July came and went in a blink of an eye, and before I know it, we are already past the Mid-way point of August. I probably would have never have imagined myself to be as busy as i have for the past month or so.. Part 1, Work.
Just as my Birthday was over, i concluded my Nippon Roadshow assignment at Tiong Bahru. Being only equipped with superficial knowledge about the paint industry, I had to constantly refer to the 'Paint Specialists' for further information. Of course, being the person that I am, I was rather passive when it came to approaching customers. As time went by, it became increasingly clear that speaking to customers was something that i should embrace instead of being fearful of. The primary objective of interacting with them is of course to promote and raise awareness of Nippon Paint products and services. Every conversation is an opportunity to learn something new, especially when customers start asking questions. Since i'm still new to this industry, I often don't know what I don't know. Thus it is through these questions that will make me realize what else I need to find out about paint products and services. Slowly but surely, I was accumulating 'experience' and knowledge that will improve my 'presentation' to customers when i speak to them. That is when you garner information on what are the main concerns of customers when it comes to paints and painting jobs. Bottom line is, whether the product suits their needs and preferences. Seriously, they don't really care how wonderful your product is.. "Odour-less? Anti-bacterial for up to 5 years? Washable? $60?"... when at the end of the day, all they want is a decent paint that isn't going blow a huge hole in their pockets and able to last for 6 years... Instead of going on non-stop on the Odour-less, it'll be better off for me to introduce the $35 Vinilex..
Bringing You a Brand New Paint Shopping Experience
It's the first time that I had to come up with a resume and to sign a contract. Signatures are no longer the simple affair of signing in/out in the Book in/out Book.. By signing on the dotted line, i hereby agree to be legally bound by the terms and conditions as listed... It's up to me to scrutinize the text and make sure there aren't any loopholes that will potentially leave me at a disadvantage. Basically, i will have to cover my own a** if s**t happens.
Shortly after the Nippon roadshow came the Fragrance assignment: To promote Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani Fragrance at counters. It was another opportunity to learn about an industry which I had little prior knowledge of. Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum were all that i can remember from the Promoter at Chanel when i bought the Perfume for Mum back in June. While it was certainly great that i could pick up something new, i was far less enthusiastic on the nature of the job. Standing behind the counter in Departmental stores... Staring at the 'Dior', 'Chanel', 'Davidoff' counters all day.. Looking at my watch every few minutes.. Everyday, only a handful of customers would have a look at the fragrance. It certainly didn't help that i was stationed at locations where the human traffic flow wasn't high. Things became monotonous very quickly and it became a case of just waiting for time to pass....... Certainly a far less fulfilling job as compared to the Nippon assignment. But I could well be having a peek into what's to come in a few years' time after I graduate. How many graduates actually managed to find fulfilling jobs in the industry of their choice? There are bound to be some who will end up working in jobs which they have totally no interest in, for whatever reasons there may be. For those who didn't have a choice, the only choice that they have now, is to make the most out of their 'boring' job. Try as much as possible to learn something out of nothing. Haha. Well. I did try to ask questions about perfumes.. but to be honest, I had expected better answers. Anyway, it's an experience nonetheless. =)
-sunk-
LG has been brought up on a couple of occasions by the sales executives as an excellent product which rivals Toshiba and HP.. One of the first points mentioned was that it is Made in Korea. Be it Toshiba, HP, Compaq or Acer.. They are all Made in China. I was thinking, why would a China-made product be that much more inferior to one made in Korea? China probably still have some way to go in manufacturing products with cutting-edge technology but notebooks are hardly state-of-the-art. So I wouldn't really take that as an advantage. The Toyota Camry, Fortuner, Altis are all made in Thailand. But still, Camry and Altis are the best-selling cars in their class. You think your Mercedes is German made? I've heard from several sources that Mercedes produces some models in India. Outsourcing the manufacturing of these products doesn't necessarily result in poorer built quality if adequate measures are in place to ensure quality control. Anyway, that's besides the point. No matter how much praise the sales people lavish on the LG notebook, i'm hesitant to commit to one as LG is relatively new in this notebook business as compared to HP and Toshiba and thus, no track record to speak of. Moreover, one possible reason for the sales people to actively promote LG notebooks could be due to the high commission... Who knows...
Finally, the finale of my Birthday celebrations.. July 28 @ NewYork NewYork. The seemingly endless celebrations prompted my aunt to ask if I've finally finished celebrating my Birthday?! It's been quite a while since our Gang met up. K-Box? Remember?
