THE SITUATION
It's not that Mexico is unreliable, it's that the United States is TOO reliable. The wealthy country I hail from is known for its punctual live-by-the-clock culture. When it comes to doing something as simple as buying new tires for my motorcycle, I've learned a bevy of lessons about navigating this world- the world where people have to do more with less.
It starts with the tires themselves. Man, these things have been through a lot. As I roll into Puerto Vallarta, the tires on this motorcycle have taken me from Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory to the Arctic Ocean to here and everything in between. They've been on all the dual sport roads, the offroad campsites, the city streets, and the long lonely highways. With the exception of some hitch-hiking and ferries, they've been everywhere I've been.
As of the writing of this blog they've been with me for 14,265 Mi or 22,958 Km. That's a long time to hold onto tires, especially after they've received abuse like you get on the Dalton, or the public forest access logging roads of the interior of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. While I'm in one spot, it's time to make a change.
THE HUNT
It starts off when I see a tire shop along the road. Let's call them Tire Shop A. I pull up to them when I have some free time, ask them if they change motorcycle tires. They say no, but give me the name of Tire Shop B. I go to B, and they tell me they can order me some tires. They jot down the sizes I'm looking for and take down my phone number. They say they'll call me.
B never calls me. So I go back, thinking that my US phone number (which works in Mexico) requires a country-code to call. I give it to them and they tell me they'll call me LATER THAT DAY.
B still never calls. Finally I decide to strike out and find another vendor. There's one closer to me so I pull over to Shop C. Shop C says they cannot do motorcycles of my size and give me the name of Shop D.
I go to Shop D and they tell me they can switch out the tires, but they cannot order or BUY the tires. They give me the name and location of Shop E.
I go to Shop E. They have no tires my size in stock but the guy behind the counter is willing to go online and search through a few vendors for the tires. They find them, give me a price, and I go to the counter to pay. (THIS IS TIRE PAIR A) I ask them if they take Credit Cards. They do, but Shop E won't charge my card without adding a 5% Credit Card Transaction Fee to the total. Considering the tires cost hundreds of dollars, 5% is quite a price difference. It's the equivalent of over a weeks' worth of meals.
I tell them I'm going to have to go to an ATM. This also requires I take cash out of savings. This takes several days. Finally, with cash in hand, I go to Shop E again. The same guy who helped me before is behind the counter. I ask for him to look up the invoice they gave me, I'd like to buy the same tires. He says he'll take my number and he'll call me.
I'm not falling for it. I say "No, I want to find the tires and purchase them today."
"But we're busy" he whines. It was a legitimate whine. A gripe like a child being told he'd have to pick up after himself.
He goes into the back. While I wait, I stand directly at the counter. I don't move to the side, I don't smile, I stay in the way. I hold people up. I'm not here to wait my turn, I'm ON my turn. I'm here to buy some tires. I'm here to conduct business.
You see, I've quickly learned that in Mexico, unlike my midwestern culture, you don't give people pleasantries and social sympathies when conducting business. When you meet anyone from a street vendor to a person in a store, you don't smile. You don't make small talk. If you do, they think, "oh, here's a smiley gringo I can take advantage of."
I've heard of cultures like Finland and Russia where strangers don't smile to each other to be pleasant or as a social nicety. I those cultures, smiling at strangers can be taken as insanity, or worse: a threat. "Why would a stranger smile at me?"
So, taking this to heart, I act like a stuck-up Karen who's just looking for a reason to be wronged. When the whining worker returns, he's brought his older more experienced coworker. The new guy takes a computer, aims the screen at himself and looks at my tire requirements. He begins to go to work. The young guy behind the counter? He starts stocking shelves. You're welcome to call me out for stereotyping but the whiney kid's behavior isn't a problem with his work ethic. Socially, this lack of ethic is considered normal. A US-level work ethic of always being on time and doing just above the bare minimum? That can get you places around here. You'll rise fast in this environment. I can't say whether or not it will draw the ire of your coworkers, however.
Anyway, back to the action. He finds me the tires. He says "These have been purchased, they're not available. We're going to have to find others." I cannot buy TIRE PAIR A.
I have no way of knowing this, but he keeps looking. He says he's found them. I take a look at the treads to confirm it's something I'd like on the bike. I also see the website he's searching on. It's Mercado Libre, the "Mexican Amazon.com". After taking down the prices of the tires on a piece of paper I can't read, he says he'll need to go into the back to get a price.
I know what this guy is up to.
So, when he goes into the back, I sneak around the counter and take a picture of the screen. His coworkers don't notice. If they do notice, they don't care.
Finally when he returns, it looks like TIRE PAIR B is going to cost $200 more than TIRE PAIR A.
I give him a look of feigned shock. I tell him an honest story, that I had come here to Tire Shop E to buy TIRE PAIR A and had grabbed cash because of the credit card transaction fee. This rise in price is higher than the cash I have on hand, and I have maxed out my ATM usage for the day. I will have to return.
I never return.
I look on Mercado Libre and find TIRE PAIR C. The same tires but at a much lower price. The price goes down from $13,800 MXN Pesos to $8,800 MXN Pesos.
In short:
TIRE PAIR A: $611.28 USD
TIRE PAIR B: $702.98 USD
TIRE PAIR C: $448.25 SUD
So. Mercado Libre (Tire Shop F) is going to be the place.
THE ORDER
Mercado Libre requires a Username and Password. No big deal. Then they need some other identifying information. They need a Phone Number. I punch in my phone number. It does not work.
The website requires a Mexican phone number. Luckily, I met a man in town here that has a Mexican Phone number, my former snowbird neighbor and friend, Jean-Guy from Ontario.
He allows me to use his number. I punch in the number. It sends a verification code to his number. Jean-Guy sends it to me. I punch it in and I'm in.
I make sure I find the tires, put them into my cart on the website, and go to work with the purchase.
I plug in my address and it stops me. I need to download the app.
I download the App. It asks me to take a picture of my face. It asks me for a copy of my driver's license. I don't have a driver's license, so it asks for a picture of my passport. I send them a picture of my passport. I've now created a profile in the App. With this information, I should be able to make a purchase.
I plug in my credit card information and it stops me again. I need to plug in my CURP, which is an acronym for the "Mexican Social Security Number." I don't have a CURP, so I cannot use my Credit Card. I have my choices to pay in cash at a couple different chains of brick-and-mortar stores. I figure I'll put it off until the next day as the bank nearby is closed.
THE HOME INVASION
That night, I'm on the couch in my apartment watching "Narcos: Mexico: with my front button and fly undone on my pants Al Bundy-style. Outside the front door I hear girls speaking in Spanish. Then I hear a key being put in my door. I look at the door thinking "there's no way. They must have the wrong room."
Then, the door opens. 3 young women stop right in the doorway with their airplane luggage in shock. They have no idea why I'm in there. I have no idea how they got in. In Spanish I ask them who gave them the key. They said the AirBnB people did. I ask who exactly, if it was a younger guy or an older woman. They didn't want to answer, in fact, in a cocktail of shock and embarrassment they just turn around and start walking away and down the stairs. One stays behind and tells me that they had a reservation for my room, 200, and they don't know what's going on.
Why did they come to my door? Well, as it turns out, the whole apartment building is used by AirBnB. About 15 different apartments are used for AirBnB and the #200 is on every reservation. So no matter which room they get, 200 will still be on their reservation. SOMEONE gave them the key for 200 when they asked for it and walked right in.
Looks like I need to move.
Looks like the Tire Order is going to be delayed further. I cannot give the wrong apartment number on my order. I'll have to wait until I get a new place.
The next day I put on my mean face and I lightly scold the AirBnB owners / staff / cleaners. It's the same older woman and younger man I've been talking with the whole time I've lived here the last few weeks. I've been on good speaking terms with them, but this is my opportunity to not get walked on. This is Mexico, this apartment is a business transaction, I need to be firm with them. YES, this is a misunderstanding, but I cannot trust them to not make the same mistake again.
When I talk with them, I remind them that my laptop, my passport, all my valuable belongings are in my apartment. What if they'd arrived when I wasn't there?
They agree to let me move, but it will be when another apartment vacates.
THE ORDER
I finally move into a new apartment. Now that I have another permanent address, I make the change to the order on Tire Shop F, I make the order and offer to pay in cash at a bank nearby. It gives me a code. I bring the code to the bank and pay. TIRE PAIR C HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN ORDERED.
THE DELIVERY
Mercado Libre gives me a password to give to the delivery folks when they deliver the goods. They say it'll take 4 days for one tire and 7 for the other but SURPRISE, I receive notifications that they'll be delivered in 1 and 2 days respectively.
I SOMEHOW am at home both times they arrive. It's a miracle. I finally have the tires.
THE CHANGE
I go back to Tire Shop D to put them on. I go there the day before to make sure I can make a time and they tell me "tomorrow, 10AM when we open."
I get there but don't expect them to be ready. They are. They tell me it'll take until 2PM. Then 1:30PM. They say it will be 600 Pesos. That is $30.70 in USD. Astonished, I make sure I have the amount correct. 600 PESOS, correct? They nod. I say I wanted them to repeat it so I know how much to take out of the ATM. In reality I was masking my astonishment at the price.
I don't expect it to be ready by the time I walk back to the garage but there it is. 600 Mexican Pesos for the new tire exchange. It's official. I have the new tires.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
I've learned that you cannot rely on anyone in Mexico as much as one can where I'm from. In the US there is a lot more pressure on employees to perform. Not just from management, but from the employees themselves. A lot of self worth in the United States is tied to our jobs. If we fail at a job, many of us have identity crises. We feel worthless. Not here. Here, a job is a means to an end, because people work to live here, not live to work.
If you catch an employee on a bad day, they'll end up not working for you. There is nothing you can do about this other than be persistent. If they throw a unique 'problem' at you like a delay or price rise, if you say "yeah sure, no problem" then they're not going to feel any pressure to perform their duties as an employee. This is a business transaction. You're not there to make friends. It's money first, social relations second. In the US, those feelings can be mixed.
Again, you're not there to make friends. Don't keep it casual. Keep it business. Put on your mean-mug face. Don't smile at strangers. Make demands, not requests. Imagine the transaction not going your way the moment you step in. If you're a smiling gringo like myself, they're going to walk all over you. They're going to overcharge you. If they start speaking in English, insist on Spanish. Keep responding in Spanish. Force the conversation into Spanish. If they're speaking in English, that means that they're using rehearsed lines. They've practiced them. They work on gringos. Don't fall for it.
I now look at major transactions with a sense of dread. This is normal. This is healthy. The intimidation of a financial transaction forces us to want to have the experience over. You need to fight against this urge. My job is to get as far as I can while spending the least amount possible. The less I spend, the farther I go. Many of us will confront these intimidating situations and pay any price just to have them over. If I decided to go with the shortest route possible, I'd have a few hundred dollars less in my bank account for the same result. Changing my tires helped me learn how to not only fight this urge, but gain the confidence necessary to keep it going again and again, as I will inevitably will, in my trip to Tierra Del Fuego.
JT
-12/13/2022