Free Trade Agreement....The waiting game

Well, after I don't remember how many years, and how many street blockades, angry media seeking politicians and taxi driver protests, the Free Trade Agreement in Costa Rica is finally moving into effect.

I am no politician, and try only to follow what is going on, without getting too opiniated. I do know a few things in my short life experience. It would be nice not to have wait one year to get a phone line. It would be nice to be able to walk into a store, buy a cell phone, and walk out talking on that phone. It would be nice to be able to call the phone company (of my choice) and complain about a current problem, and actually have someone provide a solution. Well, my friends, this is called competition and I can tell you that I may or may not understand the intricacies of a free trade agreement and their short and long term effects, but from an egotistical standpoint, I can tell you that I am looking forward to.

I always laugh when my clients ask me: Todd, where can I pick up a cell phone when I am down there. They see my smile and ask what is so funny....I explain that now only is there a long waiting list to get a line, but also, that as a foreigner, they cannot get a phone....Of course, we do not like to dissapoint our clients therefore, I follow that intro with the explanation of how we can assist them, and we are able to get them a phone and a line through some of our sympathetic local connections....

Also quite comical when a client asks, who do you recommend that I contact about insuring my house, or car, etc....The answer, in the past, has always been easy. Does not matter, price is the same anywhere you go....Monopolies...it was always much more fun when you were playing with fake money as a kid, and all you had to do was pass GO and COLLECT $200. Now, it feels like you are being sent to the local prison, without your GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD.

So, ladies and gentlemen, get prepared...Those who have never had to compete in Costa Rica are being forced to do so. The effects are already being felt although the competition is not yet here. WIFI services are increasing, BLACKBERRY service is finally here for the addicts, and an amazing concept in communications is actually starting to be felt like a shockwave across the country: service. Special business centers are being set up by the previous monopoly (ICE) to tend to businesses, and business people to provide them with attention, service, and even a warm cup of coffee served by a smiling young latina, as opposed to a disgruntled, heavyset, bearded lady named Olga, who sends you to end of the line b/c your passport is blurry.

Oh, yes, times they are a changing down here....