April 17, 2018 4 min read
It was a hot afternoon in November 2015, at my brother's head office, Ho Chi Minh City, there was a gentleman dressed in a business suit. His name was John. In front of him was an incense heater, next to it was a teapot and 2 cups.
Source: Self-taken, Evergreen Office
He put an agarwood chip on the mica plate to heat it. After 2 minutes, he nodded his head. His facial expression did not change but he looked pleased. Taking a sip from the teacup, he said
He looked stunned, laid back to his chair, everything was silent.
By the way, I was packing some orders nearby Feeling awkward because it was so quiet, I looked up and tried to observe the situation.
My brother was calm and composed, he looked at John and said
He went out of that room and asked me what my thought was. Then, he told me that John was just bluffing "Ông đó không mua trên 1 kg đâu" (it means he would not buy over 1kg). he spoke to me in Vietnamese.
I was drinking water and had to cover my mouth. I used my index figure to pick my ear as I thought I heard it wrong
My brother weighed the chips for him and sent John out with a smile. No hard feeling whatsoever. Before John left, he told my brother,
At the same time, a guy was wearing short and tong walked into the office. Pointed to the display glass, he asked my brother if he could get one of the display items
He looked at it and observed some of the other pieces. My brother told me to get a box ready as he would purchase.
The guy wearing thong paid for the chosen piece in cash and left the office shortly. Later my brother told me a secret that I never forget til today
3 years later, I had many chances to verify the truthfulness of his statement. Get ready to have a laugh
The person in this story asked and rushed us to send her samples. When we asked for payment, she ignored and provided her address for us to send the samples too. We have no words
We received many phone calls, the above is quite typical
They thought that by saying: " I WILL BUY IN BULK, give me the best price" we would be bending backwards to serve them.
We also played a small game, eventually, they disappeared. Of course, someone like the above is VERY COMMON
" Hi, I would like to buy some oud but would like to sample first"
So confident that giving out the address? Sorry dude, at least offers to cover some postage, we might think again?
After the response email showing where the samples could be purchased, we never heard back from him.
Imagine, if we accept one of this type of request, we will be out of business in no times, everyone wants a free sample without paying.
From the above conversation, chances are he already asked multiple Oud vendors or Oud Grower and hopefully he could receive what he wanted. Best of luck!
This usually over the phone conversation, when the " buyer" showed, we politely asked the quantity they are looking for? The answer was 100g. We thought we heard it wrong, it must have been 100kg. He then repeated 3 times, "100 g, g for George, for a gram". Ok, we got it (George is different than John (one was on the phone, the other one was in-person visit, they were not the same person but similar behaviour)
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October 07, 2024 9 min read