Italy: Appointment Alert!
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Making appointments
Given the choice, Italians would prefer to do business with even a superficial acquaintance rather than a complete stranger. Since familiarity is so important in Italian business culture, ensure that you find a contact who can establish the right introductions on your behalf. Italians preference for contact is (in descending order): face to face, telephone, letter, email. It is often very difficult to establish first contacts with an Italian business person by email. This is less true if the Italian you are contacting works for an international organisation.
In Italian business culture, punctuality is not as much of a priority. As a visitor, however, it's usually a good policy to arrive on time. Be prepared to wait 15-45 minutes before your Italian counterpart appears or lets you into his or her office. Consequently, you may want to bring work, a book or another diversion to fill the time while you wait. Being kept waiting is not a sign that they are not interested in your product or service but a consequence of the multi-tasking way of working. A senior manager may also not want to be seen to be too available so being kept waiting can also be a signal of how senior your contact is.
Northern business hours for small businesses, shops and public offices are usually 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Also, a lot of businesses are open Saturday mornings. Larger companies usually work from 8.30 /9.00 until 6.00/6.30 with an hour or so for lunch. This lunch break will be significantly longer when eating out at a restaurant with guests.
In central and southern Italy, business hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. then 4:30 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The southern business pace is usually less intense.
Generally, the best times to plan appointments are between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. and after 3 or 4p.m.
Be aware of summer vacation periods. Most firms are closed in August. If you write for an appointment in early August, you may not receive a satisfactory reply until September.
Many Italian public holidays follow those of continental Europe but are usually different from the U.S., U.K. and Canada. It is worth checking while planning a trip that a public holiday does not fall in the middle of it as the company and whole region may close down that day.
Italian public holidays are as follows:
1 January: New Year’s Day Capodanno
6 January: Epiphany Epifania
March-April: Easter Sunday Pasqua
Day after Easter: Easter Monday Pasquetta
25 April: Anniversary of Liberation Festa della Liberazione (end of World War II in Italy 1945)
1 May: Labour Day Festa dei Lavoratori
2 June: Republic Day Festa della Repubblica (birth of the Italian Republic 1946)
15 August: Assumption Day Ferragosto
1 November: All Saints Ognissanti
8 December: Immacolata Concezione
25 December: Christmas Day Natale
26 December: St Stephen's Day Santo Stefano
There is usually one more local day of holiday in the year but this various from place to place. It is worth noting that if these public holidays fall on a Tuesday or Thursday that businesses may close for a long weekend (called a bridge or ponte).
