The Yijia Hotel is a budget hotel, but today it really has the style of a five-star hotel. A red banner hangs above the door, a red carpet is spread in front of the door, and there are two well-dressed doormen standing on either side of the door. It's very grand and high-class.
However, once you walk in, it's a different feeling. The lobby is very cramped, and it's actually not really a lobby at all. And now there are a lot of people sitting or standing inside, it's definitely even more crowded than at the airport.
Shi Lu was stunned when he saw the situation. Holy cow, it's really all show and no substance. Is this a hotel or a small hotel?
He was about to ask Feng Yiping, but Manager Wang in the crowd saw them arrive and hurried over, shaking General Manager Jiang's hand. 'You must be General Manager Jiang. I'm sorry for the poor reception today. Please forgive me,'
'Hello, General Manager Chen. I'm sorry I wasn't there to greet you at the airport,'
'You're too kind, Manager Wang,' General Managers Jiang and Chen both said with a smile, but looking at the hotel's hardware and the lively, crowded scene in front of them, they both hesitated a little.
Shi Lu asked, 'Manager Wang, is this...,'
'You must be laughing at us. This is the hotel project of our group company that has just officially opened for business. It is the first of our budget hotels. Of course, the hardware is not as good as those five-star hotels, but in terms of cleanliness and comfort, it is very good. For the past two days, the hotel has not been open to the public for this meeting,' Manager Wang said with a smile.
If that's the case, it's really hard to find fault. 'Your company really has good taste!' Jiang, who had studied abroad, praised.
This is a pragmatic and enterprising company with a unique perspective. Whether it's convenience stores or budget hotels, they have all been market-tested in Europe and the US and are doing well, but they haven't become a big thing in China yet.
'Your company is really strong. The hotel by the river is almost finished, isn't it?' Chen, who had dealt with Wang before, said, putting his arm around his shoulder.
'The civil engineering work is over, and the greening and decoration are underway. I'll show you tomorrow, and by the second half of next year, I'll be able to host you there.'
The agenda for this meeting also included several projects that were presentable for the participating suppliers to visit, so that they could also have a direct understanding of the company's strength. The Holiday Inn, as one of the most presentable projects, was of course on the itinerary.
The boss had no objection, and Shi Lu didn't dare to either. General Jiang and the others were chatting with Manager Wang, so he signed in on his own initiative.
At the front desk, Shi Lu reported the company name and his identity, and received a room card. General Jiang was given a single room, while he was assigned a standard room. The receptionist reminded him to sign in, and unexpectedly, when he did, there were also souvenirs from Youjia. After taking a quick look, he realised that the souvenirs were quite exquisite.
However, the point is not this. The point is that he was attracted to the two girls responsible for checking in and handing out gifts. He had never seen these two girls before at the UJIA headquarters. Are they new employees or employees of the hotel project?
If President Jiang hadn't followed, he would definitely be trying to start a conversation by now.
After helping Mr Jiang settle in, not long after, Mr Chen came over to chat. Shi Lu helped make some tea and then excused himself, just in time to let the bosses chat.
He went back to his room, quickly unpacked his luggage, washed his face, blow-dried his hair again, and sprayed on some perfume. He rushed downstairs, no matter if they were new employees or hotel employees, they were only responsible for reception work, so I guess the treatment is average. In comparison, his own conditions should be very good!
Shi Lu, who thought he was a rich and handsome guy in front of the two girls, happily took the elevator downstairs.
The guests downstairs had already been arranged in place at this time, so they were a bit idle. The two girls handing out gifts were also fine, standing behind a temporary table, smiling and talking to people. Shi Lu looked at them and saw that the person they were chatting with was the young driver who had picked him up.
'Hey,' Shi Lu coughed, smiling as he walked over and reached out to tap Feng Yiping on the shoulder. Feng Yiping dodged and stepped aside, and Shi Lu wasn't annoyed. 'Feng, once you're done, why aren't you waiting in the car? If your supervisor sees you chatting here, he'll dock your bonus!'
Huang Jingping was fine with it, but Zheng Jiayi couldn't help but laugh when she heard it. She guessed that no one could really dock his bonus. By the way, did he get a salary and bonus every month?
They overheard the conversation at the reception desk. The two employees, a man and a woman, listened very carefully. They were not sure of Feng Yiping's identity, but they knew that he had come with the company president Jin to inspect the company two days ago, accompanied by the general manager Xu. They thought that he must be someone important, but why was he working as a driver today? Oh, maybe he is the company president Jin's driver!
'Hello, Manager Shi,' Feng Yiping of course remembered this salesman who was intent on impressing his boss, "I've finished my work for the day, and besides, our company has very sound rules and regulations, we don't just deduct people's bonuses.'
'That's not good, is it? There are so many guests here today, all of them are partners of your company, it's not a good influence for you to be chatting away here, is it?'
He didn't bother to respond to Feng Yiping anymore, took out his business card, and handed it to the two girls behind the desk with a smile, "Hello, I'm Shi Lu, please look after me!'
Huang Jingping took issue with what he had just said, and after taking it over, she didn't even look at it, but simply placed it aside. Zheng Jiayi, however, was quite interested and read it out: 'Market specialist for Central China, Yiping. What does this market specialist mean?'
You're still here after being told off like that. What a clueless guy. I'll have to say a few words in front of Manager Wang when I get the chance! Shi Lu didn't wait for Feng Yiping to answer, and with a cool shake of the watch on his right hand, he said, 'He's the person in charge of Central China.' How about that, awesome, right? I'm in charge of more than just one or two provinces!
But he didn't get the words of envy and admiration he'd imagined. The girl who'd asked the question still looked at Feng Yiping, obviously waiting for an answer. 'It's what the manager meant,' Feng Yiping said with a smile. After a moment, he probably also saw what Shi Lu was thinking.
'Oh,' Zheng Jiayi said, "the manager, right? Then to put it bluntly, he's just a salesman.
Shi Lu was very dissatisfied with this explanation from Feng Yiping. At the beginning, the title of their industry was salesman or salesperson. Later, there was a title that sounded quite authoritative, manager. But over the years, manager has become a title that is used indiscriminately. Only the title with the word "chief' in front has weight.
Therefore, many companies no longer use the word 'manager' to refer to salespeople, and have come up with many new terms, such as sales representative, sales engineer, regional manager, assistant sales director, customer support department director, etc.
Moreover, the prefix 'regional' is getting bigger and bigger, with terms like 'Asia-Pacific region', 'Greater China region', 'East China', 'South China', etc. If you only write the name of a city, it seems like you're embarrassed to greet people.
Therefore, Shi Lu was very dissatisfied that his Central China market specialist had been simply explained as a manager by Feng Yiping. This is like you explaining a high-class flight attendant as a waitress, even though they do the same kind of work as the matronly waitresses in the small restaurants on the street that don't even have a sign, but one is in the sky and the other is on the ground, which is not the same!
However, he didn't want to argue with Feng Yiping either, as that would be unbecoming in front of a beautiful woman. But he was determined to create an opportunity, even if he had no chance, to say a few words to Manager Wang about this tactless young driver.