WHAT TIME SHOULD I ARRIVE?

Your Mexican contacts may be late for appointments—sometimes considerably so. However, you do not have that luxury. It is important to allocate far more time than you think necessary to make your meeting on time. Traffic in Mexico City is atrocious. Gridlock is ubiquitous, cars are only permitted to drive on certain days of the week (to combat pollution), and people often schedule only two appointments a day.

Traffic is the most common excuse for a major delay, but if your client is only a half hour late, do not expect it to be mentioned at all. Always take work with you, relax, expect to wait, and be happy when the prospect does arrive. Mexicans are well aware of North American and European Union attitudes toward time and will be watching your reaction to normal delays.