In Ecuador You Can Go In Front of the Line at Banks - Update 2016

Update 2016: There have been some updates we want to tell you about. You want the hard cold truth, right? Heheheh. We are told that in Ecuador if you are a senior/elder person then you should be able to go in the front of the line at banks and in other establishments but we have experienced that it doesn't always work out and especially if you're in that void where you're mature but not quite yet the senior age.

In Ecuador you can go in front of the line at banking establishments, and even at ETAPA Internet, if you are an older man over the
age of 60, have a handicap, or if you are a woman with a small child. Now this may not mean
much to you if you’ve never stood in an Ecuadorian bank or Internet line
before. But waiting to make a bank deposit or waiting to pay an Internet bill
in Ecuador can take 30 minutes or longer.  

Why the long
wait? The crowds are huge here! It doesn’t matter what bank you go to, they are
all busy all day. If you’re lucky there may be a lull between 1:30pm to 3pm,
which is Ecuadorian dinner time. But then again that may backfire since there
are less tellers at that time because their all out to lunch too.

If you
happen to be on a schedule it is always a good idea to get to the bank or other
government establishment early because, who knows, you may wait in line up to
an hour, or longer!  Unless of course, you
happen to be an older man over the age of 60, a woman with a small child, or
have a handicap.   

Some
establishments have a sign stating this policy, but many do not.  When we were new, and were waiting in large
lines, we would notice people that appeared to be cutting in front of
everyone.  We tried and successfully were
able to profile them, apparently those who were cutting in line were pregnant women, or women holding small children, and older citizens.  However, it wasn’t easy as we weren’t
completely sure.  Then we happened on an
institution with an explanatory sign.

It is
apparent to us that this policy is well established within the culture.  The respect of the elderly and pregnant women
appears to be ingrained within the society. 
And this is a good thing.  It
would be the equivalent in North America to letting the handicapped park in
front of the parking lot without there being any signs under penalty of law compelling
anyone to do so.

Understand,
we’re not saying there aren’t any similar law here.  We don’t know.  But if there are, the fact remains that there
is not always a stick being waived for compliance.  And this is because people simply respect the
respectable, usually.  And that’s the kind of
neighborhood we like to live in…

So does this
apply to gringos too? Well, why not? 



Just the other
day we were at the bank and the teller motioned for a 30 something
younger man to go before us. Clearly we are older but maybe she wasn't paying attention. We did mention something to her when we finally got up in the
line and she said she was sorry. Should we take it as a compliment or something else? Or perhaps it only applies to those who look over 60 years of age. 



Waiting in a long and busy supermarket line a couple of years ago in Cuenca, an older lady kept bumping her cart into our backsides. We'd turn around and she would look the other way. This happened at least four times before it dawned on us that she wanted to go ahead of us. We of course let her go before us.



Another time a young person pushed their way in front of us but we didn't let the 20 something youngster go before us, we asked the lad to please go to the back of the line.



Another time on the bus a young boy of about 10 years old was scrambling to get the seat before us and we again said "sorry kiddo, you're just a bit too young to be able to get the seat". (paraphrased for effect) We usually have very heavy backpacks and welcome a seat on the bus. We're saying all this to let folks know that you may have to be a bit assertive to go next before a young(er) person.



We
have had a couple different senior expats complain to us that they try to go
in the front of the line but younger people push their way in front of
them and  that it doesn't happen rarely but often. She went on to tell us that one time she asked a young woman why she went
in front of her and she said she was pregnant. Our senior expat friend said she didn't look pregnant. 



Ah well...what can you do.  Until we write again, you might like to read these other articles about what you can do while living in Ecuador.

• In Ecuador You Can Be Healthy...

• In Ecuador You Can Paint Your House Pink

• In Ecuador You Can Jaywalk

We're an expat family of five living frugal, healthy and happy in Cuenca Ecuador. Come along and enjoy some of our adventures with us!