El Alamo-Closed By Gov

[ellbee]

its funny how things in Argentina are closed for the wrong reasons....but then again. its Argentina. everything is a contradiction and like most latin american countries: el mono baila por la plata.
you get away with murder if you pay.

this is why Argentina will never come out of that economic depression because every deal (even within its citizens) is not transparent and if they start changing their ways, the country will start moving forward.

good example: Chile

 

[Delight]

I dont care if it doesnt open anymore. Food is not reconmendable if you care about your health and with the bar fine you basically need to buy 3 drinks to make it worthwhile and the only days it's fun to go are probally sunday and monday to watch some sports, have a drink and a chat

If it would be cleaner, the service would be about 100 times better and they would switch the smoking area to the first floor it would be a pretty nice place to go 2,3 times a month

 

[Hache]

Sorry David, but I'm going to reply with the most cruel pragmatism. For that I will reverse your statements, but you shouldn't be surprise: things here only make sense when seen upside down.

So what other explanation is there when they find a small fixable infraction in a business - shut it down?? Why not help the business to get into compliance instead of being corrupt??

Don't waste your time in using common sense. It'll get you nowhere. It's a rule here, which leads me to this:

It's not fair especially since foreigners are much more likely to follow rules.

If they are getting closed down, they are not. It's an irrefutable fact.

That's why

So many other businesses in my area have no fire extinguishers, exit signs, insurance, bathroom in order, employees en negro and they have been operating that way for years.

Because they followed the rules you don't want to follow:

I don't know but my business was closed down for ABSOLUTELY no reason except I didn't do an "arreglo" with the inspectors like all the other shops on my street.

The next sentence is ironically true:

Don't acuse people of being guilty until you know the facts.

Have you heard Maria Elena Walsh's "El Reino Del Reves" (The Kingdom Of The Upside Down)? The immoral moral of my "exposition" is that here you can be found guilty of not being guilty. Guilty of not following the rules that would make you guilty elsewhere.

I know you already know all this, and I'm glad you're not giving in to following the rules. I'm happy to see there are a few outlaws left out there. But I can't blame those who, for survival reasons, have no choice but to follow Uncle Scam's rules and be good citizens of the Upside Down Kingdom.

Please forgive my clumsy irony. It's hard for me to put into words how I feel about this. I respect your anger and frustration.

 

[ElAlamoBar]

Yes, El Alamo was shut down by the GCBA for a few days. These sort of things are a part of doing business in Argentina and happen about once a year. You either play by the rules of the game here (and thrive doing so) or you pack up and go home.

 

[ReemsterCARP]

Yes, El Alamo was shut down by the GCBA for a few days. These sort of things are a part of doing business in Argentina and happen about once a year. You either play by the rules of the game here (and thrive doing so) or you pack up and go home.

So you publicly admit you are paying bribes to the city government to stay open?

 

[ElAlamoBar]

No, that is not what I wrote and I was not inferring that.

 

[Davidglen77]

First of all, there are no illegal immigrants in Argentina. There are people with irregular immigration status, but it is not a crime to be here and not have papers. This is not the USA or Europe in that sense, so get the facts.

Second, how many long time merchants and lawyers told me I should have done an "arreglo" since they have paid off inspectors for years and that is how they keep doing business. Well I refuse to pay bribes!! It's not in the constitution of this country that I have to do so and maybe if more people stood up to them life wouldn't be so difficult for small businesses here. Well me not doing an "arreglo" cost me some money for being closed all of those days and a lot of mental health and a good deal of emotional turmoil and lots of crying but hopefully somebody will think twice about being c*rrupt next time. I hopefully make a positive contribuition to this society by not being steamrolled and things just may improve. Who wants to join me or are we going to keep living here and allow things to continue down the crooked road. I am sure there are others that want change as well!

 

[tez]

Kind of an old thread now, especially since ElAlamoBar is posting, but I went to Alamo for the first time last Wednesday (so obviously it's open now) and they checked my ID at the door! When I asked I was told they had been in trouble for underage drinking...?!

I have to say it was pretty disgusting there and the stench of smoke followed me home and somehow stayed in my house for days. Bleh. That said, the staff were really quite nice! Notably exceptional to what I am used to. Maybe their just used to all the North American-sized tips...

 

[syngirl]

Are you people sure the ElAlamoBar that is posting is American? I just ask because of the sucky attitude that he/she has to people on this board who have voiced their complaints about cleanliness various times. In my experience most American business owners would listen to concerns and assure you that they'd at least look into it and see if they couldn't improve -- this guy seems to have more of a "Don't like, well suck on this" attitude. Either he's been here far too long and forgotten what customer service is, or he's local and doesn't understand what Americans expect in a business.

More than anything it's his crappy attitude that makes me not want to go to Alamo at all (I have been years ago).