Originally Posted by
bakaneko85
It was just frustrating how very little the ground/phone staff cared about our condition or in offering help when we asked for it.
Speaking Spanish helps a great deal with Iberia, but ultimately there are indeed a lot of unempowered and unmotivated staff.
But rather than blame Iberia, who delivered you and your luggage to MAD as contracted, the first person to blame is the person who didn't leave enough time to connect on separate tickets. Myself and others on the IB board frequently answer queries about checked luggage at MAD and reply that it is notoriously slow, adnt that's before accounting for any delays. If you think you need 3 hours to connect on separate tickets, you really need 5 or 6 with checked bags, preferably an overnight...
I hope that you are eventually reunited with your bags, but the choice of itinerary was yours, as was the choice to abandon bags.