Long Time Passing

Think that the way of doing business in Mallorca is just like... like the real world. Quite often it is, but there are times ... Let me tell you about a restaurant, a restaurant that comes under the orbit of a company in Santa Ponsa. The restaurant is in Puerto Pollensa; first time I've dealt with them. So, I hand an invoice in at the restaurant. It was sent to Santa Ponsa, complete with all details - address, bank account number etc. Anyway, a month goes by and I ring the company. Now this is not some insignificant outfit; it has, for instance, half a dozen numbers in the Santa Ponsa listings. I speak eventually to the "office". The payment is not ready yet. Ok, fine. When do you think so? Don't know. Have to speak to the boss. Ok, but tell me, do you send the cheque by post or make a bank transfer? Er, well, could you pass by? You what? Let me get this right. You want me to make a round trip of some 130 kilometres that will take a couple of hours of my time in order to collect a cheque.

Basically, that was the size of it. She did say that they might make a transfer, but I am not that hopeful. Perhaps I should be grateful that a "simple" passing-by might actually extract the booty. And at times that's the impression you get; that one should be grateful that payment might actually be made.

Let me tell you about one of the more significant "attractions" on the island. The invoice had been left a month or so ago, so I rang and agreed that I would "pass by" (only a 20 kilometre round-trip this one) the following afternoon. When I get there, the boss is not about. Palma. There's often an urgent visit to Palma, I have discovered. There ensues a bit of a search to see if any payment might have been left. Not as such. Indeed the invoice cannot be located. Sensibly, and with the benefit of several years experience, I have brought a copy. Can I leave my number? Well I can and do, although it is of course on the invoice. Will I get a call? I very much doubt it. This particular attraction is run by some of the nicest people you can meet. Everyone is hugely friendly. It is a pretty big concern nowadays, but the boss is still the one who makes the payments. And maybe makes them by bank transfer. Or maybe by cheque for which I will need - again - to "pass by".

In many cases, bars, restaurants, shops, whatever, there is nothing unusual in passing by and having the boss pay you. You would expect this to be the case in many instances, but not in all, especially those that involve distance or a business that is slightly more than a one-man band operating out of a sweaty kitchen. Delegation of things like writing out cheques is one thing, the other is the means of their delivery. To an extent one can understand the wish for recipients to "pass by", and this stems from a reluctance to use a postal service which can be somewhat erratic. One has heard anecdotes of post going missing, especially items that might appear to include some form of monetary transaction. In the case of cheques, the strange custom here of writing out a cheque "al portador" (to the bearer) could I guess, if the cheque were to be intercepted, result in someone else pocketing the cash; in which case, make it out properly.

But mistrust of the postal service is widespread and so there is the other mechanism, that of bank transfer. Neither it nor putting the cheque in the post is exactly a taxing or troublesome operation, but it can often appear that it is just too much trouble. Could you pass by therefore. The fact though that it might even be considered that a personal visit is the preferred mode of effecting a transaction highlights the inefficiency of much business life here. All these people running around in endless acts of passing by in order to pick up a payment. You wonder how business ever gets done at times.

Note: One of the more common bits of Spanish one encounters therefore is ¿puedes pasar? Can you come or pass by?


POLLENSA'S WEIRD WORLD OF WATER
And more on matters of a watery nature down Pollensa way. And more denials from the mayor. Today's episode involves the pool in Puerto Pollensa which has been criticised for being too cold and for not being disinfected. The mayor says that heating the water is not necessary in summer and that the machinery is checked twice a day. Well, that's all good to know.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - C+C Music Factory (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Dtfi3VkiU). Today's title - from a famous folk song.

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