A Great Attitude and a Little Effort Go a Long Way!
From: Chuck Curlin
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:08 PM
To: Steven S. Bammel
Subject: RE: Follow up on Message Sent Last Night
Steven,
I neglected to get back with you after returning from Japan. My apologies.
The trip was great and our hosts could not have been more gracious. It was a wonderful experience to be in another industrialized country and see how they do things. The cities were awesome to behold and the bullet train was a sheer joy to ride on. The Japanese people, everywhere I went were wonderful.
I was one of ten guests, architects and engineers, who were invited by Mitsubishi to tour their manufacturing facilities and some installations that highlighted their products. The group was made of individuals from across the USA. Two were from a very large Architectural & Engineering (AE) firm in NYC, another two were from another national AE firm in Oklahoma, and another one was from a very large AE firm in the Pacific NW. I was from the smallest firm in the group.
However, I was the only one who had done research on Japanese culture, had tried to learn some of the language, and had come with gifts for our hosts. It was fun in that regard – “Trump-ing” the New Yorkers. The gifts I gave (all Panthers NFL items) were very much appreciated and so were the business cards printed in Japanese. There was an obvious difference in their reaction when they accepted one of my cards. Eyebrows raised, a look of excited happiness, and often the words, “In Japanese!”. This was somewhat to the chagrin of my colleagues – who themselves were impressed.
One of the gifts I gave was a football, to one of the plant managers in Wakayama. Contrary to what I had read, he opened it while we were still there, (although not in my direct sight), and came looking for me to toss it. I recently received a photo of his young son holding the football. I invited him to come to Charlotte and see a game if he was to ever make it over here, and as luck would have it, he will be coming next week (the US headquarters for Mitsubishi Electric are in Georgia) and staying long enough to come to the Monday night Football game on December 8th.
Thanks again for the great service you provided. If ever the need should once more arise for me or someone I know, I will be sure to give you a call.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Chuck
Charlie D. (Chuck) Curlin, Jr., P.E., C.P.D.
Member - ASHRAE, ASPE
Senior Vice President
David Shultz Associates, P.C.
212 N. McDowell St., Ste. 204 (28204)
P.O. Box 37008, Charlotte, NC 28237
Website: www.dnshultz.com
