Are Spaniards/Argentinians unpunctual?
I hear that Spaniards are extraordinarily loose when it comes to time and punctuality. Argentinians as well. How true is this? Any resident Spaniards/Argentinians on this forum who can shed light? Any other countries like this?
Help my North American mind comprehend this!
18 Answers
I am in Bolivia and here it is quite common to arrive late.
An example:
I arranged to meet someone at 9am - I arrived on time and at 9:30 I called the person - he had just got up and said he needed a shower so he would arrive at 10am. I waited till 10am and called again - "Sorry I am having a bite to eat" Seems his attitude was that because he knew that I knew he would eventually arrive - it was OK to keep me waiting. He was half German and half Bolivian - guess which half kept me waiting.
They even have an expression here - and it is not "En punto" it is "English / British time" when they want you to be on time.
Yes, Argetinians in general are far from punctua!!l. I'm Argentinian, but it's not my case. In my opinion, it's a lack of respect... a shame... 
I don't know about Spaniards....
ESto tiene una respuesta corta y concisa:
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About Spain, to give an answer more than just a YES (Heidi xD). Normally we are all a bit unpunctual. But there are some differences, not in every part of Spain is the same.
Normally on the north they are pretty punctual and in the south not... In the south of Spain is sooooooo quiet that you would be surprised. When is Summer people are always so slow... you can't imagine.
I thought about my own theory about this. In the countries where there is more heat, normally people don't feel like rushing and is in their nature to be quiet and chilled. For example in Spain you can make that difference too. Considering we are always late by a kind of special law, in Madrid, at least we rush. In the mediterranean cities like Valencia, Malaga, Cádiz is extremely different. The people in those cities are so chilled, even driving and everything. Also in the south cities like Sevilla, Córdoba... they have the same.
In north of Europe is very unrespectful being late and they can be very mad at you xD I guess the cold makes them rush 
But is a fact that warm countries look at being punctual in life in a very peculiar way 
Por supuesto!!! The concept of time is so different in the asian speaking, english speaking, european world. Time is money, etc, in south america the approach is much different. If you say you will arrive at 10pm for a party noone is going to expect that you are actually there at the time exactly, its loose, give or take 30-40 minutes! even more for young people going to clubs, partying etc. Business is tighter and conforming with the globalised world but still it is not so stringent, I suppose the take away message, is to relax on the punctuality a little.
I believe things have changed in Argentina, people at work are a lot more punctual than going to social events or attending a date or something less formal. It is OK to be 15 min late on a date, actually 15 minutes is considered acceptable. Not in the working atmosphere. However I worked 6 years in different corporation in USA and nobody is really punctual. Calling and saying I am stuck in traffic or I am running late is very common as well as calling to reschedule a meeting. I believe people in north Europe are a lot more punctual than Americans. And don't even talking about public transportation, specially in Florida, a 30 min delay in a bus is normal. Also delays in flies and train services.
Por supuesto!!! You’re not a true Porteña if you’re not late!!
I work with quite a few people in Buenos Aires. When I went to work there for a short time, I noticed that they are probably the MOST lax of any culture when it comes to their social lives. ..They generally don’t have dinner until about 9:30 or 10:00 at night!!!! (There were a couple times when we even started dinner at 11pm or later!!). However, when it comes to any official business, such as work related, practically most all of them are on time. ..in fact, they are usually bugging me when it comes time to join a conference call. ..
I also spent a summer in Segovia, Spain. I noticed that they had a similar attitude as well, especially when it gets to be about siesta time or later. Since I also work with people in Madrid, summers can be hard to get together with people virtually. They are also 7 hours ahead, so they usually are ending their day, so I can’t really comment on their business personalities.
I would like to speak on behalf of the general Hispanics of the world when I say LPT!!! Latin People Timing. But more precisely, I'd like to say CPT, Cuban People Timing. Its something you are taught and generally if you need to be on time then you just make it clear to everyone. Its really no big deal. I think it stems from our closeness between family and friends. A family member will understand if you are half an hour late and a friend won't mind if you are late to a get together because you just make the time longer or plan another one three days away. Being born in America, I never understood the whole "on time" or "you are late" thing. It depends on the occasion. I was late to my own wedding and for my family, I said the mass was at 8am when it was at 10am. There were still some people who were late. You learn to plan for these things.
I´m from Spain and I´m very punctual. It´s true people sometimes are a little bit late, but maybe 5,10 or 15 minutes. I´ve lived in Guatemala and Mexico and to be late means 1hour late! Nobody is punctual, never! at least in my experience. The normal thing is 30min late always.
They don't come on time. Neither do Mexicans. You tell them the party starts at 7 they will be there at 9. So tell them that it starts at 5. Basically all latinos go off of Mexican time
Hola, En España, si vas a un meeting normalmente sueles ser puntual, pero si quedas con tus amigos o es una cita informal, la gente suele llegar tarde. We are not puntual as the English speaking world , but then again we have more fun and life it to short to get upset about being late for an appoinment. In London everyone is so stressed out, they haven't got a clue have to enjoy life, its a shame, I guess they have the same ways as the american, work, work and no much fun.
Harry's mum.
I agree with Niab, my friend that lives there explained that Costa Ricans can be horrible with time. They have their 'own' version of time, and it is sloooooow...
For instance, if you go into a shop to buy a pack of gum, in the US you can expect to buy it and get out and on with your day in about 1-5 minutes. In costa rica you may be waiting in line for a half hour just for some silly gum while the one person in front of you is chatting with the shop attendant for aaages about his goat...
They are not in a hurry for anything, and this goes for everything, work, parties, daily routines...
So from my understanding costa ricans (ticos) and their culture is alot differently paced than say, the US, where everyone is constantly in a rush. I have been told if you have the 'hurry/rush' mentality, being in costa rica will drive you nuts because everything is slowed way down per se.....
This is just what my friend has told me though, I will find out for myself this week when I leave to go visit there.
Here in Australia we are usually on time but as another thread stated there a alot of times where you would ring work and say that you are stuck in traffice etc etc. Most of the time we are very layed back and really only think about bbqs and sucking on a beer and have the attitude of "yep whatever". (too easygoing). Hahahahahah!
I don't know about Spain or Argentina but this sums up the concept of "Mexican time" quite well: http://www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/chapts/viva/time/mx-time.html
It has been my experience with the Mexicans that I have known that being on time is not incredibly important. Obviously, this is a generalization and not the case with everyone. What they are doing in the moment always seems much more important than what they might be doing later and they have a way of forgetting about time. I'm not sure what to credit this to. The people that I hung out with were mostly from rural Mexico and were accustomed to walking to visit neighbors or family or go to the store. I often thought that this might have something to do with it, since it's harder to gauge the amount of time it might take to walk somewhere and easier to get side-tracked. There also seems to be a greater sense of comradery between them and I've seen friends of mine easily go off on unplanned excursions with friends or engage in conversations with strangers that delay them in going to whereever they intended to go.
