Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015) • Hacker News Board

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#21

Post by duxup » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:02 AM UTC

underlines wrote: post #7

I'm a foreign CTO working in Bangkok and being fully fluent in Thai showed me that it's exactly the same practice in SEA regions: Got to close a deal with a government official? They'll head to the "bathtub massage" area Huai Kwang. Need to bond with a local Business man? Deal closes there as well. Bond with male work mates? On to the bathtub place! Everyone knows it, there's jokes about it and this particular busine…

Heck in the US 20 years ago, a coworker of mine was assigned to a job where his first account was some old school east coast bank. One night dude calls "OMG man we are at dinner and the sales guy didn't show up so it's just me and them and they want to hit the strip clubs a couple blocks away after this." I had no good advice as I was a n00b too so I told him to call his boss. He was told "keep them happy" so he spent thousands on dinner, drinks, and strippers for most of the night on the corporate card (cash for the strippers...).

He was sure he would get fired or something. The following Monday his boss told him he heard that everyone had a great time, gave him a pat on the back and noted "I probabbly should have told you they party pretty hard."

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#22

Post by sn41 » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:02 AM UTC

dogruck wrote: post #5

Americans don’t like to acknowledge that other cultures have different aaproaches to business. Why is the implication is that these practices are wrong?

Double standards like these are present in America as well. A friend complained to that a financial firm based in Georgia went through this entire rigmarole of checking his Facebook profile as a prospective employee, only to have the first group meeting in a strip club. He asked me, do they assume that they are never going to hire female employees?

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#23

Post by stcredzero » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:06 AM UTC

forkLding wrote: post #2

I see this as an East Asian phenomenon, I believe Koreans and Japanese do this to a certain degree as well as certain other East Asian groups. I've heard Russians do bathhouse deals as well although I could be wrong and there is also the finance sector's strip club visits with their clientele that I've heard of ( https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-12/it-s-clos... ). It seems so weird to see people have t…

I see this as an East Asian phenomenon

Heck no! There was plenty of dealmaking which was "celebrated" afterwards at Houston strip joints up through the 00's.

(EDIT: I had one coworker who had a kind of perverse "nationalistic" Texan pride around the notion of things like "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and actual whorehouses.)

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#24

Post by hackits » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:06 AM UTC

underlines wrote: post #7

I'm a foreign CTO working in Bangkok and being fully fluent in Thai showed me that it's exactly the same practice in SEA regions: Got to close a deal with a government official? They'll head to the "bathtub massage" area Huai Kwang. Need to bond with a local Business man? Deal closes there as well. Bond with male work mates? On to the bathtub place! Everyone knows it, there's jokes about it and this particular busine…

Then why the hell are you in Thailand and SEA for that matter? I'm not surprised you got gay jokes behind your back because you neither saved your face or your guest face by turning down the request? Honestly you should get the hell out of SEA and go back home if aren't going to embrace the culture and be part of it. You're just making it more difficult for other people who want to integrate into that type of culture and that exchange.

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#25

Post by hackits » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:10 AM UTC

duxup wrote: post #21

underlines wrote: post #7

I'm a foreign CTO working in Bangkok and being fully fluent in Thai showed me that it's exactly the same practice in SEA regions: Got to close a deal with a government official? They'll head to the "bathtub massage" area Huai Kwang. Need to bond with a local Business man? Deal closes there as well. Bond with male work mates? On to the bathtub place! Everyone knows it, there's jokes about it and this particular busine…

Heck in the US 20 years ago, a coworker of mine was assigned to a job where his first account was some old school east coast bank. One night dude calls "OMG man we are at dinner and the sales guy didn't show up so it's just me and them and they want to hit the strip clubs a couple blocks away after this." I had no good advice as I was a n00b too so I told him to call his boss. He was told "keep them happy" so he spen…

You do know that this is normal don't you? Very tame by any stretch of the imagination.

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#26

Post by duxup » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:11 AM UTC

hackits wrote: post #25

duxup wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heck in the US 20 years ago, a coworker of mine was assigned to a job where his first account was some old school east coast bank. One night dude calls "OMG man we are at dinner and the sales guy didn't show up so it's just me and them and they want to hit the strip clubs a couple blocks away after this." I had no good advice as I was a n00b too so I told him to call his boss. He was told "keep them happy" so he spen…

You do know that this is normal don't you? Very tame by any stretch of the imagination.

I don't know. After we were bought by a west coast company the stories like that stopped. While I worked with sales teams, I also worked with engineering teams so I wasn't on the front lines in that way. Did the events end, I don't know.

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#27

Post by stcredzero » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:11 AM UTC

dm3730 wrote: post #9

forkLding wrote: post #2

I see this as an East Asian phenomenon, I believe Koreans and Japanese do this to a certain degree as well as certain other East Asian groups. I've heard Russians do bathhouse deals as well although I could be wrong and there is also the finance sector's strip club visits with their clientele that I've heard of ( https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-12/it-s-clos... ). It seems so weird to see people have t…

> I see this as an East Asian phenomenon, I see this as one of the effects of European colonialists on East Asia and South East Asian colonies. The practice of colonialist generals/warlords, typically of a naval background of using brothels as a place/culture to bond with other warlords/generals and their local puppets is the predecessor of the current "elite level" business culture observed in these former colonies.…

I see this as one of the effects of European colonialists on East Asia and South East Asian colonies.

No. There were brothels somewhere in Asia, basically forever. Rough men have made deals in and around them, basically forever.

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#28

Post by hackits » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:13 AM UTC

hackits wrote: post #24

underlines wrote: post #7

I'm a foreign CTO working in Bangkok and being fully fluent in Thai showed me that it's exactly the same practice in SEA regions: Got to close a deal with a government official? They'll head to the "bathtub massage" area Huai Kwang. Need to bond with a local Business man? Deal closes there as well. Bond with male work mates? On to the bathtub place! Everyone knows it, there's jokes about it and this particular busine…

Then why the hell are you in Thailand and SEA for that matter? I'm not surprised you got gay jokes behind your back because you neither saved your face or your guest face by turning down the request? Honestly you should get the hell out of SEA and go back home if aren't going to embrace the culture and be part of it. You're just making it more difficult for other people who want to integrate into that type of culture…

Oh look a neg vote! This place is a echo camber of white knights.

Here is the thing Asia isn't the West. Go back home if you want the West. Live a little bit and open your minds that people have differing view points of sex, sexual relationships and Business.

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#29

Post by cm2012 » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:20 AM UTC

hackits wrote: post #24

underlines wrote: post #7

I'm a foreign CTO working in Bangkok and being fully fluent in Thai showed me that it's exactly the same practice in SEA regions: Got to close a deal with a government official? They'll head to the "bathtub massage" area Huai Kwang. Need to bond with a local Business man? Deal closes there as well. Bond with male work mates? On to the bathtub place! Everyone knows it, there's jokes about it and this particular busine…

Then why the hell are you in Thailand and SEA for that matter? I'm not surprised you got gay jokes behind your back because you neither saved your face or your guest face by turning down the request? Honestly you should get the hell out of SEA and go back home if aren't going to embrace the culture and be part of it. You're just making it more difficult for other people who want to integrate into that type of culture…

I'm not OP, but how about I live where I want, and do what I think is right? The good people in these countries are moving away from this stuff for a reason. If your hosts were abusing kids, would you join in?

Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)

#30

Post by hackits » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 4:23 AM UTC

cm2012 wrote: post #29

hackits wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why the hell are you in Thailand and SEA for that matter? I'm not surprised you got gay jokes behind your back because you neither saved your face or your guest face by turning down the request? Honestly you should get the hell out of SEA and go back home if aren't going to embrace the culture and be part of it. You're just making it more difficult for other people who want to integrate into that type of culture…

I'm not OP, but how about I live where I want, and do what I think is right? The good people in these countries are moving away from this stuff for a reason. If your hosts were abusing kids, would you join in?

Oh the `good` people of these `countries`. By what yard stick do you measure `good`. These `good` people considering it normal. I think you need to stop bringing your naive viewpoint of the West to Asia.