Any Interesting Anecdotes About Working With Argentines?

[elvikingo]

I work in Agriculture in the interior, so my response may be a bit different by culture to a certain extent from the city.

Really though, aside from the often told to me, "No, che, THIS is how we do it here- you don't understand the campo..." I take the idea as a usually good natured jab, but sometimes not and speaks probably more to a respect for the past and tradition more than anything personal.

As I tell people in my sector when I return to my home country- the people I/we work with in Argentina tend to really love what they do; many are multigenerational small businesses or tradespeople.

They are also very punctual, hard working, honest and generous. Oh, I can't forget this... I also mention the old cowboy exp<b></b>ression- they are "savvy"- don't think they aren't very adept at sizing you up-

 

[trennod]

I work in a global prof serv company, equivalent position to back home so extremely interesting to see the contrasts from my office here and back home.
Must say, working with Argentines is a lot of fun, both my juniors and my bosses are really good people. Still amazes me the language that is used in the work place, the informality, openness even between co-workers etc.
Argentines can talk the talk, they are extremely good at building relationships with co-workers and the client, very interested and keen to learn. Good problem solvers, work well in teams.
Efficiency, is average. In my office, I find its driven a little by work ethic and also that they spend too much time talking about a problem and solution without actually putting pen to paper. Its linked witht the fact Argentines love to talk, though.
Many of my colleagues spend 4 hours travelling to and from work daily, in crappy conditions of public transport. As well, many of the juniors are still at the "facu" and so wont get home until 11. That I admire a lot.

 

[sheawj]

If sales are down, we are to sprinkle sugar in the doorway.

Direct communication just doesn't happen. We often get paid 10 to 15 days late, but you can't approach the owner about this, even to ask when you'll be paid, which is a pretty reasonable question in my book. What you do is tell either the blabbermouth who works in another area or the woman in charge of covering shifts that, oh...idk, you are looking for another job or have an appointment with a lawyer. Suddenly, your pay comes in. If you're direct, it's seen as a personal attack and you'll have nothing but problems going forward. The only time I was direct-ish was when I knew I didn't receive a bonus and I sent an email to the owner asking whatever happened about my being paid in white. Got the bonus less than 24 hours later.

Don't like the person calling your work cell? Sure, you don't have to answer it...it's totally fine! Note: not answering the phone also works great in the previous scenario if you haven't been paid and the owner is calling. I don't know how many times a coworker wouldn't pick up the work cell or the main phone because he knew it was the owner and he wanted to make a point. It's very uncomfortable just standing there with phones ringing off the hook, so I will usually just answer it.
Even today the owner didn't answer the phone because I dared to ask earlier if we'd be open during Tuesday's protest and, if so, what the plan was to get us to work and back.

In a similar vein, if you don't like someone in the company but you need to still work with them, it's actually acceptable that you...don't. For example, we have one manager that dislikes a woman who works in another branch and he refuses to take a step near her...even if we have merchandise there waiting and we need it in our Recoleta store asap. Doesn't matter if we need both of them to coordinate on a decision, either, which happens often as they are both department heads. We just know that's how it is and we wing it.

Agree on the blame shifting thing. I've repeatedly had to send resend emails to show that yes, a person DID say 'this' or agree to 'that'.

I've never had to lie so much in a job, or actually anywhere, in my entire life. We're expected to do so much under handed stuff against the customers (especially tourists), the vendors, the repairman, etc...it's unbelievable.

The rules change all the time: today you're allowed to do X, but not Y. Tomorrow, it'll be completely different. Why? Who knows, and who cares since in a week's time it'll be back to the way it was to begin with.

Argh...sorry, these aren't really anecdotes...Each thing has about a dozen anecdotes each and since I've had my fill of this company, I don't want to spend any more time thinking about it on a Saturday night. And yes, if anyone wants my resume, I'll happily send it...I'll even sprinkle some sugar on it first!

 

[toongeorges]

As Fifs said, customer service is not on the radar here.

I do not have much experience working with Argentines, however I took the following picture at the airport of Mendoza last year: