hello,i live in England.
what is going on in italy? i purchased a used LAIKA MOTORHOME manufactured in 2000, Laika still manufacture a motorhome similar to the one i have and import them into the UK. 4 months ago i started making enquirys to purchase a replacement roof vent, one of the uk importers refused to offer any help because i did not purchase the motorhome from them, i searched the web for the LAIKA internet page in Italy and emailed them 15 times but no reply, i found a motorhome dealer in uk, who clamied to be the No1 for obtaining parts for Laika motorhomes, after 11 weeks i had an email from this company informing me that my replacemet vent had arrived but it was missing a part, i have sent them several emails and spoken them on the phone and they say the problem is the company in Italy, i am a member of a motorhoming club in UK and have spoken to other Lakia owners who are having a similar bad experience, i would like an Italian journalist to take up this story and embarass the companys management.im sure all those young Italians unemployed would like to see some ones ass kicked for their plight.this would make a great tv news story and might get the italian bussines comunity motivated.
PHIL MUSKETT, PORTSMOUTH UK

This is Paolo and I moderate this forum.. I am Italian and you know what I think of you Englishman ? I think that you are absolutely right !
I live in the US now and I see how bad is customer follow up in Italy. Sometimes in order to write articles for this website I email and I ask companies permission to use one of their image, it would be free advertsing for them. Well, very seldom I get an answer. Nobody in Italy seems to care about customer satisfation, I send an email and I start waiting. I cross my finger, wait a couple of days start 2 or 3 vodoo ritual, send another email and still no answer. Italian organization that are supposed to help International Italian business are even worse: Italtrade had a form where people can submit proposal for collaboration .. the form on their wabsite has been non working for at least 2 years.... Only thing that seems so far to be working is the Italian Embassy in Washington where they even seem to be answering the emails. Probaby, like me, they have been too long in the US and they forgot how to do business Italian style...
Well all around I love Italy but you touched a real problem.
Paolo

This is Paolo and I moderate this forum.. I am Italian and you know what I think of you Englishman ? I think that you are absolutely right !
I live in the US now and I see how bad is customer follow up in Italy. Sometimes in order to write articles for this website I email and I ask companies permission to use one of their image, it would be free advertsing for them. Well, very seldom I get an answer. Nobody in Italy seems to care about customer satisfation, I send an email and I start waiting. I cross my finger, wait a couple of days start 2 or 3 vodoo ritual, send another email and still no answer. Italian organization that are supposed to help International Italian business are even worse: Italtrade had a form where people can submit proposal for collaboration .. the form on their wabsite has been non working for at least 2 years.... Only thing that seems so far to be working is the Italian Embassy in Washington where they even seem to be answering the emails. Probaby, like me, they have been too long in the US and they forgot how to do business Italian style...
Well all around I love Italy but you touched a real problem.
Paolo

Paolo

This is a very real problem in Italy. I am half Italian and before I went to work for myself I used to work for a multinational who sent me to Italy to sort out the Customer Services department of one of the company's divisions based in central Italy. What I found was a highly political organisation with very little interest in making a difference. This division was subsequently sold and today, it survives because it is being propped up by the State (or should I say taxpayers).

Most organisations in Italy are old fashioned where gerontocracy rules and where power has become synonymous with politics. I don't know what the answer is, although this makes for an interesting discussion.

Oh this is one of my pet peeves about living in Italy vs the US. The Italians need to learn a lot about customer service!

I have many stories to tell about this, but in the end it is just frustrating. The merchants don't seem to realize that good CS will make the customer COME BACK AGAIN. Unfortunately the Italians are so used to bad service, that they return anyway. I hate to compare Italy to the US, because it seems chauvinistic, but in some cases it is warranted. In the US there's the saying that "the customer is always right", which means if you treat your clients well, the will be happy an come back to buy more - this is unknown here.

Here (in Italy) when you buy something, and for some reason it is not to your liking, or even defective, you CANNOT get your money back - EVER. You have to be very, very careful when you purchase something, because of this. In the US, it's very common to return something to the store and get your money back (if it hasn't been used.)

jim