Sams shores, I check on foreign customs to see how much of myself I can
be.
Technique #42
Clear Customs
Before putting one toe on foreign soil, get a book on dos and taboos
around the world. Before you shake hands, give a gift, make gestures, or
even compliment anyones possessions, check it out. Your gaffe could gum
up your entire gig.
There are some excellent books on international customs. Youll find the
names of a few in the notes. 1719
Dont be like another hapless colleague of mine who almost blew a big
business deal with a Brazilian. Just before signing the contract, he gave the
OK sign with his thumb and forefinger. Litle did he know he was telling his
new business partner to go have intercourse with himself. You never know
until its too late.
Now we come to where being an insider shows immediate, tangible, and
calculable rewards. And where being an outsider really hurtsright in your
pocket or purse.
How to Talk Them into Getting the Insiders Price (on Practically
Anything You Buy)
Never underestimate human ingenuity when it comes to getting what
you want. Many people expand the adage, Alls fair in love and war to All is
fair in love, war, and buying what I want. To get a table at a posh restaurant
on a busy night, using a celebrity name is an old ploy. My favorite ma”tre d
told me he gets a lot of Robert De Niros phoning in a reservation. When
their party of six or eight arrives, he hears, Im so sorry, Rob wasnt feeling
well this evening.
One woman, frustrated when her fake celebrity name didnt work,
shouted at him, Look, who the hell do I have to be to get a table? Ill be
anyone you want me to be, Goldie Hawn, Steffi Graf, Fergiejust tell me.
Some people try a last-minute approach. They simply walk up to the ma”tre
d at an overbooked restaurant, point to any name on the reservation book
and say, Thats us.
Youll witness the same cunning at overbooked hotels. Several months
ago I was checking into a popular hotel for which, fortnately, I had a
confirmed reservation. A loudmouthed man in front
165
ooja
(Ooja)
#1