hola Hombrelobo: I know, starbucks has its (big) problems, too. Love the idea of asking for a price list, I will remember this for next time! (cool blog, btw- have subscribed)

hi Wayne: to paraphrase Terry, America has its problems, etc., but is really world-class in customer service. The only place that compares (in my experience) is the service in Asia- now that is *incredible*!

Times like this I wish I could give them a 101 on customer satisfaction and their profits. But then again, they have been doing this a lot longer then American’s, so maybe they know something we don’t. Just think of Venice the original tourist destination – they have been doing this for over 400 years

All the shops are obliged to have a detailed price list.

But yes, that is not the point.

And just to play devil’s advocate …. how much did you pay for the coffee ? In Spain it’s normal to charge only 1 euro or 1.25 ….

Was the coffee plus the electricity still cheaper than the 4 euros Starbucks mocha coffee ?

You’re right, of course. There are so many places here (in fact it’s hard to think of an exception) that really, deeply, don’t get it. They don’t understand the most basic things – like that if they take an item back and give you a no-questions-asked cash refund, that you will shop there even more, perhaps much much more. That if they give you a fraction of a cent in electricity, you’ll come back repeatedly and spend 1.5 euros on a coffee or 2 euros on a coke. That if they let you sit around reading their new books and magazines that you’ll go there preferentially, and also buy books and magazines. Etc.

There are many things I don’t like about the US, but they really do understand customer service in a way that’s so much more “advanced” (if that’s the right word for it) than almost anywhere else. I still know where I’d prefer to live though

We live in hope. E.g., I do think the next Google will come from Barcelona

Terry