Argentina: Córdoba (Expectations vs. Reality)

Two summers ago I learned about the Argentine artist Milo Lockett from a coworker who received permission from the artist himself to teach students in Minnesota about his style and create replications of his pieces. His paintings are simplistic, often including people, animals, and bright colors; these designs are now featured everywhere - even on ice cream cartons and kitchenware. At first I understood that it was Milo's intention to promote creativity among youth and maintain art education in Argentine schools. I later learned that he has established a number of restaurants around Argentina in his name. Since there is one in Córdoba, we went downtown to check it out recently. We had high expectations for our visit to the Milo Bar, but not all was as bright and colorful as we had thought it would be.

Expectation #1: Bright, bold colors everywhere.

These were the only pops of colors that were incorporated into the otherwise dark space.

Reality: Dark, obscure, and creepy designs.

Look at those faces on the wall behind Emi and honestly tell me that you would like to see something like that painted on a kindergarten classroom wall. You can't. 

Expectation #2: A nice, warm cappuccino. Or a hot chocolate. Or maybe a passion fruit and coconut smoothie. Perhaps a sandwich to go with it.

Reality: None of the above because, despite the establishment's somewhat famed reputation, it has a broken espresso machine (which means hot beverages were out because apparently they had no other way to heat milk or make coffee) and no coconut (which would make the passion fruit and coconut smoothie simply unsatisfying). There's also no bread, which means, sorry, no sandwiches either. You settle for a strawberry smoothie. 

I was also expecting to see a note in the menu about Milo's philanthropic efforts, or a sign at the entrance that encouraged supporting art education, but neither were to be found. I don't mean to doubt Milo's intentions, but one can't know how much, if any, of his profits go towards community projects if he or she has no way of being informed. 

This experience was a reminder that business cultures differ from place to place. Some places put utmost importance on having all of the menu items in stock, and if one distributor runs out of an item, they will search with other distributors until they can get their hands on the items needed. If it is absolutely impossible to locate an item, the customers are informed up front. Some places will only bring you your check when you ask for it, while others put speedy customer service at the forefront and bring you your check before you have even had a minute to dig into your meal. Sidenote: I'm not a fan of the latter-mentioned establishments. 

Other business models force their employees to fake a smile and do as the customer wishes even though the employees are exhausted. A winery that we visited on the day after checking out the Milo Bar has not adopted this model, apparently. We were strolling through the city of nearby Jesús María when we happened upon a winery and went inside to check it out. After asking about tour and tasting options, we were told that, "Actually, we've had a lot of people come in today and we are tired, but if you would like to walk through and see the barrels of wine on your own, feel free to do so." So that is what we did, and five minutes later we kindly left so that the employees might have a chance to rest despite their schedule claiming they were open for another 3 hours. 

We couldn't tell you the history of this winery, the flavors of its wine, how much it produces, or where it delivers. But the barrels look nice, don't they?

In conclusion, businesses are operated differently according to local customs, the owner's style and vision, the integrity of their employees, and the list goes on. I am not here as a business adviser, but if I were, I would have a few recommendations for these businesses. My first project would be recommending a name change for the poorly-named furniture store pictured below that we saw in Córdoba's city center. What do you all think?