Panama Forum

newbietopanama
Joined 2015
Posts: 64

8 years ago

Er...........just wondering : would this kind of restaurant succeed in Panama?

8 years ago

Ok.

I'll dive straight into it, and ask : if someone decided to open a restaurant in Panama, where the staff (waiters, waitresses, etc) were actually paid to be rude to customers............would it take off nicely? Or would such an establishment crash and burn?

Before you decide that I've lost my marbles, here's the reason why I'm asking :

http://www.odditycentral.com/travel/dicks-last-resort-restaurant-would-you-like-insults-with-that.html

This restaurant (called "Dick's, for a good reason, too) has become very popular in the States. But, not surprisingly, it's hardly known outside the US. I myself never heard of it, until I accidentally bumped into a YouTube video about it on Facebook 2 weeks ago.

Anyway, here's what happened : after checking out their website, I found it so amusing (and, I confess, rather intriguing), that I posted a comment to the website's admins, saying that : "it would be great to expand your establishment outside the States". And, just on the fly, I ,mentioned that I myself would love to visit Dick's one day. But, it would have to wait, as I am moving to Panama next month, and probably won't be visiting the States anytime soon."

And that was that. I totally forgot about the whole thing............until last night. To my utter amazement, I received an email from one of Dick's rep, in which he thanked me for my comment, and hit me right between the eyes with this : "how would you like to be our feasibility rep in Central America?????"

(A feasibility rep, for those who don't know, is someone who studies and examines the possibility and/or feasibility of establishing a venture at a particular time, and/or in a particular place. If the response is positive, the rep is tasked with putting pen to paper, and building the venture).

(As Bruce Willis would have said : "Yippee-Ki-Yay")

I admit : the surprise was such that, I instinctively responded by saying "Thank you so much, but no thanks. I don't know the first thing about the restaurant business!"

After sending that message, however, I started to re-think. And the notion wouldn't leave me alone (haha)

Is it possible to get such a thing up and running in a place like Panama??

I've never been to Panama. But, I've been to Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, and Mexico. Of course, this does not make an expert on Central America. Far from it. But, there's one thing I know about latinos (men and women) : they do NOT take kindly to being insulted (whether or not you mean it as a "joke").

And the whole idea behind Dick's Restaurant is just that : insults! You should have a sense of humor, and be ready and able to take insults literally thrown in your face.

So, right now, I'm mulling over it. I've never ever been involved in any way in the restaurant business. But then, this is why I decided to move to Panama to begin with : to start a new life, get into something new.

So..........hmm.........why not?

I'm just wondering what anyone else thinks. Those of you who've lived in Panama for years know better how the locals would respond to a place, where the staff are paid to curse and swear at you while you eat))))))

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