If you wish to subscribe to my blog, click the "follow my blog" link on the left side of the page. This will give you notification if I post new info.
Just an FYI!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Bathrooms.....
Not a lot of new information to report today so I suppose I will give my own little editorial on bathrooms in China......
First, let me note that none of the following notations apply to my apartment, thank God! My apartment bathroom is fantastic!
On with the show!
1. People do not flush their used toilet paper. They throw it in a trash can by each toilet.
2. Bathrooms smell like crap (because of #1)
3. They light incense in the bathrooms to cover the crap smell notated in #2 (it doesn't work)
4. The urinals have little urinal cakes....like super balls; I guess they are there to cover the scent of urine (which is already overpowered by the smell of crap).
5. Some restaurants don't have bathrooms in them....you have to walk outside to another building.
6. A lot of public restrooms have no toilet paper.
7. The stalls are not made for people over six feet tall!
There is my quick editorial on bathrooms.....if there is any new info, I will be sure to let you know!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Getting into my groove....
So I think I have finally started to get adjusted to my new life in China (for the next two months). The reality of where I am has finally started to set in which I am grateful for. The original luster of waking up to Shanghai is beginning to become the norm!
My company had a big ceremony today for the launch of our second China store. The ceremony was focused for Chinese government officials....that is how stuff works here. There was a stage with music and cheerleaders, quite a set up for some government folk. The president's of BBY China and BBY International both gave speeches as well as the Chinese Consolate official. It was a nice kickoff for the store which officially grand open's Friday.
As for the China experience; I moved into my apartment yesterday morning. It is a nice place! It is in a high rise right in the middle of Shanghai.....we are on the 27th floor. I moved in with another international GM who has lived here for seven months. He is from MN....a cool guy! We get along well. The apartment is great......nice wood floors, balcony, two full bathrooms, nice kitchen, maid service, free laundry and dry cleaning. My only complaint is the mattress! It is as hard as a rock! I can't fault the apartment, it is Chinese standard to sleep on concrete apparently! Other than that, I am happy to move out of the hotel.....now this experience will feel more authentic!
I have had some interesting food experiences the last two days.
Yesterday I went to lunch at a Korean BBQ. There was a table with a hole in it; at the beginning of the meal they loaded it with smoldering charcoal. They put a metal griddle over the top and brought out a bunch of raw meat. I am not sure what the meat was (better not to ask questions) but it tasted good. Then they brought out squid and cooked it which also tasted quite good as well! I have been working at the chopsticks....I am OK with the wood ones....unfortunately the Koreans use these tiny metal chopsticks which are even harder to use.....trial by fire I guess!
My other food experience last night was at a Napoleese restaurant. It was tasty curry food. It was pretty funny getting to the restaurant....we had to go off the main road down a dark alley (past some street meat carts and some poker games) and into a little hole in the wall. They make their own beer there too which I thought was really strange.... All and all, the food was pretty good.
That is about all for now. I hope to post some new pictures in the next couple of days.
Take care all!
Monday, October 27, 2008
First Full Day of Work
I had a nice full day of work today! I am quite impressed with my lack of jet lag at this point. My luck, I will probably get destroyed by it tomorrow.
We have a store opening officially this Friday. I got to walk the store and give my feedback today. Then, I spent some time at our store that is already open. It is an awesome store. We carry some very random things in China: message chairs, water softeners and heaters, toilets, TONS of Asia cell phones. It is very interesting.
I went to lunch at a real Chinese restaurant today. Yeah, I ate with chopsticks, it was painful. I couldn't actually told you what I ate, all I know is that it had lentils in it.
I spent the rest of my day at the store I will call my own. It is our third store in China and we plan to open it in two weeks. The store name is Bai Ba Ban. The store manager is pretty new into our company and I have been charged to be his coach. It will be some interesting work, that I can guarantee.
I am about to go out for dinner. Who knows where I will end up. I am meeting up with my future roommate (I will be moving in tomorrow). He is going to show me the local spots.
Wish me luck!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
That wasn't so bad....
I am now in Shanghai, one short 15 hour flight later.
I am not going to write much....have a little jet lag! But, let me share some of my random observations from the trip to China:
1. Always fly business class (as long as you are not paying for it)!
There were at least 100 people waiting to check in for the same flight as me. There was no wait for business class. There were another 50 people waiting to drop their baggage to be scanned; the airline took mine for me. I was ticketed and done in five minutes max. Then they sent me to the Air France club....though it was funny, it was excellent! They came and told me my flight was boarding....I proceded to the gate and walked through 300 Chinese people and got right on the plane. Not to mention the seats that extend to nearly flat to sleep on, the full a/v system with a complete catalogue of movies and music, the free slippers earplugs and eye cover, the excessive food and beverage services, etc. The cherry on top was waiting at the baggage claim in Shanghai.....the first bags that came out had a sign for first class and business class. Bags in two minutes. I give China Eastern Airlines an A. The 15 hour flight felt like a trip to California from New York....amazing!
2. Chinese love their anime.
Even the safety video they show on the plane has world class anime action!
3. Real Chinese food is tasty....just be ready to be baptized by fire!
They served us a meal at 3:00 AM NY time. They called it dinner. You could choose pork or seafood. It was serious Chinese food!
4. Tetris rules.
I probably spent three hours playing tetris on the airline video system. It never gets old!
5. I don't know Chinese.
As soon as I got to the gate at the airport, I was reminded that I was flying a Chinese airline to China. I have heard more Chinese in a day than I ever have, and I have only actually been in China for four hours.
6. China's stop lights are neat.
The green light flashes before it turns yellow. When a light is red and about to turn green, the yellow light comes on. It was cool....though most drivers didn't seem to care what color the lights were.
7. Is smog really that big of an issue in China??
Yes.
8. Chinese music is awful.
All I can say is the first song I heard was Ace of Base...I saw the sign. That song was bad enough, imagine the same song with Chinese lyrics!
Those are some of my random thoughts thus far.....
PS....if you are calling my international cell phone, don't expect to get connected to voicemail. I forgot to set it up before I left. I talked to AT&T today, apparently it is impossible to set it up outside the US......LOL!
Friday, October 24, 2008
And the Journey Begins
So I sit here in JFK Airport asking myself "what the hell am I doing?"!
On the plus side, I am sitting in the Air France lounge, which is not too shabby. All you can drink Perrier and all you can eat finger sandwiches; what more could anyone want (besides maybe a newspaper that is in English)?
Back to the question at hand, "what the hell am I doing?".
Well, let me try to explain in a few words.
As most, if not all of you know, I have been working for Best Buy for nearly the last ten years. For the last few years, I have been running stores in New York (specifically Long Island and Brooklyn). Time came for me to look to expand my horizons a bit; so the story begins!
About six months ago, Best Buy Europe became a reality. I can remember the week in early May, we were in our annual company meeting (this year it was in Anaheim). One early morning (surprisingly I can still remember that morning) Best Buy announced the had bought half of Carphone Warehouse (CPW), the largest mobile phone carrier and store in Europe. Five minutes after that announcement, I texted Liz "want to move to London?". At that point it was just a joke (kind of). The reality was, BBY bought half of CPW for one reason: to enter Europe.
A few months go by and the thoughts were lingering.
August came and I got engaged to my lovely wife Liz. That is another whole story for later....
A couple weeks later, maybe one week later, the job to open London was posted. What timing!
So, it was the moment of truth. Liz and I talk it over, go over the pros and cons, and eventually decide that it is worth applying for. I mean, applying for a job doesn't mean you are going to get it, right? We were conscious of the reality of what I was applying for, but it was just an application!
The process began!
Many, many, probably too many people applied for the job. Ultimately, 96 people applied for two jobs! At that point, Liz and I were very pessamistic. Usually five or six people apply for these jobs. Almost 100, that is crazy. Either way, we were involved in the process, the long process!
A couple months went by. I had multiple interviews with several people. Every time I had another interview, more people were eliminated from contention. Every time I had an interview, the chances of me getting this job became more and more real. Every time I had another interview, Liz and I starting gripping what reality could be.
Then came the moment of truth.
They offered me the job of General Manager International Assignment.
IT WAS ON!!!
So I got the job! It was such a great feeling! I felt like all the hard work I have put in for the last ten years had all paid off!
The job in a nutshell:
My role is to go to London and build an operating model. We have no stores in Europe, these will be the first. We know only what the data tells us. I, along with a peer, need to get into London, understand the competition and the environment, build an operating model to open a BBY with. When the model is built, we need to help the people running the stores open the stores and create sustainable business. Ultimately, create a foundation for the rest of Europe. That is all :)
So, the job was mine. Originally, the plan was to spend the next month on and off in Mexico (where we are currently opening stores there for the first time too). After that, we were going to spend a month in California. The plan was to fly the managers we hired in London out and spend a month with them in BBY stores in the US. After that was over, I was to have off for Christmas and eventually move to the UK at the beginning of January. Liz would then move to London at the end of February or the beginning of March.
That agenda came through and it looked great. Not only would I be able to start traveling and immersing myself in my new role, I would also have time at home in between trips (usually 7 days). That way I could see Liz, move, all that good stuff. Sounds great to me!
At this point, Liz and I go into high gear trying to figure out when to get married. We came to a mutual agreement that we wanted to be married before we moved to London. So, we were trying to figure out how to work a wedding into my travel, and do it before December.
It was tough. We were having a really hard time figuring out a wedding conclusion that worked. It became clear that if we wanted to get married, we were going to have to do something quick and simple.
Then came the phone call.
My new boss called from China one night. I thought he was just checking in, saying hello!
There were alternative motives.
He called me to plead with me a bit. Turns out that we got some permits to open stores about six months sooner than expected in China. That is great! Unfortunately, being that we were expecting another six month delay, BBY only hired the store manager a month ago!
My boss was a bit concerned, to say it mildly.
He posed the question:
"I want you to think about helping us out in China for a couple of months."
There was no pressure. Only a desperate new manager and a tough situation.
We already have one store open in China and it is crazy. For us to open another without strong leadership would be a recipe for disaster.
The choice was in my hands.
The choice was a bit loaded. They offered my business class direct flights to Shanghai ($$$). Then they offered to fly Liz out to China for a free week vacation....not bad! Plus, there was the experience of CHINA!!! Who gets that chance?
Liz and I began the decision making process.
She was all for it the moment I hung up the phone. She couldn't see me turning down the opportunity....thought it would be stupid of me.
I was intrigued.
Ultimately, I agreed with Liz. I would be an idiot not to take the opportunity!
So, I accepted the opportunity. Then Liz and I went and got married....time was a bit limited!
That was last week.
The week since has been crazy! Preparing for the trip. Buying supplies, setting up a moving company, getting ready to go, dealing with old business from the previous job, going to dinner every night with one friend or another. It went by quick.
Today came. It was hard on the family. Liz and I were sad that I had to leave. We spent the day together and did the best we could.....Nigel too of course.
Now I am here, at JFK Airport.......and now my flight is boarding.....yeeha!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
