Is Italian customer service generally bad?

We have stayed in dozens of hotels in Italy, have rented cars several times in Italy, etc. and can say we have never had "bad" customer service.
Perhaps your wife's conversation was a language barrier issue?

We do not use airbnb so can't speak to that other than I have several family members who have had really bad experiences with their hosts in US and in Europe.

Your question about bed sizes was answered here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/italy-bed-sizes

I have not been to Italy for a few years. As to our experience with customer service, it has been no different than other countries; it varies. As to specifics, car rental agencies are no better or worse than here. Hotels have generally been good. I am 6 foot 5 inches as the beds were typically shorter, but okay.

I have experienced poor and good customer service in the USA. There seems to be no rationale reason as to why.

I have had excellent service at the hotels I have stayed at, especially in Venice. One hotel went out of it's way to help my sister-in-law find her lost passport, contacting the police for her and requesting the police deliver her passport to the hotel. I'll be back in Italy for a month starting in late August (third visit) and hotels are the least of my worries.

If a random hotel employee answering the phone cant tell me the exact dimensions of every mattress in the hotel equates to poor customer service, then I think you will be very disappointed with your encounters just about anywhere, let alone in Italy. After many trips, I can't say we have had difficulties with any of the hotels we have stayed in. However all we aant is polite and courteous interactions in an efficient manner and don't expect anything more than is advertised or generally to be expected.

And you mention the almost $300/night cost of your room as though this was some kind of luxury hotel. In Rome? I don't think so.

I am sorry but I don't think any American hotel's front desk could tell you the actually length of one of their beds. That is an odd question. I personally do not think that is basic customer service. But I never worry about a bed. At 6-2 my feet over the end of most beds. As long as the bed is flat and somewhat soft I am good to go. Also, Roberto (great source for Italian information) provided you with some great info (7/14/23) on bed sizes. Go with that information. Probably better than the hotel info.

We have kicked around Italy for many weeks over the past 50 years and always had good customer service. Never a bad experience but a couple that were so so but no worse than the US. I disagree that understanding the concept of good customer service but they may be quicker to blow off someone with an aggressive or demanding attitude. Good customer service is a two way street as is most personal interactions.

If you are constantly encountering bad service maybe some self analysis may be in order.

I think that what people think constitutes “good” service can vary. Service people who ask “how’s your day been so far” or “got any plans for the rest of the day” do not amuse me.
Service is transactional. Client’s job - ask clearly for what is required. Service person’s job is to provide what has been asked for.
That’s it. Easy.

your question made me curious so i added up all the airbnb's i have stayed in since the covid lockdown. including this year the count is over 40. mostly in italy and spain but also malta, france, austria, germany, and the netherlands. i don't recall a single 'bad' experience. the hosts have been consistently genial and i have given and gotten the nicest reviews. i don't stay in hotels or rent cars so i can't comment on those. interactions with and 'customer service' from train personnel to baristas to random strangers on the streets have been nothing but pleasant. in the 5 to 8 weeks of travel each year i remember only 1 incident where a bus driver got mad because i didn't know how to open the luggage access door below the bus. in italy people have gone out of their way to help me; the teenagers in acireale who walked me to a bus stop when i was lost, the staff at the scrovegni chapel who allowed me in even though i had mixed up my entry day, the old man in naples who wrote down the bus i needed to take even though neither one of us spoke each other's language. perhaps i am lucky or perhaps being extra polite, humble, respectful, and having a smile on helps too. on the other hand, my ex, an italian from milan, found the chirpy greetings of store clerks and restaurant employees in the usa 'fake'. my point is that the general characteristic of italian customer service is consistent with italian norms and it's best not to expect what you are used to at home.

Thank you for the responses everyone. So it seems its been a mix of bad luck and maybe unrealistic expectations on our end. In our defense, we are not spoiled tourists - we've been to 7 European countries as well as a bunch of places in US and Canada, and never really had a customer service complaint.

Re the prior thread on Italian bed sizes, Roberta previously wrote that "Length of the king size is the same as above Standard and Extra (190 or 200cm)". Its all about people's preferences. Some people don't mind their feet dangling, other people like myself do unfortunately.

I agree. Probably had the rudest and least friendly shop clerks and waiters of any country I’ve ever visited. Rome and Firenze were particularly bad. We also had a camera stolen from our backpack in Rome. People in Siena were nicer, though. Perhaps it was just a big or popular city thing.

I find that when dealing with people where English is not their first language, it is better to correspond in writing--via email--than try to speak on the phone. This way, they can definitely understand what you are asking because if they don't they can get it translated on the screen.

It could also be that when you called, you spoke to the reception desk and they were busy checking people in and out.

I also agree that the average receptionist at a hotel would probably not know the exact measurements of a bed.

I’ve never had an issue. Yes, bed sizes are different than in the states. I couldn’t tell you the dimensions of my mattress.

Embrace the differences while traveling otherwise you’ll be frequently disappointed.

I really can't imagine calling and asking the length of a bed... can't imagine that would be immediately available by anyone answering the phone including the owner of a hotel or apartment. I would not make a statement that in general they are unaware of good customer service in Italy. I've had a car rental in Salerno where they ran out into the street to help me since there was no parking available, a small hotel in Naples give me a free ride to the train station, numerous emails answered.... there are places everywhere that can have poor customer service. I've traveled in many more European countries than 7 and generally am quite happy. I go with the flow when traveling now and expect differences from what I might've encountered in the USA. The length of the bed and the question asked would have no bearing in my mind on the price of the hotel.... you should expect good customer service regardless of the price.

I wonder if you would have had a better result if you emailed the hotel to ask about that bed length. I wouldn't expect the person who answers the hotel's land line to know the actual length of the beds.

if they said King, more or less, then you are getting maximum width. Previously you said that you sleep with your arm extended, and width is the issue. So you are sorted.

10 cm is 3.94 inches, more or less, so very close. I'm tall (and wide) and don't think that 4 inches would make much difference. Is it a deal breaker for you?

In all the years going to Italy, north, south and in the middle, I've never had what I would call bad service. In fact two of the best, both near Venice, are the staff at the hotel we regularly use in Quarto d'Altino, Borgo Cà dei Sospiri (previously known as Villa Odino, same owners) who were beyond top notch, and the info office and vaporetto ticket sellers under the tent near the top of the stairs at Venezia Santa Lucia train station in Venice.

If I try to remember a bad service, the nearest I think I can get is also in Venice, the watermelon and coconut ice vendor with the little wagon on the Dorsoduro side of the Accademia Bridge. He didn't care, but he was in the sun selling cold-ish drinks to hot tourists.

A general comment.: the American concept of "the customer is always right" is not a universal customer service value, and can be the the place where different expectations start a rapid escalation in tempers.

The standard size for a double size mattress (matrimoniale standard) is 160cm (W) X 190cm (L), however, today I was at a big store (Walmart type) in Tuscany to buy some stuff for my house and I saw a lot of 160cm X 200cm (called matrimoniale extra). I guess the new generations of Italians are getting taller than their boomers parents. I’ve seen also some King size called king standard with dimensions of (W) 180cm x (L) 190cm and also king extra of 180cm (W) X 200cm (L). So basically the king is 20cm (8 in.) wider than the Matrimoniale. Standard or Extra describes the length, with Standard being 190cm (75 in) and Extra being 200 cm (79 in).

What hotels and Airbnb have I don’t know, it probably depends, but I bet in most cases they are the Matrimoniale standard of 160cm X 190cm. It is possible that luxury hotels may have the king sizes, but $300 in Rome nowadays is definitely NOT luxury hotel. I doubt a hotel clerk in Rome would know the exact measurements.

Regarding the level of service, since it is very hard to fire employees in Italy, no matter how nasty they are to customers, they can definitely afford not to take nonsense from customers. So if one wants good service, it is advisable to be extra courteous to the employees and avoid being unreasonably demanding or having an attitude with them, because in the Italians’ mind the customer isn’t always right, and if the customer has an attitude they will tell them off in a minute, and if you talk to their manager, the manager will tell you off too (I can’t even count the fights I’ve had because of sub par service). But if one is an extra nice customer, they will be extra nice to you as well.

I have lived and worked in four vastly different countries, travelled to 31 countries and am going back to Italy soon for my 13th visit there.
Never have I encountered “poor” customer service anywhere in Italy.
I’m not saying it does not exist.
I have learned the language over the years, after starting out on our first trip with only “Grazie” to my name.
I think that goes a long way to ensure good service.
I have seen Italian shopkeepers deliberately give less than good service to overly rude and demanding customers …I won’t tell you which countries they are from.
One shopkeeper gave me an unasked for discount after a pair of extremely rude people left the shop.
I watched them behave badly.
She said she was so happy to meet a polite person after failing to help them.
Europeans tend to be more focused on their task at hand, and don’t always start with pleasantries such as we are used to in N. America, such as How are you, What can we help you with today, etc etc.
I think expecting a busy hotel receptionist to leave her post and find out how long a bed is, is probably not a priority for her in these days of busy travel.
Call a few local hotels and see if you can find out if they would immediately know the dimensions of the beds in their establishments.

Things are different in other countries, isn’t that why we travel?

We have stayed at that hotel. It is really nice and we enjoy staying in that area of Rome. It is a quiet, leafy neighborhood and not touristy. I would recommend the nearby Trattoria Perilli for dinner. You will need a reservation.

To several people who recommended emailing the hotel – that is in fact what we did first and specifically asked for the length, but the response we got just said it was “king”. That is what prompted my wife to then call, and the same people who emailed us was the one answered the phone. And her English was ok, so the language barrier was not the issue.

And I certainly don’t believe that the “customer is always right” and we actually in some ways prefer European style customer service to that of US (its more real for lack of better word), but I still believe this particular situation was a case of a subpar service.

Mary, thanks for sharing. We would love to stay at this hotel! . . . which is maybe why i am so frustrated that we cannot get an answer to our question so we can make a decision. Like i said in my other post, people are different and unfortunately because of the way i sleep (restless side sleeper with arms outstretched and moving from one side to another) I have not been able to get good sleep on shorter beds during our prior stays in Europe.

Is this the only hotel you are using for your Italy trip?
If not I would be interested in how the other hotels answered this question.

I have stayed at this hotel twice. In general I would say that the service is courteous and a bit formal. They are not effusive. I would also mention that in the evening I think they have one staff member for phone and front desk. So if they had clients there while on the phone with you, I could see them being prompt.
As far as I could tell , the bed was the same size I would get in North America, but i am not tall

Yeah I found the twin beds are shorter in Italy.
I was not surprised when the national legacy carrier Allitalia went out of business after the service I experienced and I am low maintenance.
But uh you could get a close number on the size of the bed using your shoe as a measuring stick.

The exact size of the beds is quite a nitpicky question. If you implied it was a deal breaker as to whether you would stay there or not, I can imagine the average Italian rolling their eyes, especially if they pride themselves on getting the bigger stuff right.

bobbo22, the bed in our B&B in Florence is 160 X 200, and the email response we got when we asked was "160X200:)!" We don't have many great choices in Rome unfortunately because we are looking too late and most good places are booked. We emailed three other places in Rome and one has 190 cm and two have 200cm, so we have other options but Villa San Pio was our favourite and we were hoping to stay there.

We have been to Italy about five times, the most recent being May. We have traveled the entire country and stayed in a variety of hotels and agriturismos. We have never had bad customer service in this country. In fact, just the opposite has existed. Everyone from hoteliers, car rental staff, restaurants, has been nothing but polite, warm, friendly, etc. etc. etc. I know this question has been answered by others but I just could not let this go. Italy has my heart and for the reason the people who have made our trips so wonerful.

My wife just had a bad experience trying to ask a basic question from a hotel

I don't regard asking bed length as a basic question. Anyway, you're talking about a difference of 4 inches, 6'3" to 6'7". Are either of you exceptionally tall?

We also haven't had the best experiences with an Airbnb host and a car rental agency.

TBH, I'm seeing a trend here. It may be a matter of expectations. Since you asked, it is not consistent with our experiences in Italy, other European countries, the US, South America and Africa. We've had great experiences. I think one reason for our success is that we travel close to the ground, eschewing more luxurious accommodations thereby tempering our expectations.

I suggest you read "Innocents Abroad" before your next trip. You may find Mark Twain's observations of American tourists edifying.

Some tourists may get a bad vibe in shops if they ignore the Italian custom of greeting or acknowledging the shopkeeper/employee upon entering, as well as when leaving. No more than a simple buon giorno will do, but without it, it's the tourist that will be considered a bit rude..

DougMac, thank you for your patronizing suggestion, but I've read Innocents Abroad, alongside pretty much every other Marc Twain book who was my childhood favorite author. Like I've indicated on my other post, my wife and I may not have had the time and means to travel as much as many people on the forum, but we are still pretty decently travelled. And we are finding the experience with some Italian customer service to be an outlier compared to our other experiences. Now not sure whether this is bad luck or whatever, but it is what it is and doesn't call for personal remarks.

In our experience (a dozen visits to Italy, about 400 night in total), no. Service is generally good, and yes, on rare occasions, service can be a bit sub-par. I do stress “rare occasions”.

After all the comments you probably have surmised that customer service at hotels and restaurants is generally goo and people are very courteous (if you also are) and do everything possible to help.

If you are asking about customer service from rental companies, telephone companies, utility companies, or government agencies (particularly the tax agencies), especially when you call their customer service number, then I would rather deal with American customer service.

However, you are not going to open contracts with utilities, telephone companies, so at most you may have to deal with the occasional not so great customer service from rental,car companies if you have car trouble or need to switch vehicles. That is not going to be a smooth experience like in the US, so hopefully it won’t happen.

After all the comments you probably have surmised that customer service at hotels and restaurants is generally good and people are very courteous (if you also are) and do everything possible to help.

Bingo. My wife and I have traveled in Europe since we were in high school together in 1966. We've had many wonderful experiences and met so many friendly and helpful people. We've stayed in many non-touristy small towns and even found French villagers warm and welcoming. There's been the normal problems, but it is to be expected. We've always worked out glitches. We find a cheerful greeting that is appropriate for the country really helps.

I'm reminded of the old story about a couple approaching a man in a cafe in a small town. After finding out he was a long time resident, they remarked: "We're new to the area and are thinking about moving here. How are the townsfolk? Are they friendly and nice?" The gentleman replied: "Before I answer, tell me a little about the people where you live now."

The couple stated they were terrible, rude and unfriendly. The gentleman replied: "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm afraid you'll find the folks here just the same. I suggest that you continue to look for a better place for you."

A few days later, another couple approached the same man as he at his breakfast at the cafe. They asked the same question and he responded like he did before. They answered: "We got transferred here due to a big promotion. It breaks our heart to leave our beloved community. We had many dear friends who were so kind and helpful." The man replied: "I congratulate you on your promotion. I'm sorry you'll be leaving dear friends, but I'm sure you'll find people here just as friendly and helpful. Welcome to the community!"

Let's not generalize. You clearly had an unpleasant experience with one lady, who probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I am Italian but I come off as foreigner when I am with my Scottish husband. I have had unpleasant experiences like these at different airports, when the staff was rude, and it happened both in Italy and Germany. But that was one off, and I can't say all German people were rude. So don't worry about it. I would suggest sending an email and asking for the measurements there.

Have a lovely time in beautiful Rome.