El Corte Inglés Marbella — Local services in Marbella

Corte Ingles is not customer oriented…. My Spanish partner has bought at Corte Inglés Marbella on August 11th 2023 a MacBook Air with 15 inches, 2 M chip and 512 GB hard drive for €1829 for me. I am German.

When my partner asked in the Corte Inglés whether his German partner could use the laptop, the seller said it would not be a problem. It is just a configuration of the language. I got back to Marbella on Sunday 4th September and the following day on Monday I connected the laptop and tried to adapt it to my needs. It was so difficult that I gave it up.

I then drove to the Apple Store Marbella, I could bring the laptop back within 30 days and they would order a new one with a German keyboard. We then saw that my partner bought the MacBook Air in the Corte Inglés. The Apple Store could not therefore make the exchange, I should contact Corte Inglés directly.

When I was personally with the device in the Corte Inglés on the same day, Monday, I was told that it would have been possible to order a MacBook Air with a German keyboard, but the seller don’t told that!

Since the device had been at the house for 3 weeks, it could not be exchanged. Goods can only be returned within 15 days if the box has not been opened.

What amazes me is that an exchange within four weeks shouldn’t be a problem and also because it’s the wrong product. In the Apple Shop and also in a lot of companies is not a problem to make a exchance within 30 days.

The seller gave my partner wrong advice. I have a MacBook Air with a Spanish keyboard although I want a MacBook Air with a German keyboard.

I then submitted a written complaint by mail. Nobody answers the phone there. I’ve tried it several times.Then I received a call two days later. I was then told by the same seller that an exchange would not be possible. He works in the TV department and not in the Apple products department. He admitted that he made a flawed and insufficient consultation. He didn’t indicate that a German keyboard could be ordered.

Although Marbella has a lot of foreigners and some of them probably buy their laptops there, they will probably be advised by someone knowledgeable in the department and advised that it is possible to order a keyboard in any language. At least that’s what a consultant in the Apple department said in retrospect.

Although the mistake was due to inadequate advice, the company Corte inglés would not like to take back the MacBook Air with a Spanish keyboard and replace it with the same device with a German keyboard. A return would be not possible.

I should make do with the Spanish device that I can’t handle. I now had to buy an external German keyboard from the Apple Store for another €105€. A slim device loses its purpose if I also have to carry a keyboard with me.

For such a large company to insist on its right and not act in a customer-friendly manner despite poor advice...

We decided to buy water boiler with Corte Ingles, assuming we will get a decent service (knowing well they have operational issues). How wrong we were!!!! It all started with them lying that the employees installing the product are their own technicians, which is the reason we chose them. We only later found out that was a lie, and they work with some very unprofessional 3rd party company from Malaga (they didn't know which one themselves, I had to show them....!!!). They installed the product wrongly and the whole process has been a complete nightmare. I raised a customer service complaint - 3 weeks later, not a single call from them. we had to make like 20 calls so they come back and remove the boiler and refund us the money - which they refunded only partial amount...!!! the whole thing is so ridiculous - and we had to call at least 20-30 times - not a single call from them to support with anything they screwed up with. And it is STILL not solved - still waiting for a refund, so I guess we'll have to make another 20-30 calls.

I personally spoke with department responsible, Felix, who proudly claimed "Corte ingles is a serious company" - and never heard back from him, zero help, not sure what his job is as a head of department!!! their "supervisor", Salvador, that comes for installations to monitor the useless third party company they work with, is mainly focused on saying "not my responsibility" to anything you address to him. In fact, when they installed the boiler, no lights on it were switched on in the panel. He, the supervisor (!!!), proudly proclaimed that the panel is only for decoration :):):) to my big surprise of course... since I kept asking him questions, I suddenly see him digging in the instructions... it comes out the light panel was not a "decoration" but actually very important for determining the temperature and switching on the boiler.... which he didn't know.... the unprofessionalism is mind blowing.

I really don't have the words to express the frustration, total mistreatment of their own customers and unprofessionalism of these people. I have been a customer for 15 years and its the last time I...

I have enjoyed the Corte Inglés for many years, but the one in Puerto Banús sometimes feels like a second home. I suppose I could say the same thing about the one in Pozuelo de Alarcón. The Corte Inglés is an absolutely fantastic department store, it has pretty much anything for everyone, from clothes, to accessories, clothing, jewlery, electronics, books, sports gear, hardware store, and of course we can go on with Starbucks, Hagen Dazs, Rodilla, Erics caffee, the cafetería La Nube, and to finish off, the fantastic Gourmet area with the food court. Sorry, I forgot the Hipercor supermarket! Yes, there are probably bigger and better department stores, but this is Puerto Banús, not London, Paris or New York. The Corte Inglés in Puerto Banús is not just for shopping or eating on purpose. You can take refuge in it if, God forbid, it´s one of those really hot and humid days, or even worse, it´s cool and miserable one day during the winter. You can just walk around, have a coffee in Starbucks, then a lovely greek yoghurt bowl at Erics, and before you know it, it´s time to hit the Gourmet for some of their delcious tapas, before you top it off with some top noch fresh fish, asian food, italian, or french cuisine. There’s a huge underground parking, as well as parking adjacent to every floor. You have to pay for the parking, but if you have the card of the Corte Ingles you will get a discount depending on how much you spend (if you pay with the Corte Inglés card). During the high season, it can get very busy and there are often queues around the store, especially on Saturdays, when everything gets even busier because of the market, so keep that in mind. Being in Puerto Banús of course means access to many restaurants, cafes, clubs, etc. and it is a 5 minute walk to the Marina...