THE CON TRĂ‚U TIMES Issue 7 - July - 2012
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Credits Publisher Hr Department Designer Bui Minh Tan Staff Writers Ms. Sina – BT Cambodia Hang Do – GM iVIVU Nguyen The My Editor Bev Taylor Ray Petts Customers’s contribution Christina Chellew Joanne Lester
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Table of Contents Joining & leaving Buffalo tours Travel Events 1. Inspection trip in Phnom Penh and Kratie province 2. A Great Company Trip in Luang Prabang 3. Company trip in Siem Reap 4. iVIVU Summer 5. New Members in BT Thailand Guest feedback Vacancies in Hanoi Tips 6. How to control our time at work effectively 7. Three Tips for Responding to Failure Birthday and anniversaries 8. Lists of August – Members’ Birthdays
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Joining Buffalo tours
Ms. Le Thi Thuy Linh – Online Sales Executive Hi everybody! My name is Linh. I’m 24 years old. I just started working with Buffalo Tours on July 9th, 2012. I have always had a passion for travel and since graduation I have been working in the tourism industry in various roles. I’m so happy to begin the next chapter of my career at Buffalo Tours
Ms. Le Thi Phuong – UK Agent Sales Executive Hi everyone! My name is Phuong, I am the new member of UK agent sales team. I joined Buffalo Tours since 09 July, since then everyone has been so nice and friendly so I feel totally comfortable which put myself at ease, this has never happened to me before. Moreover, I feel that I am very lucky to join the company during the period that Buffalo Tours organized soft skill courses for employees and I was able to attend some. This is not only a great opportunity for me to acquire new skills and knowledge but also help me to get acquaintance with Buffalo Tours members quickly. I do hope that gradually I will get to know you more and be able to contribute more to the success of Buffalo Tours! Ms. Beth Wilson – Product Manager Hello everyone! My name is Beth Wilson and I am the new Product Manager for Buffalo Tours. I have just moved to Hanoi from the UK and I am very excited to be part of the Buffalo Team. Previously I have worked developing product for a tour operator in the UK and more recently I have been working in the field of sustainable tourism. I have visited Vietnam several times before as a tourist and I am very excited to now be part of a company that can help other tourists to enjoy everything Vietnam has to offer. So far I have already met a lot of buffalos but if we have not met please come and say hello. I will look forward to meeting and working with you all over the next few months. Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh Thu – BTA Travel Consultant Thu started with Buffalo Tours on Sunday, 1st July and graduated from Hanoi Open University. Thu has very good experiences within the Tourism Industry
Pham Thi Phuong Thao – BTA Travel Consultant Thao joined Buffalo Tours on 28th of June and is freshly graduated from Vietnam Commercial University. She also has some interesting experiences in Tourism
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h n e P m o n h P n i p i r t n o i t c e p e s c In n i rov THE CON TRÂU TIMES
p e i t a r K and
Time : 09-15 July 2012 Michele and I recently spent several days in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia doing inspections of our preferred hotels as well as seeing new products to keep up to date with what is happening there since we don’t have an office in the city. I spent one morning going to see the Silk Island, which is on the Mekong River about 15 kilometers from Phnom Penh. It is lovely to be somewhere that feels like you are in the countryside yet you are close to the city. It is renowned for the silk weavers and the quality of the silk they produce. First, you will have a pleasant boat trip to the island around 1 hour. You can buy silk there right from the producer. Most of the people there produce silk to support their family. In the dry season there’s even a quite pleasant ‘beach’ on the north side of the island and the water there is clean (Feb –May).
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We often have groups who cycle around this island which is 25 kms and a lovely way to spend a morning. While you can also walk around the island, the best way is by bicycle and we have good quality mountain bikes available for our clients. The next morning, we got up early to catch the bus but in difference directions. Michele returned to Siem Reap and I continued to Kratie which is around 336km north of Phnom Penh. Along the way, I saw lots of rubber and paper plantations and the countryside was very green. Around 4:30pm arrived and inspected the main hotel we use (the Oudom Sambat hotel) which is located on the Mekong River. The first morning in Kratie was very refreshing, I had a delicious breakfast before heading to the Mekong River in hope of seeing the Irrawaddy River Dolphins. This is the main reason tourists will visit Kratie. We drove
17km from the town to reach the pier at the village of Kampi, the place to board the boat to see the dolphins. I was very surprised and so happy when I saw many dolphins swimming around the boat. In the afternoon, I continued to reach another side of Kratie called Koh Trong. Koh Trong is an island that is not too big, it’s only 9km if you walked around the island. It’s another option for our clients to get more experience of the countryside of the people who live there and we can stay at a homestay. I stayed the night at the home stay and cycled around the island, the people there are very friendly. There is also a new option for accommodation on this island, wooden bungalows on stilts for clients who wish to stay at a higher standard property, the Rajabori Villas, although they are rustic. The destination of Kratie is becoming more popular and we hope to show more clients this lovely place. By Ms. Sina – Buffalo Tours Cambodia
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g p i n r a T b t a a r e r P A G uang ni L
O
n our arrival we headed out to explore this beautiful city. We walked around the main town and we climbed the view point of the city
- Phousi Mount - , a view which compliments all the natural beauty which this place had to offer. After the city tour we end up at the Xiengthong Palace our very beautiful, serene, luxurious hotel in Luang Prabang and had dinner just after a nice Baci Ceremony. The restaurant has a beautiful setting along the Mekong River and has excellent food and a great selection of wine and spirits. It was so nice to enjoy the ambience and the view of the river. Later in the trip, after a couple of funny nights dancing we visited Kuang Si waterfalls. In 5 words: “wow! I mean really, wow! So also saw some Collar bears as an added bonus.
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Walking further we came to the base of a huge waterfall. We then had a lovely local lunch with beer and more jokes and fun. The end of the 2012 Luang Prabang company trip was approaching. We all celebrated one last time around a traditional Lao/French game called “Pétanque” and headed back to the hotel for our last night in this former palace making anyone’s stay outstanding. Buffalo Tours Laos and Xienthong Palace staffs, management, and guides truly achieved excellence in all areas of service and quality, making you feel thoroughly like royalty during your holiday. Thank you to every-one involved for a fun company trip where we all experienced the best of Laos. By Mr. Lorien – Brand and Communication Manager – Buffalo Tours Hanoi
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p i r t y p n a a e p R m oC iS em
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It is the first time Saigon staff did company trip in Siem Reap, such a lovely place for gathering and relaxing. We was surprised with Angkor complex and enjoy peaceful breath around. No words could describe our feeling, everything was fantastic from Angkor sights, knowledge of Khmer Empire to beautiful restaurants, nice resort and wonderful tour guide‌ What a best reward after a working year! Thanks Cambodia office for well arrangement and taking care for our trip. Surely this trip would help us to refresh and provide more energy for hard working and keep trying for next move on.
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r e m m u s ivivu
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Hello everyone, We waved goodbye to our Wotif colleague, Nicole Remedios, who helped set up iVIVU from the very first days. Nicole will travel around Asia a bit before moving back to Brisbane, and we owe her a big thank for her efforts. At the same time, we welcome two eager summer interns this month, Tri and Tuan (see pictures) to assist with various marketing and sales tasks, so wish them luck! Watch out for iVIVU karaoke singers in the upcoming monthly gathering of HCMC branch! We work hard, and sing hard too. PS: For those who don’t know iVIVU cat, attached is a travel-kit version - iVIVU eye mask! By Hang Do – GM – iVIVU.com
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New members in BT Thailand
Mr.Uthai Ausaha Mr. Uthai Ausaha, our new staff member in the Sales department, has been working at Buffalo Tours (Thailand) since 2nd July 2012. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality major from IMIS-ESTHUA, UNIVERSITE D’ANGERS, France. He loves travelling and sharing all his experiences in France with everyone in the company.
Miss Wiriya Techawongsuwan Miss Wiriya Techawongsuwan, our new staff member in the Operations department and commenced employment on July 16th, 2012. She graduated from Chulalongkorn University, studied in Dramatic Arts. “I’ll always try my best.” claims Wiriya
Miss Sripattra Petruanthong Miss Sripattra started working with Buffalo tours Thailand on July 2th in Phuket Branch. She has trained with Operations team in Bangkok office for a month. She is very quiet but always happy, helpful and easy going person.
Mr. Pim van Melick Mr. Pim has solid customer care experience, but is quite new to the tourism industry. He will initially be operating in the background and will spend the first period familiarizing himself with our processes and the FOX account.
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e m i t r u o l o r t ? n y o l c e v o i t t c e w o f f H at work e
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Dear Colleagues,
3) From Ray’s Tips for Success (Time Management)
In July 2012, we had a couple of sessions reviewing how to manage our time at work to reach the effectiveness and efficiency. The following are some tips of Time Management we gained from the sessions and from Ray’s and Cong’s real experiences and stories of success:
1. Preparing a Daily To-Do list and prioritising the activities on the list
1) Control our time at work with Outlook Calendar – Please see the image below:
2. Create a reasonable schedule that allows you to complete your priority tasks 3. Always make time to achieve your Personal and Company Goals (KPI’s) by using S.M.A.R.T plan as this is what takes the company forward 4. Auditing our Inbox in Microsoft Outlook (please see “4D’s in Email Management” photo) 5. Establish a routine and stick to it as much as possible 6. Get in the habit of setting time limits for tasks 7. Check your email on a schedule, don’t stop everything when a new email arrives 8. Provide your Manager with solutions, not problems
2) Control our working time with a “Daily Task Control – Daily To-Do list” – Please download these tools to your computer for your daily use. (Tool 1 & Tool 2 attached with the email) -Tool1: https://docs.google.com/ document/d/1sYRGkWA4RQj2-vrEYSbs93u7ZsKybOxxixEQpcLc8U/edit -Tool2: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SLlmPKnGiO8_ Ha-GD9sc9Inbs1BUR8ILVOoCtOXhin8/edit
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9. Sometimes, Learn to say NO by presenting your Daily To-Do list to the involved person 10. For Team Leader: In a busy team, allocate a time during day where each team member can have time out so not to be disturbed, not take calls or spoken to so they complete their priority list
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4) From Cong’s Tips for Success (Time Management): - Discipline ourselves once we have setup the completed Time Allotments for our typical working day. To help ourselves be away from the feeling of unhappiness of the word “Discipline”, think about the achievements we will obtain as the result of our determination. - Arrange reasonable and specific time for each or our daily tasks. - Fulfill our assigned tasks completely as our finished works (outputs) will be inputs for others. Uncompleted tasks result in losing time later as others will come back to us to verify what they don’t understand about our “finished product. “Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine, but lost time is gone forever.” (Samuel Smiles)
Nguyen The My (Group Training Manager)
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Feedback on what our staff members have been doing The trip was just wonderful, thank you. The accommodation was sensational, the Caravelle had the most amazing breakfast buffet I have ever seen! I drove Joanne crazy because I wanted to get up extra early to spend more time eating breakfast, and i have returned 3kgs heavier for the pleasure!! The food was out of this world, and we found some great places to eat in both Hoi An and Saigon. We loved Saigon, and Joanne really loved Halong Bay. The bicycle ride through the Mekong Delta including a cooked lunch at a gorgeous old traditional ‘homestead’ by the owner was a real highlight, and would recommend this tour without hesitation. The guide made a point of saying this tour is still very rare, and not many westerners are doing this yet. Buffalo tours is a well organised company, and the guides were friendly and very knowledgeable - and made our life a great deal easier for arriving/departing etc. Special mention must go to our guide in Hanoi, Nguyen Dang Tinh, for his obvious enthusiasm and great sense of humour. So apart from yours truly misplacing our bag tickets in Ho Chi Minh airport (that resulted in us almost missing our connection to Hanoi!), and Joanne losing her visa card in Ho Chi Minh (all was ok we cancelled immediately with ANZ), everything was superb. Thank you for all your assistance in making our 40th birthday trip special and one that we will never forget. We both want to go back! Sincerely, Ms Chellew & Ms Lester
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Vacancies in Vietnam 1. Outbound Manager 01 For detail job description, please visit our website at: http://www.buffalotours.com/about-us/careers.html http://employer.vietnamworks.com 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
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Birthdays
Birthdays: Nguyen Dao Thien Y Nguyen Thi Mai Xuan Nguyen Thi Kim Hang Pham Quynh Trang Thewi Raengkla Boonsong Buangam Doan Quoc Viet Nguyen Trong Nghia Woraphon Phanno Nguyen Son Hai Nguyen Thanh Tung Tran Thi Thuy Lien Watineeporn Nimmukda On Chi Minh
1-Aug 4-Aug 4-Aug 7-Aug 9-Aug 15-Aug 15-Aug 16-Aug 16-Aug 18-Aug 20-Aug 20-Aug 20-Aug 26-Aug
Operation Team Leader Travel Consultant Team Leader Inbound Operation Team Leader French Sales Accountant Driver Operation Executive Driver Sales Executive Tour leader Driver FIT Executive Sales Executive Tour guide
Anniversaries: Pham Thi Dien Nguyen Thi Thuy Van Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tien Tran Dung Hanh Do Hoang Long Viparat Kraisuwanasarn Suphanee Suriya Touy SIHALATH
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VET GR Executive BRS French Sales Contracting Manager Driver Operation Manager Operation / Administration in CNX Operation manager
03 years in services 03 years in services 03 years in services 03 years in services 06 years in service 04 years in service 05 years in service 07 years in services 07 years in services 03 years in services 02 years in services