Whoever created the slogan "The Customer is Always Right" most definitely had never visited Brasil. I often think about the things I miss (and don't miss!) from back in the U.S., and I would have to say that the customer experience along with the overall functionability and reliability of businesses are the things that I miss most. There is no concept along the lines of "if you do right by the customers, they will do right by you" that exists in Brasil. In actuality, it's almost the complete opposite. I joke with my friend, Hans, that I now realize why the majority of Brazilians don't spend money. Hans, for instance, didn't have a washer or dryer for several years while living here. He preferred to send out his laundry, which in the long run is far more expensive, because he knew what would entail if he were to venture out to purchase a washer and dryer (he was right!). This country has made it so difficult to buy anything that it's almost not worth the hassle. As I said in my previous post, sometimes you need so many documents (passport, current bill, etc.) to buy something that you wouldn't even believe it. However, it unfortunately doesn't quite end there. If you want to get something fixed, be prepared to wait several weeks. Need something delivered? Get comfortable. If you bought something that didn't work out for some reason or another and wanted to return it, you can forget about it. I can't possibly explain how much time and energy I spend on things that I absolutely took for granted in the U.S. I honestly believe that is why people here prefer a simple lifestyle. The more things you have, the more complicated your life is. If you can keep it simple, you can have a great life here. If you desire more, be prepared for a lot of complications. In order to give you a little taste of life in Brazil, here are just a few examples of these headaches.
Last week I did not have a functioning internet and phone line for four days. You have no idea how annoying that is until you experience it. I lived in my condo in San Francisco for almost five years and I don't think I ever once had to fix my internet. I've had to do so no less than six times since being here. Thankfully, I was able to use Hans' wireless line at times, but that too wasn't always working. It got so bad that I even sat on his front step to get a signal. Finally, Brasil Telecom came to my house and fixed the problem. The service man from BT summed it up best by saying, and this is an absolute direct quote, "Brasil - beautiful scenery, beautiful people, terrible phone service." And this guy worked for the company! Could you imagine someone saying that from AT&T? At least I got a chuckle out of it....which was very hard to do at 8AM on a Saturday (killer wake up call buddy!).
As I mentioned previously, I received an electricity bill for the month of June for roughly $1,400. Since then, I have done everything under the sun to contest it. There is an entire team that would impress Bill Belichick working on the problem, and I have visited the electricity company twice in person. The people at CELESC, the electricity company, all agree that the bill is inaccurate. Some of them have even gone as far as saying the bill is impossible. Two private electricians have visited my house and said the same thing. One said that if I left every single thing on for the month, my bill wouldn't be that high (he even wrote a personal letter to CELESC). However, no one can figure out the problem and so far I haven't received any promising news. In fact, this month's bill says that if I don't pay last month's bill by August 2nd, they are going to turn off my electricity. This is the first place I have lived in my life where I receive a bill that I know is wrong and the company knows is wrong, yet I have no choice but to pay it otherwise I'm going to the dark ages. In the U.S., I would refer to this as "no lube."
As previously mentioned, the first dryer I bought here in Brasil wouldn't work in my house because it operated at 110 volts while my house is geared for 220 volts. The company recommended a transformer to make it work. To say the least, that was not successful. Therefore, I tried to return the transformer. It literally had never been used, but the company wouldn't take it back because it was past 30 days (although it took 30 days for the dryer to even arrive at my house!). They would only exchange it for two coffee makers, which makes three total now in my house. The bright side is that I'm now well on my way to opening up the first Starbucks in Floripa.
I haven't received mail in a few weeks and was starting to get curious. Apparently, the post office went on strike. I don't think anyone noticed nor do I think anyone cared. However, you can't do hardly anything electronically in this country so it is a big deal (this whole country lives off of paper - what a shame). I basically have to go through all of my past bills and see what I need to pay this month since I haven't received any bills in the mail. I'm super psyched for that day. Any volunteers?
I know I mentioned it before but I will mention it again because it's relevant to this topic. It literally took me two months to buy a car here, and it's not because I couldn't find a car. I found one right away. However, I wired the money from the U.S. into the car dealership's owner's account. The bank would not let him withdraw the money, therefore, I wired money into his business account. Again, the bank would not let him withdraw the money even though he provided all the documents (this process took forever). Apparently, the problem was due to the fact that the money was coming from another country. I guess it was irrelevant that it was coming from the U.S., arguably the most reliable financial country in the world. Here I was, an American trying to purchase a Brazilian product, which in turn helps stimulate the local economy, and I wasn't allowed. It literally blew my mind. Imagine where the U.S. would be today if we had these type of restrictions on foreign investment. I ended up just returning the car and buying from another dealership. The fine line on the car purchase agreement read: "If you purchase a car from us but later discover that our country's banks are a financial nightmare, you may return the car free of charge."
When you enter a nightclub in Brazil, you have to wait in a line to provide your name and phone number. Upon doing so, you receive a card, which has a number attached to it. During the night, you have to provide your card to purchase anything. I was told that this was done because otherwise the waiters would scam money from the establishments. However, when the club closes, everyone has to wait in line AGAIN to pay what they owe. It is generally an enormous mess. Imagine a bunch of drunk people waiting in a huge line just trying to get out of there. The lack of efficiency in the system baffles me, but that's just the way it is so everyone accepts it. The good news is that if you were unsuccessful during the night, this is the opportune time to throw up a buzzer beater.
As with anything in this world, you have to take the good with the bad. There is no such thing as the "perfect place." The key is to not let these little problems bring you down. Sure, at the time, they can be very time consuming and annoying. However, in the grand scheme of things, they are trivial compared to the things in life that are important. My ex-girlfriend, Alessandra, got into a terrible car accident last Monday. She was in the passenger seat and her car was sideswiped on her side (unfortunately, she wasn't wearing a seat belt). She was in the emergency unit for 24 hours and nearly fell into a coma (she was unconscious for more than 12 hours). After seeing her for the first time after the accident, you suddenly realize that not having access to the internet isn't quite so important anymore....
On an unrelated note, I marched like the King this Sunday. There was an event at Praia Mole, my local beach, to bring awareness to the situation on Gravata. Gravata is the section of hills and cliffs on the right side of Praia Mole. It is beautiful, untouched land that makes Praia Mole the incredible beach that it is. Unfortunately, a builder has been approved to build a hotel, houses, etc. on the land. The local community has rallied together to oppose the construction. Hopefully, we will be successful in stopping this unfortunate event from happening. The event on Sunday including music, a surf contest, and a great hike up through Gravata. Here are some pictures from the day.
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