MADRID, July 21 (Reuters) - Siesta has always been a serious
matter in Spain. Telecom operators have just acknowledged that
by agreeing not to poach each other's clients for an hour after
the famously late Spanish lunch.
The new code of ethics signed by telecom operators,
including Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange
, which updates a 2010 version, said all operators are
committed to give clients time to rest by not placing commercial
calls between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Spaniards traditionally lunch between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
They also intend to delay to 10 a.m, from 9 a.m., the
starting time to call potential clients with new offers.
The measure will be in place from January 2022 at the
latest, according to a joint statement signed by the five main
telecom operators of the country, and will be open to others.
"We telecommunication operators all through the years have
adapted our actions to consumers' habits," said Jean-Francois
Fallacher, chief executive of the local unit of Orange, in the
statement.
Spanish operators - squeezed by years of vanishing margins
and high costs as they race to provide a new generation of
mobile services - have engaged in aggressive campaigns to
capture clients from rivals.
With the new code of ethics, clients cannot be bothered
after 9 p.m during the weekdays. Weekends and bank holidays are
also off limits.
The operators committed to calling a given number no more
than three times a month if the client does not pick up and to
wait three months before calling again if a client rejects an
offer.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by Inti Landauro and
Bernadette Baum)