As foreigners that don't speak the language us foreigners face a lot of hurdles living over here in Vietnam. I have been quite lazy as far as the language is concerned but I can take it a step further and say that if I get more than say a few kilometers from my apartment, I am completely lost. I have learned almost nothing about the area that I live in and don't actually know very many people that do know very much either. I don't think we are lazy, it is just so damn hard to get it done.
However, there are some situations where I think that you really should take the advice of someone local instead of thinking that you know a better way..
Recently a friend of mine had to relocate his building because, surprise surprise!, they are tearing down his old location in order to build high-rise apartments that are exactly like all the other apartments.
He took it on the chin and tried to stay positive about the fact that he had to find a new location for his pub in a very short amount of time. he found a building that was not completed yet and he worked out a deal for a long-term lease if he would finish the detailing finishing work on the structure. It's a small building, just big enough for a pool table, a bathroom, a kitchen, a bar, and a bit of seating. But the building really was seriously incomplete. It was just a shell and other than a few electrical plugs here and there the entire thing had to be built up.
Through his wife, he got a quote from someone about how much it would cost for the plan that he had for the building. He mulled over the cost and determined that it was too expensive so he "found a guy that could do it cheaper."
He has a sense of humor about what is going on right now but here we are, 5 days already into December, and the job that was promised to be finished on the 1st of the month, is in a really horrible state.
My friend is a semi-engineer and tinkerer type, but like most of us, he doesn't know where to begin when it comes to welding or doing something like tiling or brickwork. He knows how to put together plans for other people to do this, but can't do any of it himself.
When I see him mulling around his new business I guess I feel bad for him, but to be fair, he really was offered an out and a way to have it done already but he decided to go the cheap route instead.
I'm not saying that nobody should ever try to find a better deal but I think a lot of the time, especially if it is a build and it is time-sensitive, you need to kind of look at how much money you are going to lose every day by not being able to be open and factor that into the price.
For reasons that I do not understand the cheaper builders that he hired tore out all the outdoor tiles and are now in the process of putting them back. At the moment the entrance is just raw dirt.
I hope he can be open sooner rather than later but by saving money he has already taken a week's hit by being completely closed and I was there yesterday and it really looked like he is going to continue to be shut for at least another week.
Thankfully for my friend I don't think he actually needs the money that this place brings in because he worked a "real job" for many years before even deciding to move to Vietnam. I have been told by him that the only reason he has this pub is so that his wife has something to do with her days and since he likes playing pool, he wanted to have his own table. Fair enough I guess!
I would be willing to bet that he is really regretting deciding to take the cheaper option at this point though. I just hope that this slower pace on the cheaper guys doesn't also mean that they are going to do shoddy work that has to be re-done by the more expensive team anyway!
