"Punctuality is the politeness of kings"*

I am finding that one of the hardest things to deal with in the Philippines is the whole concept of timing and punctuality.

....in all my years overseas I have never come across a society which has such a loose grasp on the meaning of 'punctuality'.....coming from a swiss training, having spent time in the territorial army (and an English boarding school which is fairly similar!!) I pride myself in making sure I am on time....meetings here can start anything up to an hour after the scheduled start time....it is so frustrating and such a waste of time...and money....and when I voice my complaints...everyone laughs and says..."this is the Philippines...get used to it...."

The other challenge is the speed at which things are accomplished...ask for a quote - it can take four or five days, ask for a sample - it can take two weeks....these are not difficult things I am asking for, things that in HKG would take less than two hours to arrive on my desk (I am not trying to compare the Philippines and HKG...just give an idea of the simplicity of the tasks I am referring to)....sometimes there seem to be two speeds here...dead slow....and stop.

The other day I was in the car listening to the radio with a visitor from HKG who was also frustrated on the timing issue....on the radio the DJ was asking people to phone in with answers to the following question..."What makes you proud to be a Filipino"...I sat thinking of various answers that people could give...when my colleague pipes up with...."and you have a week to answer"........just about sums it up.

I realise that every culture and country has its little quirks, I also know that I am incredibly impatient and want everything yesterday....but these two points are major issues and must have a negative impact on the business arena as a whole....not just my little corner of Manila.



*Louis XVIII