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Order Delays - It Is Good To Be Home
Once again I find myself with a backlog of orders and worried buyers due to an
unexpected absence. I will be contacting everyone today to resolve things. There
are dozens of BO messages and emails I need to respond to, but I will reply to
all of them today.
There are reasons for the delay, but no excuses. I will accept whatever feedback
buyers choose to leave for this delay.
On August 1st I received news that one of clients had suddenly passed away. He
and I had been working closely together these past few months to negotiate a
joint venture deal in Vietnam for a Japanese company to open up a factory there.
On August 5th, the company asked me to fly to Vietnam to close the deal. Other
than me and my client, there was no one else as thoroughly familiar with all
the details of the project. I left home on the 6th and returned late last night.
Due to the Vietnamese government being one of the local partners in the joint
venture and the sensitive nature of the project, I was told I would not be allowed
to use my cell phone and laptop in the country. I could only bring unencrypted
data storage devices and would have limited access to a government provided satellite
phone and computer. I passed on the offer of a computer and decided to go low-tech
and use paper and my memory. There was no way I was going to put my client's
confidential data on a computer provided by the Vietnamese government. This meant
I would have no internet access and only occasional calls home and to my client
company in Japan.
Upon arrival in Vietnam, I was picked up by a driver and we started the six-hour
journey to the site. Two hours into the trip, the car broke down and we had to
stay overnight in some run-down country inn. The room had no curtains and bright
neon lights flashed into my room all night long. The next day another car picked
us up and drove us the remaining four hours of the way (mostly over bumpy rural
roads). The elderly driver - a former NVA regular - thought that since I was
an American I might enjoy seeing some bomb craters and a downed US Air Force
plane along the way.
This pretty much set the tone for the entire trip. There wasn't much to do
or see around the unfinished factory site, and the food was horrible. So much
so that I got food poisoning that lasted 24 hours. Eventually, we concluded the
negotiations and reached a supposedly final deal. I say "supposedly" because
the government and local workers cooperative need to review and approve the deal
before anything is really considered "final".
At least the air travel to and from Vietnam wasn't too bad. And it was great
to finally return home to air conditioning and functioning indoor plumbing.
In any event, because of this sudden unexpected trip, I haven't been able
to do anything with my BrickOwl store the past 10 days. So I have a lot of catching
up and customer care to do.
Thor
unexpected absence. I will be contacting everyone today to resolve things. There
are dozens of BO messages and emails I need to respond to, but I will reply to
all of them today.
There are reasons for the delay, but no excuses. I will accept whatever feedback
buyers choose to leave for this delay.
On August 1st I received news that one of clients had suddenly passed away. He
and I had been working closely together these past few months to negotiate a
joint venture deal in Vietnam for a Japanese company to open up a factory there.
On August 5th, the company asked me to fly to Vietnam to close the deal. Other
than me and my client, there was no one else as thoroughly familiar with all
the details of the project. I left home on the 6th and returned late last night.
Due to the Vietnamese government being one of the local partners in the joint
venture and the sensitive nature of the project, I was told I would not be allowed
to use my cell phone and laptop in the country. I could only bring unencrypted
data storage devices and would have limited access to a government provided satellite
phone and computer. I passed on the offer of a computer and decided to go low-tech
and use paper and my memory. There was no way I was going to put my client's
confidential data on a computer provided by the Vietnamese government. This meant
I would have no internet access and only occasional calls home and to my client
company in Japan.
Upon arrival in Vietnam, I was picked up by a driver and we started the six-hour
journey to the site. Two hours into the trip, the car broke down and we had to
stay overnight in some run-down country inn. The room had no curtains and bright
neon lights flashed into my room all night long. The next day another car picked
us up and drove us the remaining four hours of the way (mostly over bumpy rural
roads). The elderly driver - a former NVA regular - thought that since I was
an American I might enjoy seeing some bomb craters and a downed US Air Force
plane along the way.
This pretty much set the tone for the entire trip. There wasn't much to do
or see around the unfinished factory site, and the food was horrible. So much
so that I got food poisoning that lasted 24 hours. Eventually, we concluded the
negotiations and reached a supposedly final deal. I say "supposedly" because
the government and local workers cooperative need to review and approve the deal
before anything is really considered "final".
At least the air travel to and from Vietnam wasn't too bad. And it was great
to finally return home to air conditioning and functioning indoor plumbing.
In any event, because of this sudden unexpected trip, I haven't been able
to do anything with my BrickOwl store the past 10 days. So I have a lot of catching
up and customer care to do.
Thor
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Comments
Thanks for sharing your trip in Vietnam! It does remind me of various adventures in certain South America countries...