I visited Gin and Teutonic yesterday and was surprised to hear, that Germany is now classed as 'The Service Desert' while Switzerland is 'Service Heaven'.

When I say I was surprised, I mean I was very surprised.
Perhaps I can't waggle with my hips so well or perhaps my voice doesn't sound quite as sexy as Rachel Welch on the phone but then, I'm a man. My experience with Customer Service, however is quite the opposite.

Just last week I discovered that the seal on the fridge door was broken and the fridge froze up even when set to 'Low'.
When the frozen milk began to get on my nerves, I took a look at the identification plate inside the fridge, wrote down the model name and serial number and entered them into the Customer-Service-Request-Form on the web site of the well known international refrigerator manufacturer with the information that the fridge door wasn't sealing properly.

That was Sunday. On Tuesday morning I received a phone call.
A very unfriendly female voice inquired about the oven that wasn't working - she informed me that there is no such model as the one I had noted - the EZ13 refers to the power consumption (the power consumption is noted on the id-plate at 125W). The serial number is non-existent and would I please now read the information directly from the id-plate to her.
I said that the oven was still a fridge and that I would be glad to read the information to her, but she would have to phone back in the evening - I was at work.
"Oh," she said "you work!"
I informed her that, like herself, I had to work for a living.
She would phone me tomorrow at 10:00 - I shall please be at the fridge to read the id-plate to her!

I suggested she give me a mail address, I would photograph the id-plate and send the photograph to her - I didn't want to take the day off just so that I could read her the numbers I'd already given her anyway ...
I started to feel very annoyed when she tried to inform me that it would be easier, if I just read the information to her. But I bit my tongue and insisted she give me a mail address.

I photographed the id-plate, which still contained the exact same information I had imparted, and sent the image to the refrigerator manufacturer via mail.
The very next day the same unfriendly voice informed me that she had found a seal for the EZ13 door and the technician would arrive 'some time next week' to fit it.
"No problem," I said "just have him phone me when he is there - it doesn't take me longer than 40 minutes to drive home ...
... or perhaps it would be more practical to inform me beforehand when he might arrive?"
"He might be able to make it on Wednesday."

After some haggling we were actually able to arrange a time between 08:00 and 10:00.
Not once did she apologise for virtually calling me an idiot the day before, or mention the fact that there had been a mistake in identifying my fridge and if I had let her, she'd have had me take the week off work to wait for a techi who may or may not arrive!

And that is 'Customer-Service-Heaven'?!
I prefer German customer service myself.