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The X, Y, Z of Brazilian excuses

by Chloe Hayward

Brazil is notorious for many things, caipirinhas, carnival and beautiful beaches... but in the mind of one Euromoney journalist Brazil also breeds a special type of PR who can invent some of the most original excuses for delays to meetings.

Tall tale 1: "I’m terribly sorry, Mr X, is not here yet. You see we normally start work at 9am, and for some reason he booked this meeting for 8am – maybe he mistyped it... let’s hope he turns up soon..."

At 8.45am a very apologetic Mr X arrives blaming the traffic – another classic excuse that journalists and bankers in São Paulo both use with great abundance.

Tall tale 2: "You must be from the magazine? We are very sorry but Mr Y is running a bit late. He has been detained on a call to the CFO – I am sure you understand, but you aren’t as important as the CFO...."

Tall tale 3: "Ah... Mr Z has just popped out to get a sandwich; he’ll be back shortly... I think."

Five minutes later Euromoney was pleased to be ushered out of the office to a particularly decadent restaurant and asked to join Mr Z for the three-course meal he was just starting.

Euromoney’s 2012 FX survey results

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