It's too bad you don't like seafood. When my dad went to Japan a few years back, he didn't like the food either.
- May 21, 2001
- 26,189
- 4,855
- 126
Sorry for the delay in responces - long flight back, and then I took a day of rest.
I'll keep the names of people and the identity of our product confidential (I'll make up a different product), but I think this example will attempt to describe how the business went:
1) We make the fastest race cars in the world (remember the 'car' is not the real product).
2) Company X in Japan contacts us wanting the fastest race car.
3) We describe exactly what we make - race cars for circular tracks only.
4) They come to the US and throughly investigate the race car, and even test drive it on circular tracks.
5) Long discussions finally lead to an agreement to build them one race car - but they refuse to tell us what they want the race car for, how they want to use it, or any or their conditions that they need to satisfy (such as minimum velocity or maximum lap time) - no matter how much we try to ask their needs.
6) I travel to Japan with the race car hoping for a smooth transaction. My goal is to give them the car, teach them to drive it optimally, let them try it out on different tracks, and then they make the payment.
7) I get there and there was one minor dent due to shipping. They are quite angry and disappointed. But I fix the dent and think things should go well.
8) I take the race car to a race track and show them how it runs dramatically faster than any car previously built.
9) They say that is all good but they don't want to race it. They want a car to be able to drive to the top of a mountain - or in other words they want a good SUV.
10) I tell them again that the car is meant for speed but is not meant for off road driving. They ignore it and jump in and attempt to drive over rocks, through mud, on ice and snow, etc.
11) Needless to say the car is unable to make it to the top since it gets stuck in a huge pothole.
12) I insist that they try it out on race tracks and that if they want an SUV we can build one, but it would take some time.
13) They insist that I modify the race car (in just 4 days I am there) to make it capable of reaching the top of any mountain in the world.
14) I say it cannot be done, but I do work 18 hours a day while I am there to alter it as much as possible to handle off road driving. Of course it doesn't work on each attempt.
15) Much anger on their part, they give me lectures repeatedly throughout the trip, refuse to make the contract payment, etc. Finally they give me a list of demands that are quite unreasonable. I forward that list to my superiors and become very happy to finally leave from home.
16) One positive thing happened though. I finally at the last minute get one person there to tell me their requirements. They want a car to finish a two part course in 3 minutes. The first part is a minimum 5 minute endurance drive up and down mountainous terrain and the second part is the world's fastest lap around a circular track. Total time for both parts must be under 3 minutes. I say it is impossible to do a 5 minute endurance drive within a maximum 3 minute race. Suddenly they pretend not to speak English...
That is basically what my week was like.
That was the source of the problems - they wouldn't allow me to go get a chicken bowl. I don't know if it is a Japan custom or just the custom of the company I worked with but they repeatedly told me that everyone at the table MUST order the same thing. They would ask me what I wanted to eat - I would tell them or point at a picture in the menu (if it had pictures), they would discuss it and then say that they do not want to eat that and immediately ordered something else for everyone. I guess I'm just not accustomed to that type of eating out where you cannot choose what you want.
I didn't emphasize the business portion of my post. Let me say this: my salary for the next 3 months depended on the trip which didn't go well. So there is no money to pay my salary for Feb, March, or April. I don't know how long it will take to make the people in Japan happy. So until then it'll be more skimping for me and my wife.
I'll keep the names of people and the identity of our product confidential (I'll make up a different product), but I think this example will attempt to describe how the business went:
1) We make the fastest race cars in the world (remember the 'car' is not the real product).
2) Company X in Japan contacts us wanting the fastest race car.
3) We describe exactly what we make - race cars for circular tracks only.
4) They come to the US and throughly investigate the race car, and even test drive it on circular tracks.
5) Long discussions finally lead to an agreement to build them one race car - but they refuse to tell us what they want the race car for, how they want to use it, or any or their conditions that they need to satisfy (such as minimum velocity or maximum lap time) - no matter how much we try to ask their needs.
6) I travel to Japan with the race car hoping for a smooth transaction. My goal is to give them the car, teach them to drive it optimally, let them try it out on different tracks, and then they make the payment.
7) I get there and there was one minor dent due to shipping. They are quite angry and disappointed. But I fix the dent and think things should go well.
8) I take the race car to a race track and show them how it runs dramatically faster than any car previously built.
9) They say that is all good but they don't want to race it. They want a car to be able to drive to the top of a mountain - or in other words they want a good SUV.
10) I tell them again that the car is meant for speed but is not meant for off road driving. They ignore it and jump in and attempt to drive over rocks, through mud, on ice and snow, etc.
11) Needless to say the car is unable to make it to the top since it gets stuck in a huge pothole.
12) I insist that they try it out on race tracks and that if they want an SUV we can build one, but it would take some time.
13) They insist that I modify the race car (in just 4 days I am there) to make it capable of reaching the top of any mountain in the world.
14) I say it cannot be done, but I do work 18 hours a day while I am there to alter it as much as possible to handle off road driving. Of course it doesn't work on each attempt.
15) Much anger on their part, they give me lectures repeatedly throughout the trip, refuse to make the contract payment, etc. Finally they give me a list of demands that are quite unreasonable. I forward that list to my superiors and become very happy to finally leave from home.
16) One positive thing happened though. I finally at the last minute get one person there to tell me their requirements. They want a car to finish a two part course in 3 minutes. The first part is a minimum 5 minute endurance drive up and down mountainous terrain and the second part is the world's fastest lap around a circular track. Total time for both parts must be under 3 minutes. I say it is impossible to do a 5 minute endurance drive within a maximum 3 minute race. Suddenly they pretend not to speak English...
That is basically what my week was like.
MikeyIs4Dcats
Lifer
- Nov 5, 2001
- 18,366
- 3
- 0
SOMEBODY didn't read "Super Karate Monkey Death Car" before he traverlled. That would have explained the whole Japanese auto culture.
MikeyIs4Dcats
Lifer
- Nov 5, 2001
- 18,366
- 3
- 0
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