A Journey to Open a New Market in 1994 (A True Story)
Ted McDonnell
was a top-notch salesperson in the Asia-Pacific/Global Duty-Free
division of Seagram Spirits and Wine Group. (SSWG or ‘swig’ as it was
referred to.) Ted had spent his career living in Australia, Hong Kong,
and Guam as a regional director fixing problems and building brands all
over Asia-Pacific.
Then one day an outstanding opportunity came his way in the form of a job with
Chivas Brothers.
He no sooner got settled in London when he was told that among his
first assignments was to go to Vietnam to do sales training on behalf of
the brand. President Clinton opened the market to trade and management
was anxious to expand opportunities in the emerging market.
His excitement was palpable and, as he waited for his visa, he
gathered point of sale and training materials. As he scurried about
making preparations—including attending a companywide meeting—he was not
able to get his ticket and visa until the last minute. He ended up
collecting five boxes of gifts and items that the sales and marketing
people could use. You can imagine the effort he put in to get the right
stuff and when the week’s wait was over, he ran to his office and
collected the visa and plane tickets.
While hoping to stay awake on the flight to see the approach to the
country, he instead fell asleep and awoke as the plane landed in a dark
and ominous looking airport surrounded by what appeared to be machine
gun towers. As he disembarked he felt a bit of relief, when a Vietnamese
man tapped him on the shoulder and asked, “Are you an American?”
He quickly said, “Oh no I’m British, I’m here with Chivas Regal
Whisky.” The man smiled and said, “Would you please tell your American
friends we wish they would come back, we’ve missed them.”
With this surprising start to his journey, he collected the five
boxes, breezed through customs, and left the terminal to find his
colleagues who were to meet him.
Hello Vietnam
Two problems got his immediate attention. Here he is at the airport
of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and it’s basically an open-air
cement building—hardly what he expected from the biggest city in the
country. Second, there were well over 200 people waiting to greet
deplaning passengers but no one was there for him. He waited and
worried.
“You need taxi? My name is Tran,” said the young man who approached
him. “No, I’m waiting for my friends to pick me up,” was Ted’s reply.
A few hours passed while he stopped people to ask if they knew where
the Seagram office was in the city. After a while, Ted noticed Tran
hanging around the terminal again. He decided to approach him.
“Tran, bring your car, I think we will go to the city. My friends
forgot about me.” So, Tran is very happy, and goes to get his car. As
Ted describes it, “The car is a little more than a shoe box and I had a
hard time squeezing in with the five boxes, my computer bag and the one
piece of luggage I had with me.” But off they went.
Tran is very quiet as they drive along a very dark road without much
lights. As they are crossing a bridge, Tran stops the car and says, “I
go back and get my friend. I go back and get my friend.” Ted nervously
replies, “no, no, no… I’m paying you to take me to the city.” To which
Tran says, “Yeah, I know I take you to the city… but first I go back and
get my friend.”
The next thing Ted knows, Tran turns the car around and heads back to
the airport. Only this time the road is deserted and no cars are on the
highway.
Ted starts to get very nervous
“How come there are no other cars… how come I’m the only one on the
highway and there is the airport… it’s getting dark…only the lights are
on out front of the airport with three men standing there and I’m
thinking this is it for me. I’m getting kidnapped, you’re never going to
see me again and there’s going to be a letter to my family of some
sort… I’m thinking I’ve got to get out of the taxi when we reach the
airport. But before I can get my hand on the door this guy jumps in the
front seat and smiles and says, ‘Hello Joe. How are you Joe?’ I said,
‘Uh, uh, good’ and we’re driving back toward the bridge.”
Picture this—Ted is stuck in the back street, wedged in among the 5
boxes, computer bag and luggage while Tran and his friend are getting
angry and arguing with each other. The friend suddenly reaches into the
glove box, turns around and points two things at Ted, one in each hand.
He can barely see what it is but is sure it looks like a gun. Ted
thinks, “Why the hell did I put myself in this fix?”
After a second or two, Tran’s friend says, “Richard Marx or Air
Supply cassette player?” Ted starts laughing and so does Tran and his
friend. He puts on Richard Marx and he says, “You sing, you sing for
us.” Ted’s thinking, “I don’t sing, but if I don’t I may end up in a
ditch so sing your friggin’ heart out.”
Now they’re tooling down the muddy roads and all singing Richard Marx
and Air Supply in a bizarre (yet frightening for Ted) karaoke event.
After a while, they slow down next to a house, the friend gets out and
tells Ted to do the same. Ted protests; Tran’s friend is most insistent
and mutters something about needing gas to get to the city.
Ted reluctantly leaves the car and is standing on the side of a dark
road with all his gear, dressed in a blazer, gray slacks and white
shirt. His fear has just gone up a notch or two.
Ted recollects: “But there, next to the little house were three
little kids and an old lady that comes out the front door. She takes my
hand and leads me inside, sits me down on a small stool. Now that could
only be a small stool because if I stood up I think my head would have
gone through the roof.” It turns out to be Tran’s family.
What follows is Vietnamese hospitality as Ted is served tea and some
food as he begins to relax a bit. He even starts playing with the
children and making duck and animal sounds while he waits for Tran to
return. All the while he’s thinking that this is the craziest kidnapping
ever.
At long last Tran appears and announces, “Okay we go now.” Ted is
relieved and delighted and can’t wait to get to Ho Chi Minh City, a
shower, and a comfortable Marriott bed. Goodbyes, smiles and happiness
is shared all around. In fact, Ted is so happy, he lightens his load by
opening one of the boxes and handing out Chivas Regal shirts.
Welcome to the city
“It’s the city, we’re coming to the city,” Tran joyfully announces.
So again, Ted is getting a little nervous being an American in
Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. He says, “Tran, ahh what street are we
going to?” Tran answers, “I don’t know. I ask the policeman.” Before Ted
can object, Tran is out of the car with my paper written in English.
The officer looks at Ted and asks, “You Yankee?” he says.
Ted decides that it might be best to claim he’s British and puts on
his bad English accent. To which the officer replies, “Ahh too bad … I
love baseball, I love the Yankees.” He goes on to inform Ted and Tran
that the street they need is too small for the car and they need to take
two nearby tricycles. The officer offers to watch the taxi while they
head off.
So, they get into the tricycles, with the boxes and other gear, ride
down narrow roads, just barely missing other bikes and Ted is thinking
what the hell is going on. There are bright neon signs but all are in
Vietnamese. Finally, they pull over to a really dark and dingy building
and over the doorway it says Marriott Hotel.
Ted is elated but still a bit worried. He goes inside, finds the desk
clerk, who fortunately speaks English and asks about Seagram, the
colleagues he’s supposed to meet, and Chivas Regal. The man replies
no—he has no idea who these people or companies are. Ted says, “I’m
looking for the Marriott, maybe it’s a little bigger than this.” To
which the desk clerk replies, “Ooh you want the other Marriott.” He
writes down the address for Tran in Vietnamese. They collect his stuff
and put it in the tricycles, go back through the streets of Ho Chi Minh
City and find their taxi and the policeman. Once again Ted opens a box
and hands out more t-shirts to the smiling policeman.
Off they go to the address and twenty minutes later they arrive at a
decent looking hotel but certainly not a Marriott. It doesn’t take long
for him to learn that it’s the wrong place and they need the Marriott by
the water. He is assured that it’s close by. Off they go.
As Ted describes it:
“I was happy when he said, ‘Not far from here.’ Okay. We’re so close I
can almost taste the Marriott air. It was hot, it was steaming. I was
so tired, it was like 24 hours since I last slept. It had to be about 11
o’clock by then. So here I am, we’re back in the car we’re driving to
the next place. Nearly half an hour passes—not five minutes—and we
finally pull up to another hotel but something didn’t feel right.”
Ted goes in and asks about Seagram, his colleagues, and Chivas and
receives no, no, and no in reply. By now he’s questioning his sanity,
his belief in God, and thinks that he’s still sleeping on the plane and
this is a dream, or worse, a nightmare. And, things get interesting.
He asks the clerk for a phone so he can call one of his colleagues.
He gives the man and Tran the number and they look at each other
quizzically. They speak animatedly in Vietnamese. Finally, Tran turns to
Ted and says, “Your friend is not here.” To which Ted replies, “I know
you already told me he’s not here.”
Tran explains further, “No, your friend is in Ho Chi Minh City… in the south.” “Well where am I”, asks Ted.
“You’re in the North, you’re in Hanoi,” he learns from Tran.
Ted, takes out his plane ticket and looks at it. Sure enough, the
ticket and documents he grabbed at the last minute say Hanoi, but the
phone number is for Ho Chi Minh City, 700 miles away.
Ted asks, “Tran why didn’t you tell me that when you had the paper?”
Tran replies, “I don’t read English.”
“So why did you have the paper, Tran?”
“Because you gave it to me.”
Ted sits down in the lobby, is about to cry but decides he might just as well laugh. Then realizes what he has to do next.
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Join us next time for the continuing saga of Ted McDonnell, Chivas Regal and the trip south to Ho Chi Minh City, aka, Saigon.
By the way, Ted is the CEO of Liberty Lighthouse Group an international alcohol sales and marketing agency.
Their
mission is to help develop new brands or to further support established
brands throughout Asia/Pacific and other Global markets.
Ted McDonnell in full Chivas Regal attire
Source:
http://www.boozebusiness.com/vietnam-and-chivas-regal-a-salesmans-story
