CombatCritic's TravelValue™: September 2023

CombatCritic™ ... World traveler - 42 countries and counting; Military Leader - Four combat operations; Amateur chef; Published author and producer - over 4 million visitors on seven platforms! Yelp "Black" Elite '14/'15/ '16/ '17/ '18/ '19 / '20/ '21/ '22 / '23 / '24; TripAdvisor ¨Local Guide¨, Zomato "VERIFIED CONNOISSEUR"; Booking.com "GENIUS"; and Foursquare "INSIDER". On the Front Lines in the Battle Against Mediocrity - Follow Me To TravelValue™ ... That's A Freakin' Order!

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Olhão (Faro), Portugal: Playa - Mediocre Service, Overpriced Food , and Small Portions Left Me Unimpressed ... FOOAH!

Playa (Mexican)

Avenida 5 de Outubro

Marina Ria Center

8700-408 Olhão Portugal

+351 289 705 254

eqrplaya.pt/en

Prices: €€€€

MENUS BELOW

A new Mexican restaurant in Olhão, the second in town (Hola Torito being the other), I was excited to give it a try ... HOOAH!

The macho-man server who greeted us, rather, who made me feel rather unwelcome, failed to impress and that was, unfortunately, a sign of things to come.

Spicy Playa Margarita €22

The server mentioned earlier, who turned out to be our waiter, was equally as unimpressive in this role, unfriendly and obviously very impressed with himself. He seemed more eager to chat with his buddies than pay attention to us, so there you have it.

Guacamole €6.90

Carnitas Quesadilla €9.90

Shrimp Quesadilla €10.50

The Spicy Playa Margarita - pitcher €22 - tasted very little like a margarita and had minimal alcohol, but the 'spicy' designation was spot-on. The four of us shared an order of Totopos with 2 Salsas (Chips and Salsa - €3.90) and a Guacamole (€6.90). The chips were homemade and pretty good, the salsas tasty, and the guac not bad, although €4 for a few chips, a little salsa, and no refills was not a great value.

Beef Tacos €9.90

We decided to order several dishes to share, a Carnitas Quesadilla (€9.90), a Roast Beef Burrito (€12.90), and Roasted Beef Tacos (€9.90) and that is exactly what we got. There were no side dishes, no rice and beans, no nothing, just a quesadilla, a burrito, and two tacos. There weren't even side dishes on the menu ... FOOAH!

Beef Burrito €12.90

The scenery, on the other hand, was spectacular with views of the Ria Formosa, sailboats, and the barrier islands from the outdoor terrace.

Don't expect endless chips and salsa and ample food on the plate. like we are used to in the USA, so one entree is hardly enough to satiate. The food was decent, but for the quoted prices - €5 a pop for a taco for example - Playa is not a great TravelValue and the service was unimpressive. I do not see us returning here any time soon because Hola Torito is a much better value and their food is better and more plentiful, besides, I can make better Mexican food at home for far less.

CombatCritic Gives Playa 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

Friday, September 1, 2023

Everybody Loves Amazon, Right? WRONG! How I Got The Runaround

Amazon

410 Terry Ave N

Seattle, WA 98109

amazon.com

Phone number: (206) 266-1000

Like many Americans, I have spent a lot of money on Amazon, probably more than most. Amazon Customer Service has never been easy to contact, having to search their website for well hidden 'Contact Us' links, using their chatbot with little success, and endless chats with inadequately paid representatives in India.

The final straw was when Amazon threatened me, for no apparent reason, after returning a vacuum to Amazon Spain (Amazon.es). I decided to write them a letter, sending it to their posted 'Resolution' email address:

Amazon Corporate Headquarters
410 Terry Ave N, Seattle 98109, WA, USA

Dear Amazon,

You have massive problems with your Spanish operation (Amazon.es)!

I have spent a huge amount of money on Amazon,com, Amazon.es, Amazon.de, and Amazon.it over the years, but I have recently had nothing but problems with late or undelivered orders, poor customer service (straight out lies and empty promises), and, now, threats.

This is about the most recent issue, the return of a Tineco vacuum cleaner

I contacted Amazon.es a while back because the vacuum continuously got clogged in the bend between the head and tube. They could not solve the problem, so they told me to return it for a refund, which I did on 08/04/2023.

I had to contact customer service numerous times because I was not informed when the return was received, then having attempted to find out the status of the refund. I was lied to several times in chats, having been told that the refund would be processed (I requested a gift card) in 24-48 hours, even escalating it to supervisors, but the refund never arrived as promised. I was always assured that 'this won't happen again' by their agents about the refund and every other issue I have had with Amazon.es, which there have been many, but the problems persist, over and over again. The refund was finally received on 08/26/2023 ON MY CREDIT CARD, NOT THE GIFT CARD THAT I REQUESTED SEVERAL TIMES (go back and review the chats).

Then, I received this email on Wednesday:

Sus devoluciones de Amazon.es (Your Amazon.co.uk returns)

ofm@amazon.es <ofm@amazon.es>

Wed, Aug 30, 7:11 PM

Hello:

We inform you that we have processed your recent return of Tineco A11 Hero Cordless Broom Vacuum Cleaner, 450W 22KPa Digital Motor, 2 Rechargeable Batteries 50 Minutes, Wireless, Cyclonic Vacuum Cleaner, without Bo of your order 408-2977921-1153158 .
The product has been returned in a condition that does not meet our return policy. On this occasion, we have processed a refund for the order. However, if your returns continue to violate our policies, we may not issue you further refunds or fees may apply for the status of the return.

To review our return policy, go to Our Return Policy:
www.amazon.es/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201819200

We will notify you if a similar case occurs again.

account specialist
Amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.es
resolution@amazon.com

Besides being threatened for no apparent reason, I was not even informed about what the issue was, so I sent this message, also yesterday:

combatcritic
Wed, Aug 30, 9:06 PM
to ofm@amazon.es

I would like to know what the problem was with the return!

Don't threaten me, we returned all of the pieces and nothing was broken when I shipped it. The vacuum simply did not work properly.

If you would explain what the supposed problem is, it might make more sense.

I'm getting very tired of Amazon Spain's incompetence and the poor customer service we receive. I spend far too much money on Amazon to be treated with disrespect and insults.

Having heard nothing back, I chatted with an agent:

:
Shivam has joined and you can start chatting in just a minute.

Sivam | Customer Service

Hello and welcome to Amazon.es, I will be glad to assist you. How may I assist you today?
S
8:24 PM

I received an email from Amazon about this return, telling me that it was returned in a condition that does not meet our return policy.... We inform you that we have processed your recent return of Tineco A11 Hero Cordless Broom Vacuum Cleaner, 450W 22KPa Digital Motor, 2 Rechargeable Batteries 50 Minutes, Wireless, Cyclonic Vacuum Cleaner. The product has been returned in a condition that does not meet our return policy. On this occasion, we have processed a refund for the order. However, if your returns continue to violate our policies, we may not issue you further refunds or fees may apply for the status of the return. To review our return policy, go to Our Return Policy: www.amazon.es/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201819200 We will notify you if a similar case occurs again.

I would like to know what the problem was with the return! Please don't threaten me, we returned all of the pieces and nothing was broken when I shipped it. The vacuum simply did not work properly. If you would explain what the supposed problem is, it might make more sense. I'm getting very tired of Amazon Spain's incompetence and the poor customer service we receive. I spend far too much money on Amazon to be treated with disrespect and insults.

8:25 PM

Sivam | Customer Service

Okay I do understand your concern here, Please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience encountered in this situation. I will do everything necessary and possible to help you immediately..

Please allow me some couple of moments while I check the details for you. Please do not close the chat

Thank you for staying connected, I really appreciate your patience.
S
8:30 PM

Okay

8:30 PM Sivam | Customer Service

To help you with this we have a special team with right set of tools So I have shared your concern with the relevant department,

A member of our relevant department will be happy to help you with this, however they don't currently offer support via chat.

So you will receive the response via email within 24-48 working hours, I request you to be a patient for this:)

'24-48' hours means that it might happen in a week or not at all. Then, I received this email in response to my concerns the following day:

ofm@amazon.es
1:15 PM (Aug 31 2023)

Hello:

Thank you for the information you have provided us. We contact you to better understand your account activity.
Your comments and suggestions help us improve and offer a better service to our customers.

If you have any other order or account related concerns, please contact our customer service via the link below:
www.amazon.es/contacto

account specialist
Amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.es

Still no explanation!

Finally, that same evening, I received this email:

buyer-returns@amazon.es
10:48 PM (Aug 30 2023)

Hello:

Thank you for helping us better understand your account activity. We have carefully reviewed your account, all related accounts, and your order history to ensure that all decisions regarding your account are made in accordance with our policies.

If you have no further feedback on your shopping experience, we can close this conversation and you can continue shopping as usual on Amazon.co.uk.

This decision is final. We may not respond to any further messages related to this matter.

account specialist
Amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.es

What decision is final? They won't respond to my messages? They will not answer my questions? What the heck is going on with these people? Why can't they explain what the POLICY VIOLATION was, because I reviewed their policy and there was nothing that could possibly relate to my return!

Was it an issue caused by the carrier they made me use for the return? I returned the product exactly as I was told to, all pieces of the crappy vacuum in the box when I shipped it, so what was the problem? I am being threatened that if I do it again, whatever 'it' is, I will have to pay fees? This is completely absurd and Mr. Bezos should know about the problems with incompetence and unprofessional conduct in your Spanish operation.

We now live in Portugal, but I never had an issue when we lived in the USA, having spent tens of thousands of dollars on Amazon.com and can only recall one order that I had to return, and I always received orders on-time, but I have wasted countless hours chatting with Amazon.es about defective products, refunds, and items that either never arrive or arrive late.

I want to know what the issue was and why I, a loyal and faithful customer for many years, am being disrespected and threatened by these incompetent and unprofessional Amazon employees!

I respectfully await your prompt and complete response.

Thank you in advance.

CombatCritic

This was the response to my resolution@amazon.com email:

I did as they suggested in this response, but there were no 'yellow buttons' anywhere, so I contacted Amazon.com Customer Service through a chat to get the alleged email address and spent almost an hour getting the runaround with seven (7) different agents (more on that later).

I wanted to contact Amazon Headquarters in Seattle because Amazon Spain obviously does not take customer complaints or questions seriously and I have had so many problems with them, wasting valuable time chatting with agents who lie through their teeth and having to drive to Celeritas, their delivery service, to return products.

I do not enjoy spending endless hours resolving problems caused by Amazon Spain and their total disregard for customers and the difficulty getting anything resolved has been an absolute nightmare. Which brings me to me next point.

Regarding the chat runaround I referred to earlier, I found out the hard way what Amazon chat agents do to avoid negative reviews/ratings, they suddenly have 'technical problems', leave the chat, and turn you over to another agent if they sense you are not a happy camper. I spent nearly an hour, being transferred to six different agents on the evening in question,, including a supervisor, just trying to to get an email address where I could send my complaint. When all was said and done after all of that time and so many different agents, having been told several times I would get that email address right away, I was given Amazon's mailing address in Seattle, something I could have found in 30 seconds in a web search. The largest company in the world and internet shopping platform tells me to complain via snail mail.

Their agents also placate customers in their chats, telling us 'we are sorry for your experience', 'I will fix this right away', 'this will not happen again', 'you will receive your refund in 24-48 hours', and so on and so on. The majority of the time, these are lies! They are not sorry, they do not fix it right away, it does happen again, and the refunds arrive much later than promised, along with threats for undefined problems.

All I want is an answer to my question, what was the problem with the return that led them to threaten a loyal and valuable customer?

I believe I am also owed an apology for the rude and threatening way I was treated. A company this big, that supposedly prides itself on customer service, should ensure that customers are treated with dignity and respect no matter where they happen to live.

Europe, in general, and Portugal and Spain, in particular do not have a clue what customer service is and Amazon HQ should ensure that their customers receive the same quality and respectful service no matter where we reside.

The sad fact is that companies this big do not care about isolated customers who are dissatisfied because the are making hundreds of billions of dollars every year on the rest of the people who put up with their incompetence and lies.

Now, I am forced to waste more time filing a complaint with the State of Washington Office of the Attorney General as well as the U.S. Attorney General rather than simply sending an email to an Amazon employee that might possibly care about a customers negative experiences. Thanks Jeff Bezos, enjoy your $160,000,000,000!

Sincerely,

CombatCritic

CombatCritic Gives Amazon.es, Amazon, And Jeff Bezos 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My 'WALL OF SHAME' ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Pages - CombatCritic's "TravelValue"

Follow Me To TravelValue!

Faro, Portugal; Great Expectations, Oustanding View, But A Disappointing Breakfast Buffet

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Olhão (Faro), Portugal: Playa - Mediocre Service, Overpriced Food , and Small Portions Left Me Unimpressed ... FOOAH!

Friday, September 1, 2023

Everybody Loves Amazon, Right? WRONG! How I Got The Runaround

This was the response to my resolution@amazon.com email:

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