Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Pamela Slim has a great post on her blog (escapefromcubicalnation.com) about doing business with different cultures.  Does anyone have stories to share?

I was once in Japan and was invited to a fancy dinner with the mayor of the city.  During the dinner they asked me to get up and say a speech.  At the end of my speech, I raised my glass and said “compai” in respect to the mayor for inviting me to such an event.  I had a table of 20+ people staring at me in shock. I was politely asked to sit down.  You can imagine my embarrassment when I was told by my host, that the speeches were not complete and it was reserved for the mayor to give the toast.  I had completely superseded the mayor’s authority at his party.

Chad

I was in a really nice hotel once in DC (Omni Shoreham) around the holidays.
They had a mennorah in the lobby, and I was in a silly mood. I mentioned to a passing maintenance guy that several of the bulbs on the mennorah were burned out...

They almost replaced them when the hotel manager informed them that, um, the lights were out because one is lit each day during Hannukah.

Hey, hey.

Oooo  That is a good one.

I used the word "Bugger" in front of my host-mum when I was in Australia in college.  I wanted to make enchiladas for dinner (they didn`t have much Mexican food in Australia at the time) and I said, "Tortillas have been real buggers to find!".  She dropped her tea-cup on the floor and looked at me with a horrified look on her face.  I had no idea what I had just said and I am STILL not entirely sure - LOL!  But, I was told, "That word is NOT nice!"

I made a lot of verbal gaffes in Oz.  People separated by a common language...

One more we nearly did: When my dh went to get his MBA at Notre Dame, we went down to the beautiful Grotto one Sunday afternoon.  We`re not Catholic and my kids, who were toddlers at the time, were hot and thirsty.  It took us half an hour to figure out whether the bubbling fountain next to the Grotto was an actual DRINKING fountain or HOLY WATER.  Only after a jogger stopped by for a drink did we let our kids get a drink for themselves.   But, then, every time we went into the Basillica after that, my kids wanted to drink from the bowl of Holy Water at the entrance.  We never knew what water was to drink and what water was to sprinkle for the whole year.  They need to label it - LOL!

~Kim

Those are both good.  You are right about common language faux pas.  I remember being in school and a dorm mate was from England.  He went to take an exam and need an erasure.  He leaned over to his friend and asked to borrow a `rubber` during the exam.  You can guess what sort of looks and snickers he got that day.

Chad

My face is turning red as you make me remember this!

I think one of my worst moments was at a dinner table after spending the better part of the day on the golf course in a foursome with the senior vice president of a large marketing firm (I`m not a very good golfer), so, I was amazed at all the little gadgets and things he produced during the day from his golf bag. At dinner, when asked if I`d had a good time, I was quick to inform all the big wigs at the table that I had thoroughly enjoyed myself and had a great time playing with the "SVP" as he was the man with all the tools! I really don`t think anyone knew what to say . . .

LOL dip lady.... that is a good one!

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I work in a casino as a bacarrat and blackjack dealer.  The checks used to represent money for a bet are different colors.  Most of the casinos use the same colors for each denomination until they get to the $500 checks.  So $5 checks are red.  $25 checks are green.  $100 checks are black.

When I first started in the industry I was instructed to inform the supervisor when someone was playing the black checks or more.  Wanting to follow the rules, I called out loud, "Black action" when the African-American man placed his $200 bet...

   ...he was offended.

Since then, I simply call out "checks play" and let the supervisor figure out what`s happening!

On another note . . . I`ve ordered inventory and I`ll be open in a few weeks.  It`s exciting.  As soon as Edgar Monroy of Nuevolution finishes my web domain I`ll let all of you know so you can tell me what you think!  I can`t wait--he`s doing a great job, but that`s my humble opinion!

jillybeans