TUESDAY 03/23/10
By now, I’ve touched on my frustration with the slow service at restaurants, but I’ve started to get accustomed to it and have learned to just take my time and not to be in a rush when I go out to eat. But there are a few situations that have defined the culture gap for me. I went for my first day of volunteering and arrived promptly at 9:30 am. I knew that I probably should have been a little late, as most Argentines don’t really enter work until about 10:00 am, but being my first day, I didn’t want to take the risk that maybe Nicolas (the attorney at FCCAM) was a punctual Argentine (yes, start laughing now…I know it’s a bit of an oxymoron, but I’ve found a few here). I sat in the waiting room for about 15 minutes when the woman in charge of the social program of the organization brought me up to what would be my office, while she texted Nicolas to see if he was on his way. He rolled in at 10:00 am and began by showing me where the coffee was, introducing me to co-workers along the way. When we returned to the office, he started to explain more of the refugee process to me in greater detail. At about 10:30 am, the receptionist passed a piece of paper to him notifying that a consultation had arrived. That didn’t stop Nicolas from continuing with his train of thought, and he continued giving me detailed information about the refugee guidelines, while highlighting them with anecdotes of specific cases. This was great for me, but all that I could think about was the poor refugee sitting in the waiting room while we chatted and sipped our coffee. A half hour later, Nicolas finally went to get the Indian (as in from India) refugee. We started the consultation with the basics of how the interview was going to take place and the how the refugee system worked. Then, we got the biographical data of the refugee and he began to tell his story. A half hour in, the receptionist came with another slip of paper announcing the arrival of another consultation. I figured that was normal – a consultation should last about an hour, so it wasn’t too much to ask a walk-in consult to wait thirty minutes. But we hadn’t even gotten a fraction of the Indian refugee’s story by 11:00 am. Nicolas was taking notes on his computer...which maybe should have been taken by hand for the speed at which he typed and corrected his errors. Also, these weren’t shorthand notes that Nicolas was taking; he was getting the story as accurate as possible, which is completely necessary, but adding transitions and all connecting phrases seemed a little unnecessary. As we started to approach a 2 ½ hour interview, I could feel it wrapping up, much to the Indian refugee’s relief not to bring back some unpleasant memories, and I imagined to the Nigerian refugee’s, as well, who had been waiting for two hours.
But that wasn’t the end of the waiting…we had to make copies of all stamped pages of the passport (and there were quite a few) and some other official documents. The copier wasn’t the most up to date model (in fact, I think I used a newer one in 1995 when I was a “secretary” in elementary school over my lunch hours), but even with inefficient machinery, a human can make things go quickly…that is unless a co-worker stops you to chat about the Guns and Roses concert you had attended the previous night (hence, why Nicolas showed up at the “early” hour of 10:00 am). It took us a good 15 minutes to make the copies, again, while the Indian refugee was waiting for his documents and the Nigerian was waiting to meet Nicolas for the first time…after 3 hours of waiting. But I don’t even know if he had the opportunity, because Nicolas and I went back to the office and he asked me if I’d like another cup of coffee. I reminded him that I actually had to leave so that I could do some of my own work, and he apologized and realized that he had completely lost track of the time.
So, here is where I pose the question: Is it a lack of consideration for others’ time, or merely an absence of the sense of time? Being rather trained in efficiency and consolidation of unnecessary tasks, I find that it’s possible to eliminate steps that may waste time – both for me and for others. Also, having worked in service industry jobs, I do take others’ interests into account and try to make each experience an effective use of their time. On the other hand, maybe it’s better to just let time go and not to be so preoccupied with HOW LONG something takes as opposed to IF it gets done.
A few other recent examples of excessive lack of consideration / sense of time:
- I was next in line to check out at the grocery store when the cashiers switched shifts. They had to greet each other, change drawers (which included separating all bills and coins for the incoming cashier) and then proceed to chat about the upcoming weekend plans while painstakingly slowly scanning each of my 7 items.
- When the cashier runs out of change in their drawer, they have to call the manager over, who brings a plastic baggie of an assortment of coins that equals the total of the bill that needs to be changed. Instead of quickly finding the appropriate coins to give to the customer so that they can move on, the cashier separates the coins into the drawer…regardless of whether there’s a line…and they don’t seem to have the eye to quickly decipher a 5 cent coin (about half the size of a penny) from a 25 cent coin (about the size of a quarter) from a peso coin (thick like a nickel with a silver band outlining the gold interior) – they have to individually place each coin into its appropriate slot.
- Whether it’s a restaurant, a supermarket, a peluqueria (hair stylist), a business, or Starbucks, when a co-worker enters or leaves their shift, they go around and greet each person with a kiss. If you’re the next in line, you may as well give the incoming/outgoing employee a kiss too, because you’re going to be waiting.
- I’ve been in plenty of restaurants and bars – both in touristy areas and locally – where the servers just chat amongst themselves, with their friends who come in to eat, or on their cell phones – whether I’m the only table in the place or not - without a care in the world if there is something that their clients may need – a menu, an issue with the food, the plates cleared, or the bill. Again, my American mindset comes in here: When it takes about 45 minutes for an order to be taken and the food to arrive, I’ve usually finished my beverage and would like another with my meal, but I’ve never been asked if I’d like a second – they’re certainly not driven by increasing the bill’s total.
It’s great that Argentines find the leisure in their work, but the lack of service translates to lack of care in some instances.
By now, I’ve touched on my frustration with the slow service at restaurants, but I’ve started to get accustomed to it and have learned to just take my time and not to be in a rush when I go out to eat. But there are a few situations that have defined the culture gap for me. I went for my first day of volunteering and arrived promptly at 9:30 am. I knew that I probably should have been a little late, as most Argentines don’t really enter work until about 10:00 am, but being my first day, I didn’t want to take the risk that maybe Nicolas (the attorney at FCCAM) was a punctual Argentine (yes, start laughing now…I know it’s a bit of an oxymoron, but I’ve found a few here). I sat in the waiting room for about 15 minutes when the woman in charge of the social program of the organization brought me up to what would be my office, while she texted Nicolas to see if he was on his way. He rolled in at 10:00 am and began by showing me where the coffee was, introducing me to co-workers along the way. When we returned to the office, he started to explain more of the refugee process to me in greater detail. At about 10:30 am, the receptionist passed a piece of paper to him notifying that a consultation had arrived. That didn’t stop Nicolas from continuing with his train of thought, and he continued giving me detailed information about the refugee guidelines, while highlighting them with anecdotes of specific cases. This was great for me, but all that I could think about was the poor refugee sitting in the waiting room while we chatted and sipped our coffee. A half hour later, Nicolas finally went to get the Indian (as in from India) refugee. We started the consultation with the basics of how the interview was going to take place and the how the refugee system worked. Then, we got the biographical data of the refugee and he began to tell his story. A half hour in, the receptionist came with another slip of paper announcing the arrival of another consultation. I figured that was normal – a consultation should last about an hour, so it wasn’t too much to ask a walk-in consult to wait thirty minutes. But we hadn’t even gotten a fraction of the Indian refugee’s story by 11:00 am. Nicolas was taking notes on his computer...which maybe should have been taken by hand for the speed at which he typed and corrected his errors. Also, these weren’t shorthand notes that Nicolas was taking; he was getting the story as accurate as possible, which is completely necessary, but adding transitions and all connecting phrases seemed a little unnecessary. As we started to approach a 2 ½ hour interview, I could feel it wrapping up, much to the Indian refugee’s relief not to bring back some unpleasant memories, and I imagined to the Nigerian refugee’s, as well, who had been waiting for two hours.
But that wasn’t the end of the waiting…we had to make copies of all stamped pages of the passport (and there were quite a few) and some other official documents. The copier wasn’t the most up to date model (in fact, I think I used a newer one in 1995 when I was a “secretary” in elementary school over my lunch hours), but even with inefficient machinery, a human can make things go quickly…that is unless a co-worker stops you to chat about the Guns and Roses concert you had attended the previous night (hence, why Nicolas showed up at the “early” hour of 10:00 am). It took us a good 15 minutes to make the copies, again, while the Indian refugee was waiting for his documents and the Nigerian was waiting to meet Nicolas for the first time…after 3 hours of waiting. But I don’t even know if he had the opportunity, because Nicolas and I went back to the office and he asked me if I’d like another cup of coffee. I reminded him that I actually had to leave so that I could do some of my own work, and he apologized and realized that he had completely lost track of the time.
So, here is where I pose the question: Is it a lack of consideration for others’ time, or merely an absence of the sense of time? Being rather trained in efficiency and consolidation of unnecessary tasks, I find that it’s possible to eliminate steps that may waste time – both for me and for others. Also, having worked in service industry jobs, I do take others’ interests into account and try to make each experience an effective use of their time. On the other hand, maybe it’s better to just let time go and not to be so preoccupied with HOW LONG something takes as opposed to IF it gets done.
A few other recent examples of excessive lack of consideration / sense of time:
- I was next in line to check out at the grocery store when the cashiers switched shifts. They had to greet each other, change drawers (which included separating all bills and coins for the incoming cashier) and then proceed to chat about the upcoming weekend plans while painstakingly slowly scanning each of my 7 items.
- When the cashier runs out of change in their drawer, they have to call the manager over, who brings a plastic baggie of an assortment of coins that equals the total of the bill that needs to be changed. Instead of quickly finding the appropriate coins to give to the customer so that they can move on, the cashier separates the coins into the drawer…regardless of whether there’s a line…and they don’t seem to have the eye to quickly decipher a 5 cent coin (about half the size of a penny) from a 25 cent coin (about the size of a quarter) from a peso coin (thick like a nickel with a silver band outlining the gold interior) – they have to individually place each coin into its appropriate slot.
- Whether it’s a restaurant, a supermarket, a peluqueria (hair stylist), a business, or Starbucks, when a co-worker enters or leaves their shift, they go around and greet each person with a kiss. If you’re the next in line, you may as well give the incoming/outgoing employee a kiss too, because you’re going to be waiting.
- I’ve been in plenty of restaurants and bars – both in touristy areas and locally – where the servers just chat amongst themselves, with their friends who come in to eat, or on their cell phones – whether I’m the only table in the place or not - without a care in the world if there is something that their clients may need – a menu, an issue with the food, the plates cleared, or the bill. Again, my American mindset comes in here: When it takes about 45 minutes for an order to be taken and the food to arrive, I’ve usually finished my beverage and would like another with my meal, but I’ve never been asked if I’d like a second – they’re certainly not driven by increasing the bill’s total.
It’s great that Argentines find the leisure in their work, but the lack of service translates to lack of care in some instances.
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