THE CON TRÂU TIMES Issue 1 - Jan 2011
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Inside This Issue
1 Joining the Buffalo Family 2 Buffalo Tours Vietnam - Year End Party 2010 3 Staff/Team and Tour Guide/Leader of the Year 2010 (voted by BT Vietnam) 4 Binh Luc Story 5 Cycling trip to Pak Ou cave – BT Laos 6 Feedback on what our members of staff have been doing 7 Back from ASEAN Tourism Forum 8 Birthdays and Anniversaries
Tip of t he mont h “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.” - By Mark Twain
Joining Buffalo tours Ms. Pham Van Trang – Agent Sales Executive Ms. Nora Lotze – German Intern Mr. Tran Hai Hoc – Jet Wings Project Manager Mr. Joy - Sales Staff in BT Laos Mr. Somchan – Tour Guide in BT Laos Welcome to the Buffalo Tours team! Please join us in congratulating our new staff members on their positions at Buffalo Tours. We look forward to working with them in the future!
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THE CON TRĂ‚U TIMES
Buffalo Tours Vietnam Year End Party 2010 On the 22nd January BT Hanoi held its end of year party in style at the French Colonial Sofitel Metropole Hotel in Hanoi. During the evening guests were able to enjoy entertainment from singing to dancing, a delicious spread of food with ample drinks and an awards ceremony in which some of the best performing staff at BT Vietnam were rewarded for their hard work. One of the most important parts of the evening was a speech delivered by our CEO, Tran Trong Kien. In his motivational speech, Kien touched upon the highs and lows of the year, the challenges ahead in 2012 and perhaps most importantly thanked all BT employees for their hard work and dedication. A thoroughly good evening was had by all!
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
STAFF OF THE YEAR 2010 1. Ms. Nguyen Thanh Nga – Staff of the Year The focus for Buffalo Tours of 2010 was “Systems and Processes” and Nga showed her commitment to her project role in the BRS team. She quickly acquired knowledge about all 4 Buffalo Tours countries and also assisted the UK agent sales team with quoting while she was coaching the team on BRS. While the BRS project was challenging, Nga continually motivated the team to reach the project objectives.
2. Vu Minh Hieu – UK Agents Team Leader –Runner Up Hieu managed a huge workload in 2010 as the only staff in the team as the UK office was opened. Not only was she committed to providing the support to the UK office as well as the agents, she continued to provide a high level of service to our clients through the two dramatic weather events in the UK (volcanic ash cloud / snow storm in December).
3. Ms. Tran Thi Bich Thuy – V.E.T Team leader –Runner up Thuy was promoted to VET team leader and proved herself to be extremely capable in her new role. She provided new ideas for the team and always put her clients first with outstanding customer service, including meeting clients at 11pm and taking them to their hotel after they got stuck in the floods in Vinh. The VET processes are often complex and she is always positive and ensures the team’s attention to detail. Not least she extremely passionate about the projects and the local communities in which the projects are undertaken.
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES TEAM OF THE YEAR German Sales The German Sales Team exceeded their revenue target by 42%, reaching US$ 568,000. This small team was well managed by Petra and the whole team was very focused and performed well, even managing to add more series in 2011.
Runner Up Saigon Back Office The team (Truc, Quoc and Kim Anh) works extremely well together. They support each other well, are cooperative, show initiative and always assist others in their support roles. Their “behind the scene” work has significantly contributed to the success of other colleagues. Guide / Leader of the Year 2010 Mr. Do Van Hoi Hoi is a very loyal leader to Buffalo Tours and has worked with us for 6 years. He is committed to providing the highest level of service to his clients and regularly receives excellent feedback from tour operators, as well as directly from clients. Two of the most important aspects of being a tour leader are flexibility and consistency, which Hoi has always shown.
Runner Up Mr. Do Thanh Phuoc With consistently good performance throughout the year, Phuoc was also friendly and cooperative. He is also keen on taking new challenges, such as cycling tours. He has received a lot of positive feedback from both clients and the Operations department.
Special Mention Awards were given to Mr. Son To Laki and Mr. Nguyen Minh Thang for their consistently good performance throughout the year.
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BINH LUC STORY It is pleasant to see how these children are well cared for. They smiled, had fun and gave us a very warm welcome. It is obvious there is a very strong commitment towards these children from BuffaloTours. This is especially true of the VET team, Mr. Kien, the Operations team, interns and friends. There is a desire to share time and laugher with the children. That is what motivates me and makes me want to continue working
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hard for Buffalo Tours. It encourages me in my efforts to increase customer satisfaction, turnover and the company’s success. In this way we can continue supporting projects like this and give opportunities, fulfillment and happiness to children who may have lacked these things in the past. I would particularly like to congratulate Phuong and Dien, for their wonderful work. Their generosity is as beneficial to these children as much as it is to the image of BuffaloTours. Witten by Lorien – Intern in French Sales team.
THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Cycling trip to
Pak Ou cave – BT Laos BT Laos has just purchased 8 new Trek bikes and the Laos team tested the quality of the new bikes by completing a cycling trip to the Pak Ou caves (35km). It was really nice and a trial for all our staff but we all reached the cave with our bikes and no support vehicle to back us up.
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N O K AC B FEED
THE CON TRÂU TIMES
NG I O D N E BE E V A H S R E B EM M Wonderful tour - very happy! FF A T S R We are part way through our trip with Buffalo tours through U O Laos, Cambodia and next on to Vietnam and we’d like to proT A H vide some feedback. We have been very impressed with the W VIP level of service we’ve continually received and most impressed by the wonderful guides we’ve had. All of our Buffalo guides through Laos have been brilliant however Vuttha has stood out above all. We have just completed a 5 night tour of Siem Reap through to Phnom Penh with Vuttha and with Chuy as our driver. We want to compliment Vuttha and Buffalo tours on this amazing leg of our honeymoon journey.
Dear BT, We have recently toured with your company through Laos and Thailand and more than enjoyed ourselves. All the arrangements went smoothly. We thought it important to let you know that the standout for us was our guide in Laos, Dao Xang. He was the most thoughtful, engaging young man who went beyond all expectations in the level of care and attention. It was not simply that he was knowledgeable and well organized but that he was so attentive, ensured we all took the most out of any situation and extremely helpful and gracious. We do hope you will let him know our appreciation. Our guide in Bangkok, Max, was also a most engaging and professional young man. Many thanks The Buchanan Family
We have had the most amazing time in Siem Reap, seeing the temples and exploring Cambodia. Vuttha has a wealth of knowledge and has been able to teach us so much. Vuttha’s detailed knowledge about the temples, the sculpture, the kings and the religions is quite outstanding and demonstrates his passion for his job and for sharing his knowledge with his visitors. Vuttha’s local knowledge has really allowed us to get a feel for life in Cambodia and it is great to hear this from such an enthusiastic guide as Vuttha is. Vuttha has been on hand to answer any and all questions we may have and he’s helped us out with getting our laundry done cheaply and he’s been very good too at giving us a bit of space which we appreciate. He has been flexible to our needs and this has really allowed us to enjoy our trip to fullest. Vuttha is friendly, extremely competent and has a customer service mindset. The level of service is first class and nothing has been too much trouble. We really enjoyed spending the last 5 days in Vuttha’s company and we’re sorry that time has come to an end. Chuy our driver in Cambodia has also been excellent. He is very prompt and welcoming each time we embarked on another journey. Guy, our driver in Laos was also excellent, friendly, helpful and very professional. We will definitely be recommending Buffalo tours to our family and friends and look forward to the remainder of our trip. Please pass along our thanks to your wonderful guides and drivers, and particularly to Vuttha. Thanks again, Russ and Penny Bryce
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Back from
ASEAN Tourism Forum I came back from the ATF with an overflowing mailbox. I have only just realized that I am no longer under the air conditioning at a hotel in Siem Riep or Phnom Penh, but am back in a very cold Hanoi which I do miss a lot every time I am away. We can say that ATF 2010 was a great success and Buffalo Tours found some potentially new clients at this event. It was also a great chance for us to promote the brand name of Buffalo Tours as a very professional company that is growing very fast in scope.
I really enjoyed my time in Siem Reap with the staff in the Cambodia office. I met some of our tour guides: Vutha, Ly Heng, Kong Savaoan and a driver named Bunthann. We did talk a lot about Buffalo Tours and I was very impressed with their great admiration of Anh Kien – our CEO, as well as their loyalty to Buffalo Tours. With the friendliness and the great hospitality of all the staff in the Cambodia office, they really made my time there sweet and memorable. I would like to send my greatest thanks and very big hugs to all my Cambodian friends; Panya for taking a very good care of me when I was sick in Phnom Penh, Suy Vet for taking me around and to the project sites, Vutha, Ly Heng, King Savaoan, Bunthann, Sokthin, Khim Ty and his wife, Sophea and Phean for spending time hanging out with me till midnight. I hope to see you all very soon! Written by Thuy Tran – VET Team Leader
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Birthdays & Anniversaries Birthdays: Ms. Pov Sophea Mr. Dam Vutha Mr. Le Quang Thuy Ms. Hoang Chau Kim Anh Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien Mr. Phung Thai Binh Ms. Dinh Doan Trang Mr . Nguyen Tuan Dat Ms. Pham Thi Tuong Van Mr . Tran Trong Kien Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Chi Ms. Bui Thi Hao Ms. Dao Thanh Xuan Ms. Tran Thi Hong Nhung
5 Jan Accountant cum Admin - BT Cambodia 5 Jan Tour Guide - BT Cambodia 14 Jan Tour Guide 24 Jan Admin 29 Jan Ticketing 30 Jan Chinese Inbound Operations 4 Feb Agent Sales Executive - Team Leader 8 Feb IT 10 Feb IT 11 Feb CEO 14 Feb Finance Officer 18 Feb GR Executive 19 Feb Online Marketing 22 Feb Chief Accountant
Anniversaries: Ms. Tran Thi Hai – Accountant - Completing 6 years of service Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Van – Accountant - Completing 4 years of service Ms. Pham Minh Huong – Accountant - Completing 3 years of service Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan- Accountant - Completing 1 year of service Mr. Luu Trung Kien – Ha Noi Operation - Completing 4 years of service Ms. Nguyen Thi To Uyen – Purchasing Team - Completing 3 years of service Ms. Michele Whealy – Inbound General Manager - Completing 4 years of service Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Hang - Group Reservation Team Leader - Completing 4 years of service Ms. Dinh Doan Trang – Agent Sales Team Leader - Completing 8 years of service
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