supermarket lines

[AkBill]

Why are they so long? Today it reached nearly to the end of the very long shop. I'm not bill gates / trump / buffett but considering the women working the checkout probably get paid 3 peses an hour wouldnt it make more sense to hire more of them and get more customers through quicker?

 

[French jurist]

Same in banks; economical non-sense by waiting 40 minutes when one could wait 10 :
20 persons per hour losing a total of 10 hours, multiply by 6 opening hours = 60 labor hours lost in vain when the bank could hire two more clerks for 6 or 7 hours each (12 in total).

Multiply the 60 hours by 220 business days = 1320 hours/year
Multiply by 5000 (?) bank agencies in Argentina = more than 6 millions of labor hours lost when it could be diminished by 80% while creating 10000 more jobs.

Of course, the clients would need to pay a bit more the banks, but it would be a win-win situation.

 

[jp]

Just avoid supermarkets altogether. They make sense in countries where they offer convenience, quality and low prices. But supermarkets here seem to offer a winning combination of shit produce, horrible prices and a miserable shopping experience.

Stick to your local butcher, baker, greengrocer etc and you'll get more for less, and better service to boot.

 

[starlucia]

In my opinion, these photos (taken on a random Friday afternoon outside of a Disco in Recoleta) pretty much sum up the efficiency of Argentine commerce (though frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if that sign read "Cerrado por falta de voluntad.")

 

[allcraz]

Why are they so long? Today it reached nearly to the end of the very long shop. I'm not bill gates / trump / buffett but considering the women working the checkout probably get paid 3 peses an hour wouldnt it make more sense to hire more of them and get more customers through quicker?

The lines have doubled in the last few years due to specific credit/debit card discounts. Depending on what bank account you have, you can get up to 25% discount on your total purchase on certain days. Add that to the fact that checkouts are never all open, and there's your outcome. I've stopped going 100% because of it.

 

[Ashley]

I just try my best to avoid large supermarkets chains - Especially now that my tolerance for spending half an hour in a "caja rapida" queue to pay a ludicrous amount of money for below-par produce is now at its lowest level ever.
What irritates me even more are the terrible waits that you have to endure in some cafes (usually the nicer ones, I've noticed). I'm usually a very law-abiding citizen but a few weeks ago, I marched straight out of a cafe along Corrientes after waiting 40 minutes for one of the 5 waitresses (in a cafe where there were two other occupied tables!) to bring me the bill I had asked for...twice (after waiting almost 20 minutes to get served in the first place). I felt awful for a good couple of hours afterwards and even considered returning to settle my bill - but fk it! Why on earth should I spend my hard-earned cash on such a miserable experience?
The other day, I experienced a similar wait in Le Ble (not to mention the epic Cara de culo of the waitress). If I hadn't been in such an overly tolerant mood (probably thanks to their chocolate tarts), I would've done the same as before...
Seriously, if people (expats and otherwise) keep tolerating terrible service and waits instead of taking their custom elsewhere, it's never going to change.
I, for one, make a real effort not to go back to anywhere where the waits have been excessive or service, shoddy. Problem is, it's now reached the point where I'm reluctant to even try somewhere new and tend to keep going back to the same old shops, cafes, restaurants...Quite sad, really!

 

[sergio]

Didn't anyone tell you that efficient service is only for cold and unfeeling "North Americans"? Just ask any Porteño. And remember, when you are waiting in that endless line, take a look at the happy, smiling faces of the warm people transmitting their kindness and affection at every passerby. See the difference! Savor the experience.

 

[SaraSara]

Instead of just venting, why not try to find a way around those lines?

1- Do as JP suggests, and avoid supermarkets altogether - specialty stores have much better merchandise
2- Ask the supermarket cashier what's the best time to shop - I did, and there are never more than two people ahead of me in line when I shop now.
3- Shop online and have everything delivered to your home.
4- Shop at small mom and pop grocery stores who deliver - the Antiguo Almacen around the corner from my home will send a boy on a bicycle for orders as small as two liters of milk.

As for Lee's complaint that the "entire city sucks out load and has no class at all", I must admit it is hard to reach the standards of someone as classy as he sounds. Better head for Colombia, where he'll probably find that "class" so lacking in Buenos Aires.