What Culture Shocks to Expect in Andorra?
- elizabethhelenpier
- Nov 16, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 19
Most visitors that come to Andorra are under the assumption that they’re dealing with a highly efficient administration, as if Andorra were a miniature version of Switzerland. The cleanliness and organised infrastructures also contribute, unwittingly, to this myth. The reality, unfortunately, is quite different. Andorra loves its bureaucracy and common sense is not part of the game. However, fret not, with a pinch of lightheartedness and a sprinkle of nonchalance, this is easily overcome.
The curious fact that Andorra appears to be such a modern, efficient country and yet greatly lags behind many of the comparable miniature European nations, is due to various factors and once you are aware of them, it will help understand why we have ended up in this situation...
Politics
To start with, Andorra has transitioned from a feudal system to a democracy in a very short space of time. In general, both the Government and the population have managed to do a great job in improving the country. Over the years, the country’s earnings grew very quickly and so did the Government's. As more income was coming in, the Government kept creating more and more departments leading to the need for more and more civil servants. Unfortunately, these departments do not communicate efficiently between each other, leading to a need to duplicate or triplicate procedures. Each department has its own protocol and they are, generally, quite defensive about their rules. Any ruffles you may cause, will result in your file being placed at the bottom of the pile.
The intention behind the creation of so many departments was to bring Andorra’s standards up to the same level as EU countries, making Andorra’s position equal and consequently gaining more respect from other jurisdictions, who always find it easy to point their fingers at our small, charming country. Add to this, Andorra is subdivided into 7 parishes, all of which have their own independent administration, boasting a myriad of departments with their own rules and regulations.
Southern European Attitudes
Secondly, Andorra is located in Southern Europe, and therefore very much influenced, directly or indirectly, by the more relaxed Southern European culture. Although this has many benefits, there are also some disadvantages. For example, customer service is pretty much nonexistent, although we are starting to see some good progress being made. The reason for this is due to the fact that most employees in the working culture are from Spain or Latin America nowadays. These cultures are generally not accustomed to dealing with clients, going one step further or thinking ahead. It's simply not part of the equation. Being a business owner in Andorra is also a relatively new concept. For example, many companies have a high turnover of personnel due to low wages and lack of support, which in turn has a negative impact on dealing with customers. In the past, this didn’t matter too much to business owners, as products flew off the shelves with no particular marketing or customer service techniques. Nowadays, things are very different and companies in Andorra are starting to understand these requirements.
Very often, you will not have even finished asking your question in a shop or on the phone to a service provider, and the reply given will be a straight off ‘no’. This is not necessarily the end of a conversation, quite the contrary! This is the start of a conversation where you can simply steer your questions towards a product or a service you may be interested in. In most cases you will then find people helpful.
Therefore, when in Andorra, as long as you are aware that you need to become the salesperson of the product or service you wish to acquire, you will be ahead of the game.
