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Phnom
Penh (Ah!)
Part 2 - TOP
THREE PP STORIES- SHOPPERS GUIDE
D. J. Ken - National Radio Text Service
Korean tourists visiting the realm for a six day visit found nothing of interest in Phnom Penh but enjoyed seeing Angkor Wat and visiting children in Siem Reap orphanages took the top spot - The US Embassy rocked the charts by taking two of the three positions - A sales reps understanding of English is key to your purchasing satisfaction - TOP 3 PHNOM PENH STORIES - Part 1 CAMBODIA'S FUTURE LEADERS?
Friday August 28, 2009
TOP THREE PP STORIES There was quite a surprise in the results for the top three Phnom Penh stories read by NR readers. An oldie from February featured a group of Korean tourists stopping over in Phnom Penh after seeing Angkor Wat and visiting children in Siem Reap orphanages during their five day stay over a five day period prior to their stop in Phnom Penh and then moving on to Vietnam. They claimed that there was nothing of interest for them in Phnom Penh that would cause them to lengthen their stay in Cambodia. Is this something for the powers that be to think about if they want to increase the revenue stream from non pedophile tourists? Is this Cambodia's paradigm? The second spot went to our June column that focused on is Cambodia safe for tourists? It pointed out that the Cambodia Daily reported US Ambassador Carol Rodley noted that that Cambodia loses US $500 million yearly due to corruption. Our column also noted that another Cambodia Daily story revealed that a Russian businessman who was sentenced to a 17-year jail term for having sex with 17 minors is receiving special treatment and permitted to leave jail to oversee his $300 million investment in Sihanoukville. Given that column reached the second position this is our fastest rising story for Phnom Penh. That was also followed by another fast riser in which our July column focused on the USA July 4th party at the US Embassy.
SHOPPERS GUIDE GOOD ENGLISH COMPREHENSION = BETTER UNDERSTANDING IN TRANSACTIONS When making a purchase it is wise to talk to a person who: 1. Speaks good English. 2. Has a good COMPREHENSION of English. 3. Has good PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE. 4. IS HONEST and serves the customers needs. One of the challenges purchasing anything in Phnom Penh from business who do business with tourist and resident foreigners is understanding a sales person's English. The situation is improving but there is a long way to go. For the foreigner it is better tat you don't try to speak all of the English words that you know to show your expertise in the language. Speaking words that the seller can understand will serve the buyer better. One major problem is that if you're spending several hundred dollars for items such as a computer or cell phone is that you understand what the warranty covers. Most stores don't sell an International warranty and that the product must be repaired in Cambodia. The term for a computer is usually one year on parts and labor and four years on service. Many of the sale personnel lack product knowledge so be sure to understand what you are purchasing for your money. It is better to clarify if the repair technician speaks ENGLISH. If something goes wrong with your purchase and the repair person doesn't understand what you're saying can put you at a disadvantage. We have run into the problem where they did and spoke in an articulate manner but their comprehension of English was lacking and they made mistakes which we had too pay for. After carefully explaining what was wrong with our computer and what to watch out for they did the opposite and created another repair problem. The result being that we paid for a repair had to have another due to their mistake and suffered the down time for the repair. In Cambodia the acceptance of responsibility is hard to come by. *** The serving a customer's needs issue came to light when a Japanese NGO employee who speaks excellent English purchased an Internet service from Camshin/M Phone. At the onset she was informed that she needed a telephone line thus having to pay for a telephone, a line and connection as well as the Internet installation fees and service cost. She later found that she didn't need a telephone but could receive the service by ADSL. There was another $200 Installation charge and equipment costs. The point being as a tip is careful who you gave your memory cards and business to so you can prevent theft, damage and an unpleasant experience. NATIONAL RADIO PUBLISHED IN 5 LANGUAGES We are published in five languages, English, Thai, French, Russian and Khmer (Cambodian language). Any of our foreign language material and our Roman Wanderaugh columns are legally available ONLY on our National Radio
© Copyright: National Radio. Any use of these materials, whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized in writing by National Radio. Contact: nationalradio@yahoo.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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