Lessons from Vietnam and Cambodia

Where do I start?  This was a fascinating three week trip and I hate to spoil the memories by giving negative vibes about what we discovered.  But the truth is, there are many lessons to be learned from the way people do things differently – and they are not all bad, so I will try to give you a balanced view of what we found.

As in most places we went browsing the clothing shops, and when there is a lot of competition, it’s the little things that count.  At Giayn Xuatau, a shirt shop we browsed, the manager told us he remembered that we were in the shop the previous night.  That started a conversation and we ended up buying.

Flor, the shop manager at Ken Silk refused to negotiate on price, and it wasn’t until we saw identical items at a competing shop that were priced three times more expensive, that we realized Ken Silk was great value for money.  I purchased a shirt, and Wendy had some trousers made for collection the following day.  Great service, realistically priced.

In Hoi An, we visited a silk production factory.  We were shown the processes from silk worm to finished product and then taken to the showroom.  I think nearly half of us purchased product, and two of those were garments which had to be made up and delivered to the hotel the following morning (still leaving time to be altered if they got it wrong).  What great opportunities taken, fantastic service, followed up by delivering class products.

One night we were wandering after dinner, and were approached by two ladies, standing outside a restaurant.  They invited us to look at their menu, which was an excellent offering and more than reasonably priced.  We had already eaten but promised to come back the following night – which we did, and had a three course meal.  And there was only one reason we were there.  Because we were approached the previous night.  I made a point of seeking out the manager and made sure he knew that the only reason we were there was because of the salesmanship of his two employees.

So there are a number of ideas that could be employed in businesses here in New Zealand.  All you need to do is have the courage to try them.  Don’t dismiss them as being in a different market – try some of them out.  They might just work!