Customer Service in DR. Does it exsist? Tell your Story.

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stallion

Mr. Main Event
May 28, 2004
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I just wanted so say that almost all the DR bussines lack customer service.
Last week I went to the Orange phone store to get my cell phone activated.
The clerck took my phone and said it will be ready in 3 days because it had to be sent to their flagship store in santiago for activation. She told me it will be ready for saturday. Saturday i go to the store and the lady tells me that my phone is not ready because the activation centre had a power failure. She said It will be ready for Monday afternoon now. She never said sorry for the inconvinience or gave me apology. Then she asks me what do I want to do? I say I have no choice. I told her that I paid $200 pesos for a taxi to get here plus my time wasted. And then I will have to Pay another $200 pesos again on monday. She just stayed quiet and said nothing.
I mean she did not even offer to give me a frre calling card or discounted my activation and code search fee. I did not even get an apology for the inconvinience. I just smiled and walked away. I also asked if my phone will be ready on monday for sure, she said that there were no guarantees.

Part II

On friday myself and couple of friends go ot to see a movie. We go the the theatre, 2 minutes into the movie cell phones start to go off one after the other. Then some guy sits next to us and starts to talk on his phone for a good 35 minutes. Th guy was laud. Then he starts to walk around talking inside the cinema. Then A couple of phones start to go off. I go out the cinema to get a drink. I see a guy kissing a girl near the entrance to the theatre. I ask him do you work here? He says yes. I tell him that there is this idiot in the cinema talking laudly on his cell phone for the past 23 minutes and he is causing a disturbance. He tell sme he will tell him to take the call out. So I go to the snack bar, there are the attendants dancing with each other and doing salsa. I wait till the song is over till I get served. I walk back in to the theatre and the place looks like disneyland. Same guy talking onhis phone and everybody talking on their phone. Some little kid's playing hide-o-seek. So during the entire movie everyone's cell phone went off and everyone was having a conversation. I could not understand the movie do to the interference and laud noises. On top of that the movie was subtitled
So the people were catching on the funny parts a couple of minutes later after they read the words. If this was in canada I would have got free movie passes for the next 3 months because of our cusromer service skils. When will the DR have customer service? Does it excist? I guess we will find out some time. Does anybody have a story to share?
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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Welcome to the DR. You're no longer in Kansas nor Canada any more. :nervous:

But I'm sure you can write some pretty funny blogs out of your adventures.
 

stallion

Mr. Main Event
May 28, 2004
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Anna Coniglio said:
Welcome to the DR. You're no longer in Kansas nor Canada any more. :nervous:

But I'm sure you can write some pretty funny blogs out of your adventures.

I sure can. I got lot's of funny ones too. But hey this is DR a totally new planet.
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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dr1.com
Welcome to the Dominican Republic.
What it lacks in customer service it makes up for in other ways :)

Customer service is a very personal thing here. Basically you will need to know the owner of the business or have a good friend working in the business to get any "1st world" service. The girl/guy making RD$4,000 per month couldn't careless as it makes no difference to his/her life one way or the other.

Don't worry about it, adapt, otherwise you will die way before your time :)
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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You are truly in the DR....not on vacation in the DR

Listen, customer service in my opinion is a North American ideal and priority and I find it's incomparable thus far to the other places where I have travelled. Not even the parts of Europe where I have travelled have the customer service priority that I expect. All that you described to me seems quite normal for the DR and I don't envision the situation changing anytime soon. I used to get frustrated about it but not anymore. I just avoid certain situations if possible. How about when at the grocery store and you line up to pay your bill and the cashier is putting nail polish on her nails. You bet you have to wait until she is finished. That happend to me many times. As well, I remember many times going into a drug store and having to look for products. Only if desperate I would ask and once the lady was reading the newspaper I had to wait until she was finished the article before she would assist me. I could go on and on but I think you understand my point. Let's not even talk about the movie theatre scenario. Unbelievable! Customer Service in the DR is virtually non-existant. Don't be surprised if the phone is not ready on Monday (seriously). Good customer service like everything else... it's who you know.


-Lesley D-
 

POP Bad Boy

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Jun 27, 2004
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My Favorites........over a few years..........

1. Secretary at Banco Popular painting her TOENAILS on the desk.

2. Banco Popular FIGHTING with me and refusing to take a DEPOSIT of a mere $4000. PESO into my account because I didn't have an ID.

3. Customer service rep, HACHE, Santiago, leaves WHILE helping me, to DANCE to a special song with another sales associate, then returned saying the song had "special meaning" to him.

4. POLLO REY employee not letting me leave the store until I took the French Fries that came with my order, even though I had explained over and over again, I DID NOT WANT THEM, BUT WOULD PAY FOR THEM ANYWAY SINCE THEY WERE INCLUDED. She said they "come with the meal" and I HAVE TO TAKE THEM.

5 VERIZON, stating that a "special technician" would take care of the problem in 24 hours. When not fixed in 3 days, called again and was told that the "special technician" only works 6 hours a day.

6. Buying a $20 PESO item at BELLON in Santiago and having the receipt SIGNED by 2 people and stamped by one............IN TRIPLICATE

7. Driving all the way to the Subaru Dealorship in Santo Domingo to buy a piece for a car after talking with "Frank" there numerous times. Got there, asked for him and 3 different departments told me there is no "Frank" that works there. I was going crazy and then a guy walks buy with a name tag that says "Frank". I said there he is ........ they explained, OH, THAT'S NOT FRANK, THATS "FRONK"......
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
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Taxi situations..

Two aspects that always bother me about some taxi drivers:

1) The ones who don't have a clue where to go and tell you that you should know. I always seem to get those ones and I have to call people to have them explain to the taxi driver.

2) I always get taxi drivers who are more concerned about their music than the destination of the passenger. Once I was in a taxi and the driver some how spotted a friend his. He stopped the car and they started chatting and his friend was telling him to turn to this station "para escuchar este merengue apambichao". I just sat there patiently because I knew if I had said something it would mean nothing to the driver.

Only in the DR....


-Lesley D-
 
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Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
There IS one "Profession" in the DR that provides an excellent degree of "Customer Sa

tisfaction!'

(Sorry Robert,but a "straight line" like this doesn't come along everyday!)


The "Girls and Boys" in the sex trade here are always out to make their customers "HAPPY"!They always "give",or "TAKE", that extra inch! ;)

In fact they have an "Oath" that they take very seriously!(OK,Here I GO!)

"The Customer ALWAYS comes :eek: first!" :nervous:
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

AnnaC

Gold
Jan 2, 2002
16,050
418
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Criss Colon said:
The "Girls and Boys" in the sex trade here are always out to make their customers "HAPPY"!They always "give",or "TAKE", that extra inch! ;)

In fact they have an "Oath" that they take very seriously!(OK,Here I GO!)

"The Customer ALWAYS comes :eek: first!" :nervous:
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

You are just toooo funny :laugh:
 

stallion

Mr. Main Event
May 28, 2004
813
0
0
Robert said:
Welcome to the Dominican Republic.
What it lacks in customer service it makes up for in other ways :)

Customer service is a very personal thing here. Basically you will need to know the owner of the business or have a good friend working in the business to get any "1st world" service. The girl/guy making RD$4,000 per month couldn't careless as it makes no difference to his/her life one way or the other.

Don't worry about it, adapt, otherwise you will die way before your time :)

I am not worried. I just wanted to share some laughs with all the members. I have already adapted i have been comming here since I was 19. I have also lived here. You are not the one to decide when I die. Only god knows when I die. I was not showing any concers. I know the culture shock. I just wanrted some laugh that's all.
 

stallion

Mr. Main Event
May 28, 2004
813
0
0
Criss Colon said:
tisfaction!'

(Sorry Robert,but a "straight line" like this doesn't come along everyday!)


The "Girls and Boys" in the sex trade here are always out to make their customers "HAPPY"!They always "give",or "TAKE", that extra inch! ;)

In fact they have an "Oath" that they take very seriously!(OK,Here I GO!)

"The Customer ALWAYS comes :eek: first!" :nervous:
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

You are absulety right. We need people like you on this forum. Some people are way too serious. I just wanted to hear some classic jokes like this one.
I did not want to be welcomed to the DR for the 40th time or get told to adapt. LIke I never knew these things. Some poeple gotta lighten up. They will die misarable. Good one. LOL.
 

Mira

New member
Jan 15, 2005
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You seem tensed...

stallion said:
I am not worried. I just wanted to share some laughs with all the members. I have already adapted i have been comming here since I was 19. I have also lived here. You are not the one to decide when I die. Only god knows when I die. I was not showing any concers. I know the culture shock. I just wanrted some laugh that's all.


Chill out, relax, enjoy the sun and the warmth, the humidity. In times, you'll get your cell phone! For now, enjoy the quietness of not hearing that bell ring. ;)

Don't worry, be happy!
 

stallion

Mr. Main Event
May 28, 2004
813
0
0
Mira said:
Chill out, relax, enjoy the sun and the warmth, the humidity. In times, you'll get your cell phone! For now, enjoy the quietness of not hearing that bell ring. ;)

Don't worry, be happy!

I am relaxed more than ever!. It's just that people are too serious and send out the wrong message. I am getting welcomed to a place that I know very well.
 
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