Business Protocol In Chile

PRESENTACIÓN DE CHILE

1) Business practices and etiquette

Many Chilean businesspeople are well-educated professionals who travel internationally and speak English. El idioma oficial es el español pero la mayoría de los chilenos estudiados hablan inglés de forma fluida.

The business atmosphere in Chile is more formal than in the rest of South America.

Appointments should be made afew weeks prior to arrival in Chile. January and February are the summer holidays so try and avoid them

Expertise is less important than your personal, family and company background. Family and friendship play a big role in business, and whom one knows is important. Red tape can be minimized considerably if you have the right connections.

* Business attire (male, female)

Mencustomarily wear dark blue or gray suit, a light shirt, and a conservative tie. Bright colors and flashy fashions are not suitable, nor is wearing anything on the lapel. Women should wear a suit and heels.
Appearance is important to Chileans who favor sophisticated European styles. It is important to be neatly and cleanly dressed for all occasions.
Men should wear jackets regardless of where they are orhow hot it is. Conservative, dark suits should be worn for business.
Women should wear dresses and suits for business. Bare legs are acceptable with dresses.

* Business hours, holidays

Horarios de los Comercios
* Tiendas: Lunes a Viernes de 10:00 a 20:00 – Sábado medio día
* Supermercados: Todos los días de la semana 8:00 a 22:00 horas, algunos
hasta las 23:00 horas.* Centros Comerciales (Mall): Todos los días de la semana de 10:30 a 21:00
horas.
* Aunque el almuerzo chileno se realiza entre las 13:30 y 15:00 horas, los
restaurantes mantienen abierta la cocina para los habituados a comidas tardías.

Horarios de las administraciones:
* Organismos Públicos: Lunes a viernes de 9:00 a 14:00 horas (atención
público)
* Bancos: Lunes aviernes de 9:00 a 14:00 horas (atención público)

Business day starts at 9 a.m. and ends between 6 and 7 p.m.
Lunch breaks usually do not begin before 1 p.m.

Best time for a business meeting: Los mejores horarios para concertar una cita son de 10 de la mañana a 1 del mediodía y de 3 a 5 de la tarde

In business, punctuality respected. Meetings should start and end on time

*Introductions (including business card exchange)

 With first introductions, a handshake is the custom.
Male Chileans may greet each other with hearty hugs, with women customarily kissing each other on the cheek

Address people by their surnames and Mr, Mrs or Miss
Titles are important and should be included on business cards. Address a person directly by using his or her title only. A Ph.D or aphysician is called Doctor. Teachers prefer the title Profesor, engineers go by Ingeniero, architects are Arquitecto, and lawyers are Abogado. Persons who do not have professional titles should be addressed as Mr., Mrs., or Miss, plus their surnames. In Spanish these are
* Mr. = Senor
* Mrs. = Senora
* Miss = Senorita
Most Hispanics have two surnames: one from theirfather, which is listed first, followed by one from their mother. Only the father’s surname is used when addressing someone

Have business cards printed with English on one side and Spanish on the other. Present cards to everyone in a meeting except secretaries.

Por lo general, los chilenos son gente muy afectuosa, por ende, los saludos se caracterizan por mucho contacto físico y gran demostraciónde afecto.

Ofrezca un apretón de manos y establezca contacto visual cuando salude a un chileno, y no olvide acompañar ese gesto con una sonrisa. Además, asegúrese que
salude a todos los presentes.

Las mujeres suelen saludarse con besos en las mejillas.

No salude con un “hola” en general, puede ser percibido como un acto grosero e
impersonal.

Note que mientras la amistad...