THE CON TRÂU TIMES Issue 2 - Feb - 2012
Inspirational Travel 1
THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Inside This Issue 1.
Promotion at Buffalo Tours
2.
Joining Buffalo Tours
3.
Leaving the Buffalo Family
4.
AGM Meeting
5.
A new Point of Sale – BTA Hanoi
6.
Our Committed Driver
7.
Feedback on what members of staff have been doing
8.
HR Corner: BT Ha Noi Recruitment
9.
Don’t Make These Mistakes at Your New Job
9.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Promotion at Buffalo Tours Ms. Nghiem Thi Dung – Spanish Sales Team Leader
Joining Buffalo Tours Ms. Nguyen Thuy Linh – Spanish Sales Executive Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh - Travel Consultant – BTA Ha Noi Mr. Pham Tien Trung – French Sales Executive Mr. Hanno Hohann Gerken – German Intern Ms. Nguyen Thanh Ngoc – BTA Intern Ms. Rebecca Parker - Part time Travel Consultant – BT Australia
Leaving Buffalo Tours Mr. Niran Mongpho - Operations Executive – BT Thailand Thank you for your contributions to Buffalo Tours and we wish you success in the future!
Tip of the month Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all. Dale Carnegie
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Staff of the monTHEthCON TRÂU TIMES
Jan 2012
Chinese Online Sales Executive - CHO LON TOURS Get the revernue with 2.2 Billion VND and actual profit with 370 million VND Hardworking and committed in work
People are our most valuable resource! Nominate someone you think deserves recognition – someone who truly shines!
Inspirational Travel 3
AGM Meeting
THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Up to 40 staff from all our local and overseas offices recently took part in the 2012 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held between Friday 16th - Sunday 18th February at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi. Although not a typical AGM, it did allow Team Leaders, Management and the Executive Team to come together for an annual meeting to discuss topics which included pricing, sales, distribution, customer service and improving communications which will help us all understand more on HOW we will all achieve our sales targets and work more efficiently in 2012. A message that was clear from the AGM is that to be successful we all need to be united in our approach as everyone plays such as a huge part in the future success of the company. I am confident that the outcomes discussed and the strategies we are pursuing this year are aligned towards continued growth and 2012 will be another very strong year for Buffalo Tours. “By Ray Petts – GM BT Vietnam”
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Inspirational Travel 5
THE CON TRÂU TIMES
BTA New Point Of Sales On 15 December, BTA opened a new Tour Desk at Silk Path Hotel in Hanoi. This brings the number of BTA Point of Sales to 7 altogether – 3 in Hanoi, 4 in HCMC. The Silk Path is one of our preferred hotel, with an excellent location in the Old Quarter. This is an additional reason for our Sales teams to recommend it to their clients, as we now have BTA Travel Consultants available on site 7 days per week, from 7h30am to 9h30pm. “By Pascale Henry – GM Outbound, BT Vietnam”
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Our Committed Driver Many of our colleagues may not know that we have 2 full time drivers in Cambodia, Mr So our car driver and Mr Sokcheat (Ngoc) our tuk tuk driver. Mr So started with Buffalo Tours in July 2009 after working for Intrepid for a number of years. He is a very experienced driver who speaks excellent English and has great customer service skills. When your clients write feedback about the drivers in Cambodia it is often Mr So who has been their driver. We only have 1 car however Mr So hopes to look after as many of your clients in Siem Reap as possible. One interesting fact about Mr So is that as well as our full time driver he is also our full time bicycle mechanic. He is extremely experienced having worked for many years with the famous American cycling company Butterfield & Robinson. Our bicycle tours cover most of the country from the Vietnamese border across the south of the country and from Phnom Penh overland to Siem Reap. Mr Sokcheat has been our Buffalo Tours tuk tuk driver since Oct 2010. He as well is an experienced driver with both cars and tuk tuks. Mr Cheat also speaks some English. While the tuk tuk can be used for airport transfers it is best used for temple touring and is suitable for families who have 1 child, as it seats a maximum of 4 pax including the guide. Our tuk tuk has many special features including head rests, bicycle rack suitable for carrying 2 bicycles. One long term resident of Siem Reap called the BT tuk tuk the “best tuk tuk in town”.
“By Michele Whealey- Country Manager- Cambodia”
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N O K C A B D E E F
THE CON TRĂ‚U TIMES
IO NG D N EE B E V A H S R E B M E M F F A T S R U O T A H W Hi Dien,
Would it be at all possible to have Tuan our driver and Phuong our guide to take us back to Hanoi on the 2nd on March for the end of our trip, we would really appreciate this if you can organise this. They are both very very lovely boys that have made our trip very pleasurable. They both speak good English and are a lot of fun, and are very good at their jobs. They have been very patient with us and very thoughtful. We have thoroughly enjoyed our experience with Buffalo Tours because of our guides we have had. We loved Quoc, he was such a lovely man, patient as well, and very honest, we learnt a lot from him, such a gentleman, we were very lucky to have him. Phong our next guide was lovely too, once again patient and very good to us, and of course Phoung, such a character, funny, knowledgeable and happy, couldn’t do enough for us. He introduced us to the orphanage and is dearly loved by everyone there. He is a lovely boy and would highly recommend these tour guides to any English speaking person. Thank you so much for an enjoyable trip and organising such a good itinerary. We experienced so much and loved the different cultures. I will highly recommend Buffalo Tours to our friends in Adelaide. Kind regards, Mrs and Mrs Rycroft
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Don’t Make
THE CON TRÂU TIMES
These Mistakes at Your New Job Taking on a new assignment is exciting. But it’s not easy. Here are three common mistakes people make when moving to a new job and how to avoid them: • Forgetting about the people. Most people start a new job with a plan for success. But you can’t forget the people. Know who you will need to rely on to get your work done and focus on building productive relationships with them. • Failing to listen. You may be eager to introduce yourself and your plan, but don’t dominate conversations. Listen to others so their input can guide you. • Relying on old power dynamics. Every organization has a way of operating. Don’t assume what worked in your last company will work in the new one. Understand the new dynamics and how to establish your authority. Harvard Business Review
Vacancies in Buffalo Tours Vietnam 1. Volunteer and Educational Travel Executive (Hanoi based): 2. Product Manager (Hanoi based): 3. Product Executive (Hanoi based): 4. International Business Development Executive (Hanoi based): For detail job description, please visit our website at: http://www.buffalotours.com/about-us/careers.html
01 01 01 01 junior and 01 senior
Please send us email to: nhanh@buffalotours.com if you would like to apply or if you know any qualified candidates. Thank you.
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& Anniversaries
Birthdays
THE CON TRĂ‚U TIMES
Birthdays: Ho Viet Ha Si KEOPASEUTH Kouy Bounthoeurn Nguyen Manh Cuong Luon Pheany Phung Thu Huong Nguyen Thanh Hai Luu Thi Hoai Nguyen Thu Huong Nguyen Hoang Hai Nguyen Thi Thu Trang Nguyen Van Van Duan Nguyen Thu Hien
Mar 4th Mar 6th Mar 7th Mar 11th Mar 12th Mar 13th Mar 13th Mar 15th Mar 16th Mar 21st Mar 22nd Mar 25th Mar 31st
CFO- Deputer General Director-TMG Reservations Executive Driver Tour Guide Operations Executives Online Sales Team Leader Agent Sales Executive Finance Executive Agent Sales Executive GR Executive Operation Executive Tour Leader Ticketing Executive
Anniversaries: Nguyen Thi Thanh Hong Ly Thanh Tam Nguyen To Tran Ngo Truong Phuong Thao Pham Thi Tuong Van Ha Thi Hong Nhung Carley Wilson Tran Bich Hue Nguyen Hoang Hai Tran Thuy Lien Phan My Hanh Trinh Minh Hao Tran Xuan Quynh Luyen Kim Sau Nguyen Tuyet Huong Tran Le Dung Naruemon Songsan Laila Saengsuwan Pornrapat Chimpee
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Accountant Driver Travel Consultant Travel Consultant Tester Chief Accountant Team Leader- BT Australia PA GR Executive FIT Executive GIT Executive Online Sales Executive Admin cun Reception Ticketing Executive Operation Manager Chinese Inbound Operation Accountant Operations Executive Reservations Executive
03 years in services 01 year in service 01 year in service 01 year in service 02 years in service 05 years in service 01 year in service 02 years in service 06 years in service 04 years in service 09 years in service 01 year in service 01 year in service 01 year in service 01 year in service 01 year in service 02 years in service 02 years in service 02 years in service