Entertaining us

1. Entertaining us

2. Agenda • Before the meal • Fix a meal meeting • Decide on a good restaurant • Purpose of the meal • During the meal • Ordering foods • Communicating with the client(s) • After the meal • Send gifts • Sign the contract • Other forms of entertaining a client • An activity: practice entertaining a client

3. Client and customer and host • Client: • The party for which professional services are rendered, as by an attorney. • Customer: • One that buys goods or services. • Informal. An individual with whom one must deal: a tough customer. • Host: • One who receives or entertains guests in a social or official capacity. 社交或官方场合 • Play the host/hostess 做东

4. When to fix a business meal? • Not on Day 1: jetlag, tiredness, business, etc. • Depends on how long client is staying. • Can be any meal of the meal: for example, dim sum meeting (早茶会)

5. Criteria of a good restaurant • Location: not too far 位置 • Atmosphere: quiet, cozy, etc. 氛围 • Comfort: seat, table, heating, etc. 舒适度 • Cleanliness: table cloth, washroom, etc. 清洁 • Staff friendliness: smile, polite, etc. 侍者态度 • Staff attentiveness: on alert, ready, professional, etc. 侍者专注度 • Speed of service: efficient, organized, etc. 速度 • Quality of food: delicious, refreshing, ecological, etc. • Quality of drink: hot coffee, cold beer, etc. • Value for money: affordable, not too expensive 性价比？

6. Why are the ten criteria important to entertain a client? • Leave a good impression on the client • Treat her like a queen • Treat him like a king • Know him/her better through communication: interest, hobbies, needs, etc • Build a bond/relationship with him/her • Enhance an existing business relationship • Close/conclude/make the deal and look to other deals to come in future 签约

7. Have a good knowledge of the well-known local restaurants and hotels • Be a gourmet 美食家 • You can be a great host/hostess. • Your will leave a great impression on your boss! • Your boss won’t forget you for the next promotion opportunity.

8. Terms used in a meal • Breakfast meeting 早餐会 • Lunch meeting/ Luncheon 正式的午餐 • Dinner meeting 晚餐会 • Appetizer 开胃小菜 • Liquor 白酒 • Wine 葡萄酒 • Beer 啤酒 • Vegetarian 素食者 • Deserts 甜食 • The meal is on me. / I invite you./You are my guest. 我请客 • Pay the bill (foot the bill) 买单 • Pay with a credit card or with cash • Receipt 发票

9. Location of table and arrangement of seats • A corner table • Seat for the client • A seat with a view (of the sea, mountain, park, etc.) • A seat facing the chef, or the pretty waitress, etc. • Window seat • Seat for the host

10. How many dishes and what price? • The thoughtful host makes suggestions when it comes time to order. • By naming some of your favorite dishes or specialties of the restaurant, you are suggesting an acceptable price range. (what do you think of European lobsters?) • If you mention appetizers or desserts that you like, you are suggesting the range of courses.

11. Dishes to be avoided • 扒猪脸(Snout) • 木瓜花生炖鸡脚(Chicken Paw Soup with Papaya and Peanut) • 干烧鱼翅(Dry-Braised Shark’s Fin) • 脆皮乳鸽(Crispy Pigeon) • 九转大肠(Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce) • 花江狗肉(Huajiang Dog Meat) • 酱骨架(Braised Spare Ribs in Brown Sauce) • 手抓饭(Xinjiang Rice) • 剁椒鱼头(Steamed Fish Head with Diced Hot Red Peppers) • 毛蟹炒年糕(Sautéed Hardshell Crab with Rice Cake) • Other dishes that are messy. 油腻麻烦的食物

12. Table manners • Drink: take a small sip each time 小口喝 • Eat: eat with your mouth shut 无声吃 • Hands: both hands on table, or one hand on table, the other on one’s lap 手放下 • Cell phone: turn it to silent or vibrant mode or turn it off 调手机 • Excuse me 挂嘴边

13. Best to be avoided Privacy (family, marriage, kids, siblings, age, income, etc.) Beliefs, religions, politics (controversial) Personal history (embarrassing) Appropriate topics Do one’s homework to find out what the client enjoys doing (interest, hobbies, beliefs, values, etc.) Business (contract, quality of products, price, deadline, data, plan, corporate culture, etc.) One or two jokes (icebreaker) Topics during the meal

14. After the meal: Gifts • When do you send a gift to the client? • Before or after the signing of the contract • What do you send as a gift? (price?) • Not too expensive • Expensive (can be embarrassing!=bribery) • Something with the logo of your company or something this is typically Chinese like a silk costume or a good-luck Chinese knot • Check to see if the company of your client has a no-gift policy.

15. What are the common ways of entertaining a client? • A breakfast, lunch, or dinner in an exclusive restaurant • A sport event (skiing, golf, motor-racing, horse-riding, fishing, majiang, etc.) • A tour (incld. shopping tour) • A concert/Beijing Opera/ Yue (Cantonese) Opera • A visit to a local attraction (museum, park, tower, casino, etc) • A visit to a “red-light” district (Eg.: a strip club，a massage house) (?!$@*&)

16. Entertain the car dealer • Suppose you work for Shenzhen-based BYD (“build your dreams”). A car dealer (汽车经销商) of BYD is coming from Europe for a visit in mid-November. Your boss asks you to play the host. Design a detailed plan to entertain the client. (you can decide the nationality, age, sex, and other conditions of the client) • Role play your plan from very beginning (call client to fix a meal) to the end of the meal or the end of whatever entertain program you have. • Possible roles: boss, manager host, secretary, client, waiter/waitress, etc.

17. Group activity • Suppose you work for Shenzhen-based BYD (“build your dreams”). A car dealer (汽车经销商) of BYD is coming from Europe for a visit in mid-November. Your boss asks you to play the host. Design a detailed plan to entertain the client. (you can decide the nationality, age, sex, and other conditions of the client) • One man • One woman • Two men • Two women • A man and his son/daughter • A woman and her daughter/son • A couple • Report your plan to the class and then the class will elect one plan as the best.