Colombian Mentality

miamimike says on Mar 7, 2007, 14:04:

G5---In Miami We see a Lot of That with The Cubans also In the Era since Castro they say they have to pull scams and steal from the Government to survive ; while there in Cuba that may be true, but the problem is they continue doing the same once they get here to Miami. They know how to scam and game the system in ways you cannot imagine. Like you say "Old Habits can be hard to break"...I think they are trying to turn Miami into a Northern Suburb of Havana, Cuba LOL

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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Azul says on Mar 7, 2007, 14:14:

In Seattle we see a lot of that sort of attitude from the Russian community....and they are smart and well organized so they get away with it most of the time too.

las cosas caen por su propio peso

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Lowell says on Mar 7, 2007, 14:22:

Mentality In Panama it was called Juego Vivo and is a real problem that's increasing. Don't know the name of it here in Colombia. It doesen't seem to be so obvious here also.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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Gomezman5 says on Mar 7, 2007, 15:19:

Interesting,.....and thanks Mario..... So....maybe it's not just a Colombian thing and it's just foreigner or quasi third world mentality. If the Russians, Panamanians, and Cubans do it, then, what the heck, why not the Colombians? It's just kinda annoying.People always thinking that they have to operate on the sly.

Mario, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who get yanked around with those f'n cards. Then you call these people, and the cop an attitude like you the customer are bad guy. I cannot think of any entity in this country that has worse customer service than these calling card people. They make USPS employees seem like angles. Well, I'll have to check this company out. The only problem is that about half the people I call in Colombia are on cell phones. This girl I mentioned above only has a cell phone and we talk a lot. She is really good friend. I have known her for 8 years and if there was ever a Colombian girl that lives in Colombia that I would marry, it would be her. Trust me....it is NOT going to happen.

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juanalejo says on Mar 7, 2007, 15:32:

G5 Once in Viena I was buying the ticket to board the metro and a bunch of USA Americans came to ask me how to buy them, as I told them how to buy it one guy said where to put it to go in. I told him there were no barriers to go into the metro, you just simply bought it and stuck in your pocket, and that in Viena unlike cities like Rome there would be no police random checks either. They started laughing and said what the f.... if nobody checks for it, why should we buy it and just walked through and boarded the train.

I sat in the metro and thought Colombians would do the same, we need a police behind to do something, maybe one day the world across the Atlantic might learn to do things just because it is the right thing to do and not because I have a police to tell me so.

That lead me to thinking one of the things I hate the most about driving in the USA and that is the hiding cops in Freeways, as I never seem to concentrate on the driving as I am always looking for a hiding cop even if I am not speeding. So it is not the mentalily of just Colombians, it is the mentality of those of us who live in police states and the more police the more enforcement. Sad very sad.

By the way, those cards you use are USA American, so if everybody were so honest in your country then those cards simply would not exist. Or was a Colombian the one who commercializes them without any vigilance from your police state? I really doubt it.

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Azul says on Mar 7, 2007, 15:32:

G5 - check this out It doesn't make sense for calls to cell phones, but if you can call a land line it is a good deal. Unlimited calling to landlines for $35 per month ($20 the first month), and you can track your account and calls online. I talk A LOT to people in Colombia, & it has really saved me a considerable amount of money.

www.crossfone.com

las cosas caen por su propio peso

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juanalejo says on Mar 7, 2007, 15:35:

Red Phones By the way my family in the USA has something called Red Phones or something like that, I really do not know how it works, I just know you dial a local number in Bogotá and they answer for free up there. Used it once and communication was perfect. I think they have a phone set up through the computer system.

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vicshere says on Mar 7, 2007, 16:08:

an example Hey G5
I know what your talking about here's one example just the other day here in Colombia
I have a place I buy my motorcycle parts from for a while now....last week I went to buy 2 oil seals for my front forks ...anyway the guy I deal with all the time says its 12,000 each one....well I know better so I offered him 7,000 each ....he comes back with a 10,000 each.....I said no way but bumped my offer to 8,000.....after a few minutes we came to an agreed offer of 9,000 each.....I left with the seals and replaced them on the bike.....well dam if one of the seals didn't start to leak (guess I must of scratched it or something) on me on Sunday.....on Monday I went and bought another seal so I could replace it but my man wasn't there.....another guy was there I ask for the seal and asked how much without any haggling he said 6,500.....well I took the seal and have replaced it and no more leak...pisses me off ....think I am going to look for a new place to buy my parts I guess...I hate liars




listo
"con mucho gusto"
Vic

listo

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goin_south says on Mar 7, 2007, 17:07:

g5.....try pinplan.com not the best if you are calling Pasto, (but I don't think you are, so) Never a problem calling another city with that card, though.

Currently,...(no pun intended...) I am laying 'string with tin cans at regular intervals' from Louisiana to Pasto to improve communications. lol

Where do we go from here?

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miamimike says on Mar 7, 2007, 19:12:

G5-They tried to Screw me on a Phone Card here in Miami and I found out from the 800 number on the back of the card the strip mall they operated out of; it was almost next door to that Chinese Restuarant you like(Wongs) to eat at here in North Miami, a block north of 123rd and Biscayne blvd. This is of course only 5 minutes from my Condo,. The Customer service lady told me the exact Phone number also ; they were trying to beat me out of like $2 in time I never received on the card. I called the Owner(jack) and when the Guy(owner) started to give me the run around about re-adding my time to the card I informed him, "Jack, I live 5 minutes from here, I'm Pissed and am heading NOW to your office to "discuss" in person the Issue we have at hand. Man, talk about a 360 degree turn around, He said "Oh Sir, that is not necessary to come in person, I'll credit it now on the Computer and he did! Even gave me an extra hour! LOL Bet that was the last time anyone ever gave the local number again! LOL

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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Gomezman5 says on Mar 7, 2007, 19:23:

Tinto You can be equivicate if you want. I know there are good people and bad people everywhere. But you also know that there are certain types of thinking that are ingrained in the culture. The mindset. Landlords for example don't like to rent to Latinos from Latin America. Is it racism? Oh sure, it's always easy to throw that line out. But, it's always something more. Most Americans who rent commercial property realize that a lease is a binding agreement. They honor the terms. They recognize that courts and lawyers are a reality if you violate the terms. Not Latinos. No sir......and Colombians are great at screwing up relations with their landlords. They pay their rent late......often. The due major unauthorized construction without the permission of the landlord and then the City comes out and sites the building owner with building code violations because they did not pull a permit. On and on. Do Americans do it? Sure. As often? Not even close. So Tinto, you can tell yourself not me who does this work all the time, that everybody does it, and all you are doing is pretending that this is not prevalent in the community. BTW Tinto, your denial or equivocation, is the same thing as condoning the conduct.

Juanalejo
The cards are American owned true. The only differnce is that the various state and regulatory agencies have not intervened yet. When they do, things will change.The cards may get more costly, but they will also be more reliabel. That is how things work in the US. Government will act soon enough. In Colombia, the boat just sails along perpetually and nothing is ever done about such things. Just a lot lip service.

I do agree with you about the secret traffic police. I hate them too.
More later...gotta go.

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Sr Tertius says on Mar 7, 2007, 19:46:

"But you also know that there are certain types of thinking that are ingrained in the culture."

Oh, so the discussion is about 19th Century pop sociology. Maybe thirldworldlers are "feeble minded"... just check the shape of their skulls.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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Gomezman5 says on Mar 7, 2007, 20:27:

Mike.....I am most impressed! After long holds, trying to be polite, being angry, threatening to call the Illinois Attorney General's office, the only thing I have ever been able to get is about 75 cents. These guys are such crooks. On the other hand, I have never been so lucky to be able to tell them I live nearby, and that i'll be at their office in 5 minutes. Maybe I should just bluff them by telling them the same thing and see if they will bite?

Tinto.....just come to G5 anytime you need advise. I'll steer you away from the land of Camelot, and bring you into the land of reality. It's OK to be idealistic, but you have to live reality

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Simon says on Mar 7, 2007, 20:35:

Nice post Gomezman, but there's only one problem, it's directed at the wrong audience! Could you do us the favor of writing it in SPANISH and posting it somewere where real colombians could actually read it and learn?

"That is a great business." You should get into that business."

Have you also considered she may have been kidding when she said that? Many Colombians have a really twisted sense of humor you know!

"Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr.

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Célle says on Mar 7, 2007, 20:54:

In Chicago Skokie, Mundelein, Palatine, and Round Lake we see it a lot from the Russian community and like Azul said they're smart, organized and analytical so they always get away with it. Believe me they know every game to screw a system. I sometimes was shocked by the kinds of things they'd come up with. Not everyone is good intenioned like you ;). Which I think is nice in a man, but business is business. That's for sure.

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poco says on Mar 7, 2007, 21:03:

Interesting Question – Simple Answer Gman "Then I thought.....my people, it's just in their blood."

Sr.T "But you also know that there are certain types of thinking that are ingrained in the culture."

Your friend is anything but clueless and lives her life similar to everyone else.

This is the common attitude (custom?) in Colombia. Yep - LIFE as usual and it permeates the entire country in every aspect of life.

It is not unusual to receive bills from utility and telecom companies with errors ranging from small amounts more than double. This is easy to fix. Go to their office and if there are errors they will either stamp the bill or give you another.

When Telecom (phone company) was essentially a “MONOPOLY” the attitude, service, billing, sucked. 4 years ago they would say “If you’ve got a problem go to Cali”. That was a joke, who can afford a 2 hour bus trip to dispute a 20K problem. Nope, people paid, either pay of loose your ONLY phone service. Yes, normal business. Another reason cellphones are popular.

Today Telecom is ACTUALLY seeking telephone subscribers and suddenly there are PLENTY of lines that can be connected RIGHT NOW. A local office can fix errors. This tickles me to death, tooooo little toooooo late. The only way they can entice their customers to return would be to practically give away their service.

It's an ingrained THEM or YOU attitude.

I rarely purchase ANYTHING w/o first determining the price. This can be and probably is another example of employee theft.

Great racket, charge the customers more and pocket the difference. After all why should this be an employee concern? They got you and your money, they WON, and you’re the fool. Who knows maybe they got a "TIP" !!! I can see them drinking a beer and retelling the story.

The owner might notice his customers are going to other establishments unless of course the customers are clueless and I haven't met any clueless Colombians when an understanding of how things operate is necessary.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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Miguel_Clavo says on Mar 7, 2007, 21:23:

Kinda like the Pot Calling the Kettle Black??? Replace Colombian with American, calling card companies with lawyer firms, crooks with lawyers, outrageous calling rates with outrageous legal rates, and you can find exactly the same phenomenon in the US....BUT, we all know that only applies to all lawyers outside of Illinois......

Simon, that lady should have said "But, you ARE in the same type of business!" why do you think people become lawyers? To get a piece of that outrageious Legal Fee Rate Pie!!! "Cant beat them, so join them" to coin an american phrase.......so i guess americans are just as "ingrained" so to speak....i will have to start paying attention to the shapes of the skulls on my fellow americans...

Personally, my read is that she was joking....using a common statement that i have heard a zillion times......"You should get into that business".....

Just my opinion...and brought to you by a kinder and gentler

Miguel_Clavo =).....Colombia es pasión!

"F.A.R.C..S.U.C.K.S"

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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Gomezman5 says on Mar 7, 2007, 21:25:

You have a point Simon But my loving Gigi, is indeed one of the closest people in my life. I know her sooooooo well. At the same time, I have to say that I am sad to say that Gigi does not have the the wonderful and peculiar sense of humor that us Colombians are known for. In fact, that is probably the main reason that she does not have a lot of friends in Colombia, and there is a part of her that wishes that she was here in Chicago with me.

As to me posting it in Spanish......There are two problems on that front. While I know, and love my people, I will freely admit, my Spanish is not nearly as proficient as my English. I have serious inhibitions about using Spanish in a public forum. I speak it often, but my written skills are lacking. Stated simply, and I am not afraid to admit it, are simply sub-par. I admire people like Desi and other non latinos who have mastered the language as profciently as she has. Of course it helpe that she was married to a Colombian and lived in Colombia. OK, enough of that. Oh....the second reason. Even if I was fluent in written Spanish, most of Colombian would just demurr what I have to say....kinda "write it off" so to speak.

Look, I love my people, enough that I try to teach them the hard realities of life here in the US of A. Last week was a good one. A Colombian who owns a bar/club called me and told me that he was in trouble with the Illinois Department of Revenue for not paying enough corp taxes. He then said, "How do they know what my business makes"?. I said they start with your Liquor inventory. They check stock and on going purchase orders. That's a good indication of what your income should be. He said,"Well, the purchase orders are wrong, I buy bottles at the liquor store that don't show up on the official purchase orders. So they (Revenue dept) don't know." I said they obviously know more than you think, because that is why you have this problem. Two weeks ago, I got a call from another Colombian client, he said his landlord is sueing him for repairs to his new roof. I called his landlord. My goofy client installed a dish on his roof and did not seal the points where the bolts were driven in. The landlord just paid 24,000 dollars for the roof, and this fool screwed up his roof. He had been told twice, no construction without the landlords approval. Now the roofer will not honor the warranty, the roofer is right. The landlord is screwed and all of this is the fault of my client. But he can't seem to understand that.

Look, they are all fundimentally good people.....they just have a different set of rules/values. That's all. But you all know the old saying: When in Rome, you live like the Romans. Same here.

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ksmmcg says on Mar 7, 2007, 21:44:

this is kind of absurd - have you never been ripped off by an american company? or an american in general? i don't know about you, but i certainly have - these things happen everywhere - people are out to make a quick buck and sometimes you get screwed - thats life, read the small print...and i would definitely say that to argue that this is a colombian (insert any other nationality here) mentality is a complete over generalization

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Buongone says on Mar 7, 2007, 22:43:

Phonecardsmile.com Check it out. Looks like some cards may be good deals. Punch in Colombia. Then the city. Some good rates. Have not tried it, but I am going to.

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arthur brode says on Mar 8, 2007, 00:08:

www.skype.com i pay 2 cents per minute calling landlines in the U.S. from Colombia using "skypeout"

http://www.calirentals.net/

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Beantown says on Mar 8, 2007, 02:58:

Skype I Skype ... US to Bogota at $0.059 per minute (with VAT) to a land line but more to a cell. By far the cheapest is video using something like Microsoft Live Messenger .... free ... just need to be on the net. Setup a standard time when you're both going to be on the net. If I'm not at home or in my office, I stop into a coffee shop, like Brueggers, where they have free WiFi. Currently looking into a WiFi VOIP phone to use with Skype ... if anyone cares to comment on that, I would appreciate.

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Lowell says on Mar 8, 2007, 06:37:

Screwing people It's always blown me away that a great portion of the populace beleives it's Ok to screw people all week long, then go to church on Sunday and expect forgivness. Somehow I really don't beleive that's complete thinking. Like a parent forgives their children. There's punishment to be had also. Maybe not know, but, down the line or when one dies..... Time and time again in the Bible it talks about forgivness with punishment (for example:David)........... It's a good guide to living todays life.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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Mononoke28 says on Mar 8, 2007, 12:51:

A lot of Colombians... ... like to think of themselves as good "business" folk when in reality they're just screwing people over. I had a friend who asked me for one of those Lance Armstron yellow rubber wrist bands. Once I bought it, I told him that I had to buy 10 not just one because that's how the LA web site works. Keep in mind that it was a dollar per wrist band so it can go to charity. So then my friend says that I should buy him 100 bands so he can sell them in Medellín for $5-$10USD each! I was blown away by that comment. OF COURSE you would think to make business with the damn wrist band. And OF COURSE I didn't fall for it. =

Diana

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goin_south says on Mar 10, 2007, 21:41:

skype is cheap, but... sometimes, it sounds like PETER FRAMPTONS Talking guitar ;)

Where do we go from here?

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caslug says on Mar 11, 2007, 05:21:

GMAN.. international calling card.. ANY NATION is a big screwy business.. I had the SAME PROBLEM with calling card to VIETNAM! I buy a 10 dollar card that ADVERTISE 120 minute, and got to use ALOT LESS.. SOMETIMES 50% LESS.. NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.. on the website, it on many calling card, they have the right to change the rate AT WITHOUT WARNING.

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Cerealkiller says on Mar 12, 2007, 15:50:

Lowell, it is called Malicia Indigena...dont ask me why, I havent got a clue. The good thing about it is that even if you dont have an indienous background it kind of just rubs off...

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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cali373 says on Mar 22, 2007, 10:51:

Well G5, are you sure she was referring to ripping people off that buy calling cards or just the calling card business itself. Did she clarify?

Smile if you are a thinker!

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cali373 says on Mar 22, 2007, 11:01:

I am currently using this card to call a CELL PHONE in colombia. It has a rate of 6 cents a minute to call a cell phone in Cali (166 minutes for a $10.00 card), when using a local access number.

Does anyone know better rates to call a Cell phone in Colombia?

As far as calling a Cali landline there are far better rates.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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