hi everybody!!!
sorry MM... you've really missed the boat on this one!! big time!!
First of all, let me tell you that i am american, born and raised, my father and grandparents are spaniards (mom is cuban) and my husband is a madrileno. i have many relatives still there and have spent nearly every summer of my existence in spain. also, my first language was spanish as that's what we speak at home, so i am completely fluent in both spanish and english. so, as you can see, i truly know spain and the spaniards VERY well, not just as a tourist. by the way, i've had my husband read this thread and he is in complete agreement with what i'm about to say.
there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for rudeness,ever, be it in spain, usa or china. what DanielleD experienced at Hostal Playa was inexcusable, boorish behavior, it doesn't matter what time she arrived or what language she spoke!! not to mention poor business practice, for God's sake!!
however, you keep talking about the " pampered american psyche" and how "spain is different" as if it were okay to expect less than civil behavior AND put up with it!! Absolutely not!!! i would much rather have a "sappy, smiling, sweet" clerk instead of a mean, grumpy one. let me give you an example of an incident that happened to me at a madrid hotel. on September 11, 2001, my 3 yo. daughter and i had the misfortune to be on an Iberia flight bound for
chicago from madrid. 5 hours into the flight, we were informed of 3 terrorist attacks in NYC and Wash.D.C. (thankfully, we were spared the scary specifics) and were returned to madrid. at Barajas, we were met by a representative of the US embassy who gave us all the horrific details and arranged for bus and hotel accomodations. upon arrival at the hotel, i asked the porter to please help me with my 2 suitcases, so i could carry my sleeping baby in one arm and try to put her in the stroller as well. he didn't seem too happy, but when he saw how heavy my bags were, he went ballistic,(must have been all that manchego cheese!) yelling and cursing and than he simply walked away and left me there trying to drag the bags,baby, etc.!! thank god for the 4 young college boys from texas who came to my rescue without me having to ask.
now, was i supposed to simply accept his behavior because Spain is different, or because i don't have an open mind or because i have a pampered american psyche??? NO, it was his job!!! i immediateley complained to the front desk and they apologized profusely, but the best part was the next day when the porter himself apologized for his behavior. he had obviously been reprimanded and i got to watch him grovel.
you know, my husband's family loves to visit us in chicago and they shop till they drop. they LOVE the attention they receive from the sales clerks and the fact that they don't have to worry about dirty looks and sullen stares if they decide not to buy something after trying on 10 items, and they love not waiting at the register while the clerks are chatting. they are the first ones to say that cusomer service in Spain is virtually non-existent, so does that mean that they have pampered spanish psyches, that they don't have open minds??
one more thing, POLITE spanish society would NEVER shout across a room to get the waiter's attention. My husband was mortified when he read that!!! Save the shouting for the bars, mesones, tascas, etc. NEVER do so in a proper restaurant bacause you will definitely be identified as "un guiri".
Yes, Spain is different from our culture and that's part of her "encanto" and why we love her dearly, however we must not be blinded by our passion and justify or accept unacceptable behavior.
i think i'll end it here. MM, you've done a great job with this site, keep up the good work!!