do our best to help an impatient and nagging client even if it doesn't seem like a priority to us. However, there is a limit and after they go over that limit, we say, "che si arrangia" = "let them deal with it".  While I was working in sales in Canada, I was taught that "the customer is always right." This belief, does not exist in Italy.
From a customer's point of view, I can say that I have been treated very well by most retailers and have been treated like garbage by a handful. The worst place for customer service are public offices and especially, the post office. Read about Italian post offices here on my blog: http://italianbelly.com/italian-life/ho … st-office/