The phrase 'pop to the shops' does not exist in Argentina. This is not for lack of vocabulary, but simply due to the impossibility of such an event ever occurring.
I have attempted this simple act, strolling around the corner to pick up a bag of milk (another story, in itself), and somehow failed. I successfully made it to the supermarket, the dairy fridge, the milk, only to be faced with a staggeringly long queue.
Now I can appreciate a good queue as well as the next English person, but it must be said that the population of Argentina has taken the polite custom to an unparalleled extreme. Queues are formed at every opportunity; long before a bus arrives at a stop, running outside shops and banks, some include dozens of people and appear to lead nowhere. I have contemplated this phenomenon whilst waiting for everything and anything, and have reached just one conclusion in this recession-driven world.
Argentina is of course no stranger to financial struggles; within the last decade its citizens have borne the brunt of a collapsed economy, leaving a debt of around US$150 billion (and a very informative ‘Museo de la Deuda Externa’ to boot).Whilst the world was lavishly spending, Argentina was in the mindset of necessity; the supermarket may only be half staffed, but a longer queue is the least of one’s worries after scraping together pesos for bread.The nation’s patience was tested, and passed with flying colours – so much so that whilst the economy recovered, the queues remained.
Meanwhile, on a small island thousands of miles away, people indulged in express checkouts whilst their economy collapsed around them.
Perhaps on returning to the UK I will once again be greeted by the queues of a nation in recovery, where jobs cuts and rising prices have quietened the huffs and puffs which now characterises a Briton in waiting.And taught by the best, I will wait with the patience of an Argentine.
It's funny the lines (queues/colas) issue. In the states for many years the standard of customer service was that if there were 3 people in line they open another register (caja). I don't know if that will change. There have long been so many stores to choose from there that people are not used to waiting. When I became impatient at one supermercado here and complained to an older woman in front of me that I thought the store had the longest lines in the city she told me it was good because it would help me develop more patience. I told her I didn't need more patience, I needed to go home and get dinner on. She just laughed. I see people near my home here in Congreso who stand in line for hours to buy vacation packages at the bureau of tourism. People wait for things here as if it were necessary, even when it isn't. One local friend told me that he buys his tickets that way because he doesn't claim all of his income and so he doesn't put almost anything on credit card or in the bank because then the government would have his records. With high income tax plus 21% service and sales tax I can understand why. Still, it seems so very Russia Cold War Style to wait in line to buy food and then the fruits and veggies are always rotted and the delivery system isn't consistent. I notice that weeks go by when things I like aren't available, then they are, which of course makes me, like everyone else I suppose, buy them all and horde them...
It's funny the lines (queues/colas) issue. In the states for many years the standard of customer service was that if there were 3 people in line they open another register (caja). I don't know if that will change. There have long been so many stores to choose from there that people are not used to waiting. When I became impatient at one supermercado here and complained to an older woman in front of me that I thought the store had the longest lines in the city she told me it was good because it would help me develop more patience. I told her I didn't need more patience, I needed to go home and get dinner on. She just laughed. I see people near my home here in Congreso who stand in line for hours to buy vacation packages at the bureau of tourism. People wait for things here as if it were necessary, even when it isn't. One local friend told me that he buys his tickets that way because he doesn't claim all of his income and so he doesn't put almost anything on credit card or in the bank because then the government would have his records. With high income tax plus 21% service and sales tax I can understand why. Still, it seems so very Russia Cold War Style to wait in line to buy food and then the fruits and veggies are always rotted and the delivery system isn't consistent. I notice that weeks go by when things I like aren't available, then they are, which of course makes me, like everyone else I suppose, buy them all and horde them...
ReplyDelete