Avoiding written communication

That's the way it is in Portugal because

1. Employees don't care (they prefer texting their friends on the job) and

2. Because they are lazy.

That's why things don't get done in this country. Very frustrating....

Electronic Complaint Form: This is the most effective method in Portugal. By law, companies are required to respond within 15 business days. In addition, the complaint is sent directly to the sector’s regulatory authority.

@juliajonesjy,

Most of the time, the problem lies not with the employees but with mediocre middle management, driven by personal interests and friendships. If these employees were to emigrate and work in Germany or Netherlands  they would certainly be much better off because they would be more valued and better paid.

This country still lives in a post-revolutionary culture, 52 years later, in which it is impossible to implement labor reforms that would increase productivity and wages (!) The left-wing unions, with dwindling membership, continue to play a decisive role in blocking any labor reform and do not approve of any changes in the employer-employee relationship. We are witnessing this right now, with a general strike already scheduled for June 3....

https://sicnoticias.pt/especiais/pergun … --fa7ddc70

https://www.sabado.pt/portugal/detalhe/ … 3-de-junho

@JohnnyPT

.......and Austria still uses Fax machines. I had to collect my blood results from my doctor, they could have sent them to me for €1 by fax 😂

They are still slow to comunicate with emails expecially government organisaions, and must be written in German although English is spoken, but quite right as German is the national language.

Customer relations are mainly handled over the phone, because calls are recorded and serve as evidence. Email is only used to follow up on a process initiated over the phone or in person. The company provides a case reference number, or initiates the process by sending an initial email. From there, the customer contacts the company via email. This is very common with insurance companies. In the case of utility companies, such as water, electricity and telecoms,  contact must always be made by telephone, because calls are always recorded.

In clinical testing, from my own experience, the laboratory responsible sends a SMS saying that the tests are complete on a specific date and time; usually  the analyses are done in the morning and they are ready by 3 pm.  The customer chooses whether to receive the results by email or on paper. If by email, the results arrive in the email on the same day. On paper, they arrive at the end of the day or the following day.

In conclusion, email is basically used after an initial contact between the customer, either by phone or in person. This is not a matter of ‘lazy’ employees, but rather company policies.

Not a comment on all organisations but I've been going into estate agents offices and talking to real people as sending emails generally gets no response, a discussion with one they explained that having their details on multiple sites just means they get swamped by "contacts" and unsure if they are actual people or just copies sent to as many agents as possible with open ended or "fishing" questions like "any details with prices of 2,3, or 4 bed flats/houses in the Porto and Lisbon areas" and initially after replying to many and getting no follow up dialogue they realise it's just a waste of their time and resources and costs them money. 

In clinical testing, from my own experience, the laboratory responsible sends a SMS saying that the tests are complete on a specific date and time; usually the analyses are done in the morning and they are ready by 3 pm. The customer chooses whether to receive the results by email or on paper. If by email, the results arrive in the email on the same day. On paper, they arrive at the end of the day or the following day.

- @JohnnyPT

Larger healthcare providers usually have apps though which all communication can be done and where all information is stored and accessible. However, even small Portuguese businesses hardly ever react to emails. Spanish businesses regularly do. That means even though I want to buy something from them.

@TGCampo

Correct that's the way it is in Portugal. ***

Sad truth.

@TGCampo

I have experienced a bit of that, but recently, I got taken, or at least my money was taken.

Using those online, click a button to speak to someone now. I ended up with a mortgage broker, Portugal Mortgage and the bank Santander. They were very hesitant to put things in writing. and this time, it was to hide costs that appeared after the escitura (deed process that is supposed to be the final legal step) I am still shocked that the deed meeting was also silent on the big hidden costs, but maybe they were unaware of these items. However, Portugal Mortgage was horrible, misleading, silent about big costs and an aggressive  sales approach at a bad time for me. And the bank Santander had the big cost conversations with them- which if you read the contract closely they may have been doing so without my authority. Time will tell because I am doing better, able to focus and now I will spend countless hours filing complaints with authorities and hopefully I will not be held liable for all of it and the people responsible will pay for their unethical behaviour.

So, keep your guard up and if it is important, focus on the main point, and just honestly ask them to respond in writing, "for your records". In some cases it may be lack of confidence to write in English, but if it is important they will understand. 

Also, never use a Mr. Barros, Portugal Mortgage or Santander bank and you should be 100% happy

As I just mentioned on a post about banking, it's an in person or phone culture we find too, like you say. Every country is different, and so if one adapts to that then things go much smoother. The other option which works well is simply to keep searching for a particular supplier or contractor who uses email or whatsapp as a matter of course. I say "contractors" because we renovate properties for rental to international tenants, and so we naturally deal with a lot of professional contractors for building work or professionals we can then recommend to our tenants as a sort of concierge service when they have questions about resettling.  So we have some great contractors where emails and whatsapp are always responded to, and we have some great contractors who we need to visit in person or phone to move things along. We are in the Alentejo region and so we're also here for the calmer pace of life, so it's all good from our perspective.