THE CON TRĂ‚U TIMES Issue 6 - June 2011
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
Inside This Issue
1. Joiningthe Buffalo Family 2. Staff of the Month 3. Thailand Weekend Event at FOX City in Netherland from 14-15th May, 2011 4. A warm- joyful 5. First Aid Training 6. Culinary Training at Jet wing Mai Chau 7. Hanoi Company Trip & Team Building in Victoria Hoi an Resort & Spa 8. Feedback on what members of staff have been doing 9. Birthdays and Anniversaries
Tip of t he mont h
Joining Buffalo tours Ms. NongThi Ngan – Airport Representative Executive – BT Hanoi Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Thao – Ticketing Manager – BTA SaiGon Ms. ParinradaPakda -Sales Executive – BT Chiang Mai Ms. WatineepornNimmukda- Sales Executive- BT Thailand Welcome to the Buffalo Tours team!
“If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.”
Lee Iacocca
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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!
Leaving Buffalo Tours Ms. ChansamonePhetphothong (Khek) – Reservation Executive BT Laos Thank you for your contributions to Buffalo Tours and we wish you success in the future!
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STAFF OF THE MONTH – JUNE 2011 1. Ms.Sandrine Depeux – Spanish Sales Team Leader “Despite a quiet start to the year, Sandrine’s diligence and commitment has paid off! Having reached a total of $57K of new sales in May, Sandrine far exceeded her budget for the Spanish Sales Team. She has also proven her talent as a great Team Leader offering excellent guidance and knowledge to Ms Dung, who the latest member of this small but formidable team. With this, along with her overall positive attitude, Sandrine is very deserving of being named as one of our Staff of the Month!”
2. Ms.VoNguyen Hoan NgocThuy - Trainee Travel Agency Manager - BTA SGN Thuy has delivered outstanding service to expatriate clients traveling to Europe, earning the best compliments ever. She has also delivered outstanding service in the organization of school field trips, in liaison with our VET team. This will help us reinforce our position on the school market and addto our reputation as a professional and reliable supplier
3.Ms. Ho Thi Yen Nhi, Travel Consultant - Team Leader -BTA SGN Ms Nhi has been showing constant support to both management and to her team since promoted to Team Leader, demonstrating her leadership skills, her excellent customer service and attention to the needs of the market. She is willing to take on new responsibilities and goes out of her way to improve services and products
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
4. Ms.Pham Thi Tuong Van – Software Tester Van is a little girl with four arms. Since Van’s involvement with the BRS Data team, she has grown two more hands…just kidding! Van does not come from another planet nor is she ugly in-fact, she is very cute. Like most of members of the BRS team, Van must race against time to upload data for sale teams which, especially in high season, can be at dizzying speeds. Her work does put her under a lot of pressure which can sometimes conflict with the sales and operation teams, but Van always knows how to solve the problem. She is a real “buffalo” in the big family of Buffalo Tours. And here are her words: “Hello everyone, I’m Pham Thi Tuong Van working at BRS team. I love to work in Buffalo Tours, especially working with young, dynamic staff and professional colleagues. I also want to thank my managers in helping me develop my work and skills during my time. I hope to have long-term partnership and support from all of you to fulfill the tasks.” 5. Flight Center team – Best team of the month (Ms. Le Thi Thuy, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Van, Ms. Pham Thi Thuy) Even though Flight Centre team is down one team member, with Ms Lien on maternity leave till August, the three remaining team members, Le Thi Thuy, Nguyen Thuy Van and Pham Thi Thuy managed to hold the fort! Even with the added pressure from increasing booking requests from Flight Centre, tight deadlines to submit 2012 hotel and tour tariffs, the Flight Centre team exceeded their April revenue target by 50% with a record of $359K actual versus budget of $240K.
People are our most valuable resource! Nominate someone you think deserves recognition – someone who truly shines!
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
“Thailand Weekend Event” at FOX City in Netherland from 14-15 May 2011
I
t was my pleasure to have an opportunity to join the “Thailand Weekend Event” at FOX City in the Netherlands from 13-17 May 2011 as a representative from Buffalo Tours (Thailand) Ltd., This event is set up especially for the clients who have either, already booked the package to travel in Thailand and also for the clients who are planning to visit Thailand in coming months to gathering more information about Thailand. FOX Vakanties invited me to join this event because they thought that it will be better for the clients to get all the information they would like directly from a local and also it makes it very special for them to know that FOX Vakanties had invited someone from Thailand, who flew direct to Amsterdam for this event as well. The event took place on 14 & 15 May 2011 with both days of the event starting from 13.30 by registration for the audience (approximately 150 & 200 persons respectively). The event started by Chantal (Product Manager of FOX Vakanties) greeting and welcoming the clients and briefing the schedule of event. This was followed by the presentation of Thailand as a destination for 45 minutes. The presentation also provided information about Thailand in general. After that, there was a Thai classical dance show from the TAT (Tourism Authorization of Thailand which was very beautiful and attracted the clients very much, even for myself, as I have not see this kind of show for a while.
There was a short break of 15 minutes for refreshment and also allows the clients to make the booking by internet or ask more information in private with all FOX Vakanties staffs, including myself. The 2nd session began with more Thai classical dancing, and then it was my turn on the stage as Chantal invited me to to participate in the event as presenter from Buffalo Tours (Thailand) Ltd., While I am presenting the information, they also had a presentation of Thailand running in the same time. Some of the topics included were, Why Thailand as a destination?, What is the climate like?, What does the transportation look like for either Group and FIT and etc. They also allowed5-10 minutes of each topic to let the clients do Q&A (Question & Answer) with me (and Chantal as a translator to Dutch clients, depending on the number of questions). In conclusion, this event was very successful in terms of the number of bookings. Thank you to Kien, Kenneth, Hayo and Chantal who gave me the opportunity to participate and present Thailand as a destination to the clients, which I think I cannot find this kind of opportunity from any other company. Written by: ThammasakBusbong FOX Vakanties Reservations Team Leader – BT Thailand
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C
hildren Day in Tay Dang was a day filled with love and warmth. The whole ‘Buffalo Tours’ staff and relatives’, according to Ms Phuong ‘Coi’of VET, eagerly met at 8 in the morning, knowing that 29 May 2011 would be an unforgettable day for all participiants. Our car slowly moved its wheels to our destination andeven though the journey to Tay Dang Center was not as smooth as we hoped, with the infamously meadering streets of the Old Quarter Area and the uncountable bumpy road sections of the Hanoi outskirts, but all that was traded off for our extreme eagerness to get out of the car and great excitement to meet the children. Once our BT staff and relatives reached the place, we hurried ourselves to prepare the very first activity for the children, a movie screening. With a lot of consideration about the movie choice, we finally went with Mr Bean and Tom &Jerry. And honestly, before the show there was a bit of worry amongst some of our VET team, since we thought these two shows might not be the perfect options to keep the children fullly interested. However, just few minutes into the show would indeed prove, that our anxieties were for nothing. From the very beginning to the end, the hall was like a gala filled with children’s laughter. None of them, even us would afford to keepour eyes off the screening. A sign of relief.
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After the show, the children were sent off to have lunch so it was a pity that we could not join the children for lunch. Nevertheless, this did not necessarily mean we could not have fun. The meal was so unique, we had a very interesting multicultural meal with our French BT staff, our DutchSwiss-German volunteers and of course our beloved Vietnamese BT staff as well. Who says bread, sausage, cucumber cant make a good meal?
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That warm lunch with our BT family without doubt served as a powerful charger, inputted in each and every single person much more energy to continue preparing for the afternoon games.
children could beautifully stick all the colourful balloons on the pillars. They also impressed us by jumping sack in pairs and imitating all the funny animal sounds without fail. It seemed nothing was impossible for the children as well.
The most tiring part of all was to arrange materials for the games. However, with BT staff and relatives, nothing was impossible. During the whole preparation, we all somehow found something to laugh about, to enjoy. It was the jumping sack try out, the jumping photo shoots after struggling to hang up the BT banners ,or simply just the music dancing next to our ears. This all ignited in each person the enthusiasm for the games, even though it was in the midst of a sweltering noon. With the balloons decoration session, we were all amazed at how fast the
It was really a lot of yelling, running and laughing for all of us and everyone enjoyed every single second in this early celebration of Children’s Day 1 June . The children had fun with a fabulous party with games, sweets, jelly and of course a lot of presents. We, the adults, had fun to be children, once again. We definitely could not forget this day. Written by: Nguyen Phuong Linh Internship VET Team – BT Hanoi
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THE CON TRÂU TIMES
FIST AID TRAINING “Annually, the summer is time for the Buffalo Guides’ field training which also includes a First Aid Training Course. For Hanoi guides, the First Aid Training was held on the 16 June 2011, at 94 Ma May. Very timely at 9am,our guides and leaders presented themselves at the course in BT shirts. Again this year, the instructor was from the Family Medical Practice and even though both the trainer and most of trainees were so familiar with each other, the course was still very interesting. It turned out to be a questionnaire exchange with practical examples and situations of sickness or dangers which the guides and leaders may encounter during their tours. Furthermore, it is important for the guides to repeat and rehearse the skills they learnt last year as well as being updated with the latest CPR knowledge. At the end of the day, a test and a survey was sent to trainees and they all highly appreciated the course results. Well, apart from all above, the day also proved to be a great chance for all the guides and leaders to share their touring experiences andthis was also very useful for the new comers. We thank you Management for providing the course and HR for your thoughtful sweets and fruits that were offered, we loved it too!” Written by: Luu Trung Kien – Assistant Operation Manager – BT Hanoi
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CULINARY TRAINING
AT JETWING MAI CHAU
The entire kitchen staffs at Mai Chau Lodge have recently undertaken an intensive training course on top quality Sri Lankan and Western Cuisine. The course, which was led by Mr. SenakaTantrige, a Vice Principal and Senior Lecturer at The International Hotel School in Mount Lavinia, makes Mai ChaiLodge the first hotel to serve a traditional rice curry menu to a range of clients. If you visit Mai Chau Lodge, please do not hesitate to try one of the dishes! Written by: Hijaaz Latheef – GM Operation – Jet Wing Mai Chau
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HANOI COMPANY TRIP
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Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort and Spa
T
he first Hanoi team of the Buffalo Tours Annual Trip made their getaway from Hanoi on the southbound Reunification Express. After an overnight train journey the group arrived in Danang and enjoyed a jovial group lunch. Once the group had checked in at the lovely Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort and Spa, a lucky few from OPs and Sales conducted hotel inspections. Later in the afternoon the group gathered for some rather ridiculous team building games. Yen, from Marketing, noted that “the two team building instructors were very well organized and demonstrated to the teams the importance of group timing and placing the right people in the correct positions”. After lots of action, laughs and most people being thrown in the sea it was time to scrub
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out the sand and return to the beach for a delicious Gala Dinner. Inevitably, dinner was followed by more silly games; one of which included an unlucky participant having to dance with a broom! Needless to say, some of the other resort guests had a hard time understanding exactly what was wrong with us. The evening wouldn’t have been complete without a serious karaoke session to finish it off. After an early breakfast the following morning, the group departed the mainland for Cham Island. After visiting a pagoda and doing a spot of dried squid shopping for colleagues in Hanoi, the group was transferred to a nearby beach. Some enjoyed a fun boat trip to a nearby coral reef for snorkeling. However,
THE CON TRÂU TIMES
despite lifejackets being provided some thought these might be their last moments. Although Thuy from Marketing counts the trip to Cham Island as one of her highlights, at one point she asked herself “is this how I end my life?” However, a hero was at hand in the form of MrHai (aka Ghostface of Group Sales); who seemed to continue saving damsels in distress throughout the weekend. What a gentleman! Unfortunately, after having witnessed this display of splashing anarchy, I don’t think many of the staff from Buffalo will make it to any of the swimming events at the Olympics in London... After a tasty lunch on the beach it was time for some of the Buffalo ladies to pose for Tuan’s impromptu beach
photo shoot, whilst others in the group opted for a nap in a deckchair in the shade. Later in the day the whole group returned to the Victoria for a rest. In the evening, it was time for a last dinner together. Unfortunately, the fun had to come to an end and after the following morning’s hotel inspections it was time for the group to depart Hoi An for the return journey to Hanoi. However, the Marketing team kept the memories of the trip alive on their return to Hanoi by stinking out the office with smelly dried squid from Cham Island. Writen by: Graham Read (Product Development Manager- Marketing Dept. - BT Hanoi)
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WHAT OUR STAFF MEMBERS HAVE BEEN DOING
FEEDBACK ON
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Dear Buffalo Tours company, We booked our trip to Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand) from the Buffalo Tours UK Office based in Wimbledon. I cannot comment therefore on the price of individual day trips as we paid for a 3.5 week trip. I can however comment on the individual guides, the quality of the different day trips we took and the overall excellent value and quality of the holiday. We spent a day/ two nights in Hanoi and the day trip we took with Buffalo Tours in Hanoi was excellent. Our guide Tho was excellent. His English was excellent and his knowledge was phenomenal - both of the history of Hanoi and Vietnam (so much so that our Buffalo guide in Halong Bay knew him and his reputation!!) From my experiences most Buffalo Tour guides have studied tourism at university and so are of good quality. The vehicles used are air-conditioned and the driver always has cold water and wet wipes on hand after trips (as it can get pretty hot in Vietnam) The trip around Hanoi was really comprehensive so much so that even though we were only there one full day we did not feel like we had missed out even though we would have liked to stay longer. We had an interesting tour around historical sites such as Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, Museum of ethnology, Hoan Kiem lake and the temple of literature but also saw more “real life” in a walking tour of the old quarter and a cyclo tour (this was excellent and with Buffalo you turn up, pick up your cyclo driver and avoid all the queues!!) I can’t recommend this company enough and many of the UK guide books recommend them - really can’t understand the negative comments on here as our experiences were truly excellent and we have travelled the world so are not inexperienced travellers!!
Birthdays
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Anniversaries Birthdays: Nguyễn Thị Mai Lan Luyện Kim Sáu Phan Thi Kim Ngọc Vũ Minh Hiếu Natthapat Verawattanaporn Đặng Hồng Hải Lý Mẫn Nghi Trần Thanh Loan Pornrapat Chimpee Thái Thị Kim Nhựt Vũ Thị Ngọc Thảo Cao Thị Minh Ngọc Nguyễn Thái Hải Phùng Quốc Tuyền
July 1st July 2nd July 3rd July 6 July 10 July 11 July 22 July 23 July 25 July 27 July 29 July 29 July 30 July 31
German Sales Executive Ticketing Executive – BTA Hanoi Accountant Agent Sale Executive - Team Leader Chief Accountant – BT Thailand Driver – Ha Noi Office Chinese Inbound Manager - Cholon Tours Agent sale executive – Group Reservation FOX Reservations Executive – BT Thailand Tour Guide - Cholon Tours Chief Accountant – Cholon Tours GR Executive - Team Leader Tour Guide – BT Hanoi Tour Guide - Cholon Tours
CONGRATULATIONS to Ms. Ninh Hanh – HR Manger BT Hanoi on the birth of your beautiful baby on 28 May, 2011. Her name is Thuy Tien and her nick name is Bon.
Anniversaries: Nguyễn Trung Công – CTO& Deputy GM - Completing 2 years of service Hồ Việt Hà – CFO& Deputy GM - Completing 3 years of service Nguyễn Thị Bích Vân - Finance Controller - Completing 3 years of service Hà Thị Huệ - Agent Sale Executive - Completing 5 years of service Phạm Thị Khánh Ly - Online Sales Executive - Completing 3 years of service Hòang Ngọc Lộc – Tour Guide – Completing 6 years of service Nguyễn Mạnh Cường - Tour Guide – Completing 6 years of service Phạm Ngọc Minh - Tour Guide – Completing 6 years of service Tạ Thị Thắm - Airport Rep - Completing 2 years of service Sayan Mong Pho - Driver (BT Thailand) - Completing 2 years of service Boonsong Buangam- Driver (BT Thailand) – Completing2 years of service
And congratulation Ms. Nguyen Lam Thy-Operation Supervisor and Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc-Office Assistant - SGN! Their baby was on 11 June, 2011. His name is Nguyen Quoc Thang and Chivas is his lovely nickname.
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