Customer Service in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a great vacation destination with kids. We went for two weeks in 2006 and relaxed on its warm, beautiful beaches; explored the flora and fauna of the cloud forest at Monteverde and the area near the Arenal volcano: and enjoyed thrilling adventures such as zip lining through the jungle canopy.  

Hotel California in Quepos, Costa Rica

With many businesses accepting payment in American dollars and many people in the tourist industry speaking flawless English, the country was quite welcoming to Westerners. This made it harder, however, to reconcile the fact that Costa Rica has a very different idea of customer service than the “customer is always right” philosophy that we take for granted in the U.S.  
 

    

Monkey and Baby in Manuel Antonio National Park

On Christmas Eve, we headed to a hacienda in the Guanacaste region. Rather than stop at the nearest town to get a bite to eat, we decided to head directly to our hotel. Big mistake. The poor condition of their dirt road meant a mere five miles took an hour to drive and we were starving once we arrived. Our only options were to wait until 8 pm for their special holiday dinner or enjoy greasy hamburgers and fries from their meager café.

 

Preparing to Ride Horses in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Christmas Day, we took a half-day horseback riding trip to visit Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja, nicknamed “Little Yellowstone” for its geysers and geothermal activity.  I enjoyed the chance to practice my Spanish with our guide (who spoke no English). After riding for a few hours, we stopped for lunch and waited for him to produce a delicious picnic of local cuisine. Instead, we watched him grab one sole sandwich from his saddlebag. “No tienes comida? Ay, problema!” he said. “Big problem.” I replied.” We must return to the ranch immediately.”

Parque Nacional Rincon De La Vieja aka "Little Yellowstone"

Before yet another meal of hamburger and fries, I complained to the hotel manager. He pointed out that nowhere in the trip description did it say lunch was included. I countered that the pictures in the brochure showed people enjoying lunch. “Yes, lunch that they brought for themselves!” he replied. “But there was no place to buy food!” I whined, but received neither apology nor sympathy.

Walking in the Monteverde Cloud Forest

Our next hotel was a resort near Playa Tamarindo. Not wanting to be stuck without food again, we asked for a room with a refrigerator and I went to a nearby store to stock up on yogurts, ham, cheese, and beverages. When I opened the refrigerator, it wasn’t cold at all. The front desk clerk assured me they would send someone to fix it. When I returned from the beach and found the appliance no colder than when I had left, I was angry.

“You didn’t pay for a refrigerator for your room,” I was told. “We most certainly did,” I replied, calmly showing him my receipt.  “Well, it doesn’t have a motor, but if you put hot things in there, they stay hot and, if you put cold things in there, they stay cold,” he said haughtily. I then demanded to see the manager and requested they deduct the price of our spoiled food off our hotel bill. Again, my complaints fell on deaf ears.

Canyoning with Pure Trek Costa Rica Near Arenal Volcano

Our return flight home was scheduled for early New Year’s Eve. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, but were shocked when two passengers in front of us were told the plane was already too heavy so everyone else would have to wait until the next day to fly! The reason given for the delay was that airport regulations wouldn’t let them fly above a certain weight in windy conditions. We pleaded to get on the flight, even offering to leave our luggage, but they refused, now attributing the delay to a snowstorm in Denver.

Zip Lining with Sky Trek Canopy Tours

We were put up at a hotel near the airport with other stranded travelers who shared their own accounts of the “why we were stuck” story. To make the most of our last day in Costa Rica, we asked the hotel concierge whether there were any local movie theaters showing kids movies in English. “Yes, every other showing is in English,” she replied. Of course, after taking a taxi to the mall, we found out that all the movies were in Spanish. 

Despite a few inconveniences, we all had an amazing time in Costa Rica. I realized, however, I was pining for the impossible:  a vacation exotic enough that I could truly feel I went “away,” but with Western comforts and service standards.