The Lazy Window Lady of Latin America

Walking into Metro UAM of Iztapalapa, I was heading towards Bellas Artes to see some Mexican chick named Ana.

As I got up to some line to buy a metro ticket, I see that there's a shit ton of people standing in line.

I counted exactly eventually as the line was going slow.

And, to be my own fault, I left the house a little late as I was having too much vodka to drink.

Which is my own fault.

But here I am waiting to buy a ticket and trying to rush on over to be on time (be on time in Mexico? A JOKE!) and I am now stuck in a line of, as I counted exactly, 13 people.

It was 13 people (including everyone in front of me, myself and everyone behind me).

Meanwhile, there happened to be another window I saw.

It looked to be open for buying tickets.

There was a lady behind the window.

A light brown skinned, young looking lady with dark black hair down to her shoulders.

Many such cases in Mexico.

And she was eating a torta.

She was not taking in people wishing to buy a ticket.

Nope!

Just sitting there eating her torta.

Funny enough, I heard someone in the line yell out at her "esta rica?"

Or something like that.

She didn't look up.

Kept eating her torta.

The line continued.

Eventually, I got my ticket and on my way I went.

I was about 5 minutes late to getting to Bellas Artes but Ana was also a few minutes late as she showed up literally just a minute or two after I did.

So maybe I shouldn't have been in such a rush but it's the gringo in me that always screams to be on time.

Time in the Bank

Similarly, I remember being in a bank next to a Walmart in Tlahuac.

They have some Walmart on the border between Tlahuac and Iztapalapa.

I think the Walmart is technically in Iztapalapa but Google Maps calls it "Walmart Tlahuac."

So I go inside a few days before I moved to Iztapalapa where I wanted to buy a few things but, more importantly, withdraw cash for the rent to pay at the new place I was moving to.

I get the cash.

As is typical, it's all 500 peso bills.

Thankfully, there is a little bank next door that you can go to for exchanging the bills to smaller currencies.

I stand in line.

As I wrote here, I always say to myself "en Mexico, hay que esperar!!!!"

Because every fucking little thing here needs a waiting time even when it doesn't make sense to.

That we could rush things forward and get the job done quickly but we never do down here.

And, similar to the metro, we had a few windows available for customers to walk up to but were only using one.

With a big ass line of people waiting.

I didn't count but it was easily over 10 and the line went to outside of the bank as it was kinda small to be fair.

There was, in this case, a chubby little fella who seemed to be eating some chips and looking at his phone laughing.

He was watching whatever video of the day it was on Youtube.

You had some other folks behind the counter who could've helped us out.

Behind the lady who was working.

There was one lady working and everyone else was having a Christmas day.

Laughing, eating, watching Youtube videos, etc.

Given how lazy they were, you would've thought one of them was jerking off too.

I always say that about some of the employees you see down here.

That some of them are so lazy that they must be jerking off to some porn.

What else could they do doing on the company dime?

Or, in some cases, the tax payer dime.

Well, not my taxes so who am I to complain?

At any rate, we made our way through eventually.

Got the money broken down to smaller bills.

And on my way I went.

The Lady Behind the Window: A Latin American Customer Service Classic

If you live here long enough, you'll see it.

Especially when you walk into a bank or maybe the metro.

It's nothing more than a fact that there is a huge line of people waiting to do something and you only got one person handling them all while other employees -- public or private -- are jerking off to that good ol' porn.

Or whatever the fuck they are doing.

The jerk offs, they be.

But it is what it is.

It's part of life down here.

People moving at such a slow pace that they don't give a fuck if you are wasting time doing nothing.

Of course, fucks might be given if they are the ones in line having to wait.

Though they never complain usually and just accept it.

It's a contrast to how I remember things back home.

When I would work at Subway for example (a business not nearly as important as a bank or the public metro), I'd have to get off my ass if the other employees were overwhelmed.

If a surge of customers came in.

HELP! HELP THEM FUCKER!

Or, if you are in the process of making yourself a sandwich for the break, you put the sandwich to the side when another customer walks in to buy something.

Above all, it's a difference between customer service you see down here and customer service that I remember a decade ago from back home.

Back home, they drop their shit to help you out.

Down here? FUCK YOU I'M ON MY BREAK.

Well, they don't scream at you like Bad Santa here.

VIDEO HERE

They'll just ignore you and feel no shame for eating while you have a crazy surge of customers who need attending to.

To be honest, I can't hate it entirely.

After all, it would've been nice to just ignore the customer when I was working at Subway and finish making my sandwich to go on break.

"Sorry buddy. Break time is break time. Go fuck yourself."

But, when you are the customer, obviously it's annoying to have to wait longer than normal.

And, above all, it's just an example too of how things are slower pace down here than back home like I've written about before.

After enough time down here, I don't see that as a bad thing either.

It comes with its positives (nobody pressures you) but it comes with its negatives (everyone is a lard ass who acts like a down syndrome kid that can't get anything basic done in under an hour).

It is what it is!

I can't hate it.

Because, as I wrote here, the opposite can be equally annoying where you got near autistic gringos who be watching that clock and going "YOU 5 MINUTES LATE!!!" or "YOU DIDN'T MOVE FAST ENOUGH!!"

Like bro, chill out. Have a tequila. It's Mexico!!!!

It is what it is.

Like I said, I don't see it as a negative or positive. Just a difference in terms of customer service from back home ultimately.

That dreaded torta eating lady behind the counter.

Anyway, if you got anything to add, drop a comment below.

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Thanks for reading.

Best regards,

Matt