Categories
Communications International Jacksonville Ad Agency

Calling All Entrepreneurs

After 3 weeks in Argentina, a few glaring business opportunities have managed to seize me by the throat and throttle me. If a business savvy person were to take the reins here, they could surely make millions. Capitalism doesn’t seem to be AS important in Argentina as it is in the US. That being said, relationships don’t seem to be as important in the US as they are in Argentina.

The thing that anyone from the US would notice immediately, is that because the servers are not heavily reliant upon tips, customer service at any location, is severely lacking. If someone could open a restaurant here, and simply pay the servers based on a tip system, customer service would be remarkably upgraded. As it stands, sitting down and eating anywhere here will take about 2 and a half hours because in Argentina, they typically converse during and after the meal. Due to this, restaurants fill up quickly and lines form outside the door. Last night, my group of 4 waited 90 minutes to sit down and eat and then spent an additional 90 minutes to 2 hours completing the dinner process.

At the ripe age of 29, I had the fortune to have a younger core group of friends while in Argentina. This means that I got to experience the dance clubs here. The lines are extensive and you may get the impression you're in South Beach. Once inside, you pay a small cover. The atmosphere reminded me of a very crowded house party. The bar has limited offerings, although, you can purchase entire bottles of your favorite libation much, much cheaper than you ever could in the states. There were probably 8,000 people in the place we went last night and it was so crowded you couldn't really have a good time. You had to hold your ground and make your body rigid to prevent interlopers from invading your dance space. At best, you could hope to slowly sway left to right, but expect to get bumped into from 10 different directions instead. If fire codes were to be enforced like in the states, it would be a much more enjoyable experience. There's also a rather inefficient manner in which one orders a drink at the club. You have to muscle your way to the cash register and order and pay. If you don't hold your ground, people will cut in front of you the whole night. After you pay, you receive a ticket that you give to the person who makes your drink on the ultra-crowded other side of the bar. Needless to say, if an alternate dance club format were adopted, you could make a killing.

I can see that I've already gone on long enough for now. Stay tuned for more fun and exciting tales of business opportunities in this South American wonderland.