Issue 1 - Jan - 2013
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Credits Publisher Hr Department Designer Bui Minh Tan Staff Writers Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc Le Phuong Mai Pattaranida Lohakul Editor Tran Gia Bach Customers’s contribution Claudia McIntosh Steve Sargent Dawn Egan Yossi Sherman Cheri Demmers
Table of Contents 1. Joining and Leaving Buffalo Family 2. Buffalo Tours Staff Promotion 3. Best Staff of the Month 4. Recruitment News 5. Buffalo Tours Vietnam Year End Staff Appreciation Party 2012 6. IVIVU Girl Power 7. Buffalo’s Fancy Mask Party 2013 8. Happy Year of the “Snake” in Legend Beer 9. Business Tips 10. Birthdays and Anniversaries of February 11. New born Buffalo
Tip of the month “The only reason men fail is broken focus ”
Mike Murdock
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Joining Buffalo tours Mr. Ludwig Boinier ( Lucca) – BTA Hanoi Manager “One month already… One month I’ve started my new job as Sales manager for BTA Hanoi. Such a warm welcome received by all my colleagues and Buffalo Tours Agency has a vision and core values that I’m entirely sharing and that makes me proud to work for the group. Hanoi is a mirror reflection of our company: vibrant and captivating and I look forward to a pleasant time working with you all here in Hanoi.”
Ms. Ha Minh Thuan – Spanish Sales Executive “In just three weeks working at Thien Minh Group and Buffalo Tours, I am really enjoying the young, friendly and professional atmosphere here. I am thankful to my colleagues for their support. All I can say for now is that I really enjoy working with all of you.”
Ms. Lakkana Daycha (Sai) started working with Buffalo Tours Thailand as a Reservation Executive on the 22nd of January 2013. Lakkana is friendly, nice and responsible as we have seen. She has a well of experience in reservation field (Outbound) such as air ticketing, and arranging hotels, transports and sightseeing activities to clients.
Ms. Manduan Thongsuchoti (Duan) started working with Buffalo Tours Thailand as a Purchasing Executive on the 7th of January 2013. Manduan is responsible, friendly and very efficient. Please drop by to say hello to Manduan when you are in town.
Mr. Chakklao Pongpiyadech (Joe) started working with Buffalo Tours Thailand as an Operation Manager on the 15th of January 2013. He’s had 13 year of experience in operation field and travel agency. We trust that Chakklao will be a great asset to our team.
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES Mr. Nguyen Anh Quan started working with Buffalo Tours Vietnam as an Operations Executive on the 21st of January 2013.
Ms. Pham Hoang Yen started joined Thien Minh Group as Corporate Development Analyst on the 2nd of January 2013.
Leaving us A leaving staff in this month is Ms. Phatchadaphon Netibud (Tun) from Accounting Department. She has worked with Buffalo Tours Thailand since April 19, 2011. She is very friendly, positive, and helpful. She will be sorely missed around here. We all will keep good memories which you gave us and wish you to success in your life after leaving BT.
BT STAFF PROMOTION Ms. Bui Thi Hao – FIT Executive Hao has started in FIT on Friday, 25th January and had over 8 years’ experience in Sales at Buffalo Tours. She has great sales and customer service skills. Hao’s enthusiasm and strong work ethic will be a great addition to the FIT Team.
Ms. Tran Xuan Quynh – Online Sales Executive Quynh has started in Online on Monday, 28th January and had over a years’ experience in Sales at Buffalo Tours as well as previous experience in Human Resource. She has great sales skills and a real passion for travel and Buffalo Tours. Quynh’s enthusiasm and strong work ethic will be a great addition to the Online Team. Congratulations on her winning Outstanding Customer Service Award!
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STAFF OF THE MONTH Best Team of the Month – FIT Team Achieved record breaking $550K date of travel and $500K new sales for Jan13 Took initiative to deal with hotels for Flight Centre allotment and promotion to increase sales opportunities and improve response time Free up time for Purchasing to focus on green season campaign and service other teams better
Outstanding Customer Service of Month Nguyen Thanh Ngoc – HR Executive Ngoc has gone out of her way to make sure Hanoi year-end staff appreciation party is a real success. Her enthusiasm and excellent organizational skills brought our team members together after work for practice and rehearsal for the Buffalo Tours Idol contest. Thanks to Ngoc, we all enjoyed this exciting teamwork activity and had a blast with all the performances contributed by our team members. Not but not least, we were impressed by Ngoc’s entertaining performance and her acting talent, too Congratulations on her winning Outstanding Customer Service Award!
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: s w e N t n e m t i u Recr vGROUP TRAINING MANAGER – HANOI OFFICE ( 01) Develop, conduct and evaluate corporate training programs in Thien Minh Group entities; develop and maintain the necessary reports; audit departmental trainings and classes; assist in the quality-improvement efforts of the company • Diploma in Training & Development • A minimum of two years of experience in Training field or in tourism/hospitality industry • Good listening skills/ presentation skills/ written skills • Fluent in English and Vietnamese • Aggressive, sociable, pleasant personality, well-organized, customer-oriented and result-oriented • Willingness to travel for business v For detail job description, please visit our website at: http://www.buffalotours.com/action/45/Careers.html 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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f f a t s d n e r a 2 1 Ye 0 2 y n part o i t a i c appre
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Year End Staff Appreciation Party 2012 was held in both Hanoi and Saigon on the same day, 26th January 2013 with so much fun to usher in a great new year of the snake. Let’s see what we were up to on that big day.
1.Hanoi Team: Once again, the party was held at the favourite Intercon-
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tinental Hanoi West Lake with the attendance of nearly 300 Thien Minh Group staff including Buffalo Tours, IVIVU, Jetwing Indochina, Mai Chau Lodge and Victoria Hotels Group and their family members. The party started off with an inspirational speech by Mr. Kien CEO and Staff of the Year awards and went on with creative and entertaining performance by BT Idols. Let’s check out our wonderful performances
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2. Saigon Team: This is the first time all Thien Minh Group members including Buffalo Tours, Victoria Hotel Group, iVIVU and Cholon Tours celebrated the new year together in Year End Party in Saigon.
We did it in style with ‘The Night of Colours’ theme, we not only partied hard but also made a great festival. Each team showed their talented and diverse colours by singing, dancing, fashion show… It is extremely fun and unforgettable night of the year! Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc
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R E W O P S L R I G U iVIV
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“I cannot believe that I have to wait until this moment to know the beauty of women”. This is a confession of an iVIVU’s guy – Loc Nguyen – when he saws seven iVIVU’s girls in gold and gorgeous dresses performing the sexy dance show “Welcome to Burlesque” at Thien Minh’s End Year Party on January 26, 2013. “I thought that beauty is something we can see clearly at the first sight. But now I know that every woman is very beautiful anytime they want to shine”, Loc said. To shine that much, iVIVU girls had to practice dancing very hard for the whole week leading up to the big day, usually after long working hours. Having never danced
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before, it was really a big challenge for all. Seeing all Thien Minh’s employees worked very hard for their performances, it hardly crossed iVIVU girls mind that their dance show could be the best from the rest. But it definitely will be their best show ever and they held nothing back! Some even got injured when trying difficult moves. For seven days in a row practicing, the performance finally earned “The most creative show” award by the difficult judges. Yet to iVIVU girls, their most important prize is the fun, the compliments, and the excitement that the show brought to the crowd. Le Phuong Mai
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3 1 0 2 y t r a P k s a M y c n a F s ’ o l a f f u B air let their h and team the 14th il a h T rs u 013 on uffalo To cy Mask 2 k office, B ve masks In Bangko derful Buffalo’s Fan own creati e. We r u n o o d w t re a a riz down We prep honour p ber 2012. h special it es” to w m s a e G of Decem m y a fun g ‘’Budd e d e th ll d a ages c e e in a gam and jo nice mess m , h s it k c w a t s n s la h e ab care of th uddies wit really had eir own b who take th w d f o e o n g k n re a a ld h ou exc take c . No one w p in the party and ry e n o ti ta and s owed u uddies sh se! until the b What a nice surpri ul . ts n e s re ida Lohak the p Pattaran
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“ e h t f o r a e Y y p p Ha
” e k a SinnLegend Beer
Let’s raise your glasses of beer and cheers
On the last day of 2012, we threw a party to bid farewell year of the Dragon and welcome new year of the Snake with nearly fifty members from BT, Thien Minh, Ivivu and Jetwing in Legend Beer in “Ham Ca Map” with a beautiful view of Hoan Kiem Lake. Cheers to the happy and prosperous new year!
Let’s start with Mr. Kien CEO short speech: Time for great songs and big hugs
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g n i o d n n o e e b e k v a c h s ee dba ff member
Fwhat our sta “
I would like to acknowledge the truly outstanding work by your 3 guides during our trip through Laos and Cambodia(Siem Reap) First was our guide who we called KL from Luang Prabang to Paxse. His knowledge of the area, sites and history was complete and his patience with our older group was very much appreciated. He went beyond his normal duties to accomodate our needs and to make arrangements for us during our “on our own times” Plus he was just so pleasant to be around. And wherever we went he jumped in to help the staff o fall the restaurants to help serve us to make our experience extremely enjoyable. I would have to say the same for Ping. They both were extremely attentive to our safety on these boats kayaks, bicycles and hikes into strange territory. They were always on time and ready to go. We always felt very confident under their care. They are good people. Ping did a phenomenal job with some of the geographical challenges our group went through. As did KL. It was clear that safety was their primary concern. l would give the experience an A+ I would particularly like to single out Vuttha in Siem Reap for his extraordinary work with our group. His knowledge of every aspect of Camodian life was amazing. He was an encyclopedia of information. He went way beyond his basic committent to our group to make our experience unforgettable and, it seemed to us unique. His English is excellent and easy to understand which for us old hearing impaired folks was a blessing! We were amazed at no matter where we showed up everything was ready for us. I am indeed impressed by your tour company and would recommend it to all my friends…” -Claudia McIntosh and Steve Sargent -
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“
…In Hoi An I had a young man named Hau Phan. He was very informative, on time and gracious. I especially enjoyed the trip to My Son. Hau knew a lot about the history of this complex and the Cham people/religion. I was impressed to say the least. The Riverside Hotel was very clean, comfortable and relaxing. Basically, my stay in Hoi An was very nice.
In Ha Noi my guide was Thuan (sorry, I do not know any last name, so I hope you know of whom I am speaking). He was a really funny guy, and I really enjoyed his sense of humor. He also was very knowledgable about the Museum of Ethnology and the area. I was so happy to have gone to this museum prior to going to Sapa as it introduced me to all of the ethnic groups of people. Being introduced to the history of the area certainly made my experience in Sapa much better. Then when I returned to Ha Noi after going to Sapa, I didn’t think it could be possible to do anything better than what I had just experienced. Actually, I wanted to stay in Sapa instead of going back to Ha Noi. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience that I had with Thuan. We went to Duong Lam Ancient Village which proved to be a wonderful experience for me as well. Thuan was really a good guide, and I ended up having a very good time and meaningful experience in Ha Noi. In the end I think Sapa and Ha Long Bay were my favorite for very different reasons. In Sapa it was all about the people. My guide was Chao Ta May (Maywa) from the Red Dao tribe. She was incredible!! As soon as I walked off the train in Sapa and saw her holding the sign with my name on it, I knew I was going to LOVE Sapa. She made my experience in Sapa! I sincerely believe that I will come back to Vietnam in order to reconnect with this fine,young women. She is beautiful, clever and very dedicated to being a tremendous guide. I feel honored to have met her and the many people she brought into my life. Finally, Ha Long Bay was also a wonderful experience. The Red Dragon II was a lovely boat, the guide and crew were wonderful and the food was absolutely delicious!! I have never seen such beauty as what I saw in Ha Long Bay. I would like to thank you for arranging such a wonderful trip for me. I will cherish the memories I have and look forward to coming back to your beautiful country.
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- Dawn Egan -
Just want to express our appreciation to you in personal and to your company in general for the excellent tour you organized for us. Kiddy was a great tour guide, knowledgeable, friendly, and very flexible to accommodate all our requests and has done every effort to make sure we will have a pleasant tour. Toto the driver was very nice and demonstrated excellent safe driving capabilities. Hotels and the Thai food were just great!
You have a wonderful country and very nice people so I can assure you I’ll strongly recommend my friends to visit your country and use your office services to ensure they get the best of Thailand.” - Yossi Sherman -
“
Savoan was extremely knowledgeable and professional. He provided exactly the kind of assistance needed to ensure a perfect experience. Highly appreciated and recommend.”
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- Cheri Demmers -
s p i T s s e n i s u B ays to Battle E-mail Overload
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as your inbox reached its size limit? Have you lost track of who’s waiting for a response? Most people struggle to stay on top of e-mail. Here are three tactics that might help:
1. Reply by phone. Quick calls can often eliminate dozens of e-mails. A five-minute chat may be more efficient than crafting a message that adequately explains the situation. 2. Do not copy. If a message you’re sending requires a recipient’s attention, include that person in the “to” field; if not, leave them off entirely. Tell colleagues to do the same. 3. Put down the smart phone. When you have a few minutes between meetings, don’t respond to e-mail on your mobile’s tiny keyboard. Wait until you’re back at your desk or with your laptop or tablet, when you can craft a better response in less time.
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irTIMES thdays THE CONB TRĂ‚U Birthdays:
Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh Huynh Minh Phu Dinh Thi Doan Trang Le Thi Phuong Hoang Ngoc Loc Nguyen Tuan Dat Pham Thi Tuong Van Tran Trong Kien Pham Hoang Yen Le Van Din Yuwadee Laovechprasit Parinrada Pakda Bui Thi Hao Panumas Leksuk Dao Thi Thanh Xuan Hayo Massop Tran Thi Hong Nhung Do Van Long
&Anniversaries
2-Feb 4-Feb 4-Feb 5-Feb 6-Feb 8-Feb 10-Feb 11-Feb 11-Feb 12-Feb 15-Feb 16-Feb 18-Feb 18-Feb 19-Feb 21-Feb 22-Feb 23-Feb
MKT Executive Driver Aus Agent Sales Team Leader UK Agent Sales Executive Tour Leader IT Supporter Tester CEO Corporate Development Analyst Tour Guide Purchasing Team Leader Sales Executive FIT Executive Sales Executive Online MKT Executive FOX Area Manager Chief Accountant IT Project Manager
Anniversaries: Huynh Minh Phu Nguyen Thanh Hoang Do Minh Nhut Ta Thi Tuyet Huong Ly Man Nghi Tran Thi Minh Tam Nguyen Thi Kim Hang Dang Cam Chieu On Chi Minh Phung Quoc Tien Ta Van Quang Tu Tuyet Mai Huynh Nam Co Chau Cam Co Sarayuth Toasing Pham Minh Huong Tran Thi Bich Thuy Pham Thi Thuy Tran Thanh Loan Nguyen Song Tung Nguyen Thi Lan Anh Nguyen Thuy Linh Pham Tien Trung Nguyen Thu Huong
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Driver Driver Tour guide Cashier Inbound Manager Sales Executive Inbound Operation Team Leader Tour guide Tour guide Tour guide Tour guide Tour guide Tour guide Tour guide Reservations Executive Accountant VET Team Leader FIT Executive AUS Agent Sales Executive UK Agent Sales Executive BTA Traval Consultant Spanish Executive French Executive HR Executive
05years in service 05 years in service 01 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 06 years in service 01 years in service 02 years in service 04 years in service 04 years in service 02 years in service 04 years in service 04 years in service 01 year in service 01 year in service 01 year in service 02 years in service
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New born Buffalo
Congratulation to Ms. Pham Quynh Trang – French Executive on the birth of your beautiful baby on 11th January, 2013 whose nickname is “Shin”.
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