The Eternal Buck
No one likes to take the blame for anything, especially in Spain. That is because when something big goes entirely wrong, the people in charge always step away, clean as the driven snow. The one that ends up paying is the small fry with no one to speak up for them, generally the lowest worker on the chain, to whom the buck is passed. Which is why, when calling a government office, you better pray the person in charge of what you're calling about is there. Otherwise, you are probably better off making a couple of physical visits to that office.
There is a campaign in our township to have every dog equipped with a microchip. Residents had from the middle of last week to tomorrow, Friday, to sign up for a visit from a vet sent by the town hall. The vet is supposed to make the rounds of those that signed up, and insert a microchip in each dog, which costs thirty euros. After the vets go around, the local police will start making the rounds, and check every dog they see for a chip. If the dog has none, the owner gets a fine, ranging from €501 to €5,000. Not nice.
So, on Tuesday, I called the number on the information sheet hung up around the township. No answer. I called various times with the same result. Finally, someone answered. Oh, but it's not this number. He gave me two other numbers, one a land line, and the other a cell number. The land line rings, ignored, until my phone says, enough. I try the cell number. The first time, they hang up on me without answering. Okay. The second time, they answer, and it turns out I called a department that has nothing to do with microchips, dogs, or anything in the vicinity. They tell me the person who should take the information is away and give me another number, which turns out to be the local police.
It's a good thing I have a phone contract that grants me the first hundred minutes of the month for free, and that I've never used them up. Yet. I call the last number given me, and I explain how I've been bumped around, all because the person in charge of taking down information is supposedly not in his office. The police officer is also a bit frustrated at having ended up the recipient of the call, and takes the phone, a cell, to another office. There, finally, someone takes down my information and tells me the vet will call me to schedule a visit after the eighth of October.
If this is a campaign that should reach the entire township, why is there only one person to take the information? If, instead of calling, I had gone into town, would I have been told to wait or to come back tomorrow? This is one of the frustrating side-effects of not wanting to take responsibility for something not in one's job desription. Someone else could just as easily have taken down my information, and passed it on to the person responsible. It's not just on a local level. Whenever you have to touch bureaucracy, you should arm yourself with patience and plenty of free time. Calls generally won't do it. Interacting on a web page doesn't always do it, either. Web pages are sometimes so obfuscating, that, to find the link you need, you need a degree in computer engineering. That leaves you with the option of going to the office in charge. Once there, you will probably discover you have to return with more paperwork, or on another day because the person in charge is out.
The Buck lives.
There is a campaign in our township to have every dog equipped with a microchip. Residents had from the middle of last week to tomorrow, Friday, to sign up for a visit from a vet sent by the town hall. The vet is supposed to make the rounds of those that signed up, and insert a microchip in each dog, which costs thirty euros. After the vets go around, the local police will start making the rounds, and check every dog they see for a chip. If the dog has none, the owner gets a fine, ranging from €501 to €5,000. Not nice.
So, on Tuesday, I called the number on the information sheet hung up around the township. No answer. I called various times with the same result. Finally, someone answered. Oh, but it's not this number. He gave me two other numbers, one a land line, and the other a cell number. The land line rings, ignored, until my phone says, enough. I try the cell number. The first time, they hang up on me without answering. Okay. The second time, they answer, and it turns out I called a department that has nothing to do with microchips, dogs, or anything in the vicinity. They tell me the person who should take the information is away and give me another number, which turns out to be the local police.
It's a good thing I have a phone contract that grants me the first hundred minutes of the month for free, and that I've never used them up. Yet. I call the last number given me, and I explain how I've been bumped around, all because the person in charge of taking down information is supposedly not in his office. The police officer is also a bit frustrated at having ended up the recipient of the call, and takes the phone, a cell, to another office. There, finally, someone takes down my information and tells me the vet will call me to schedule a visit after the eighth of October.
If this is a campaign that should reach the entire township, why is there only one person to take the information? If, instead of calling, I had gone into town, would I have been told to wait or to come back tomorrow? This is one of the frustrating side-effects of not wanting to take responsibility for something not in one's job desription. Someone else could just as easily have taken down my information, and passed it on to the person responsible. It's not just on a local level. Whenever you have to touch bureaucracy, you should arm yourself with patience and plenty of free time. Calls generally won't do it. Interacting on a web page doesn't always do it, either. Web pages are sometimes so obfuscating, that, to find the link you need, you need a degree in computer engineering. That leaves you with the option of going to the office in charge. Once there, you will probably discover you have to return with more paperwork, or on another day because the person in charge is out.
The Buck lives.
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