Day 24 Business Meeting at Stadscafe van Kinsbergen

30 November 2012

It's holiday in Manila, but I am in Stadscafe van Kinsbergen for my first business meeting here since I arrived in the Netherlands on Nov 4. I haven't really been successful in my pursuits to organize business sessions where I can pitch my company and my country, the Philippines, to potential investors from this country. I get this feeling that the Dutch are less accommodating people than I'm used to. And what I'm used to are Filipinos readily accommodating any requests for a meeting as long as their schedule would allow it. I heard that a three-week notice of a meeting seems like the norm here. But I'm happy I got this one. On second thought,  it's also probably because I was endorsed by the forces-that-be, in this case, Microsoft (Phils).

....

So the Dutch I was meeting arrived while I was writing this, so I had to stop naturally. They were friendly, I would say (not to use the word "accommodating" again). We were supposed to meet in Amersfoort, a 20-min train ride from Apeldoorn station, at 1230 over lunch. But as fate would have it, there was a train disturbance and operations would resume at 1400. So they decided to go to me instead. I say that was a very nice gesture.

So we ended up at that Cafe.

Over two hours later, we shook hands goodbye, after a productive meeting (it was nice to know they were 'fans' of my country. One of them is married to a Filipina), with the promise to make a follow up meeting to be hosted hopefully by MS (NL) in Schiphol.

It wasn't a Dutch treat, as I was advised to expect by my brother-in-law. They covered for the lunch, we parted, and then I went to the WC (or toilet. I don't know why their toilet sign always says "WC"). I texted my brother-in-law who accompanied me around today for this meeting, saying I just finished with it. Then he called me asking what's taking me so long in the toilet.

To my surprise, they had been "stalking" me halfway through the meeting. They sat in one of the tables and I didn't even notice them enter the cafe even as they dragged in a baby stroller!

So, as you can imagine, I had to replay my conversation with the two Dutch businessmen in my head, trying to recall what my sister and her husband could have eavesdropped on. Did I speak in perfect, trying-hard-American-accent English? Did I say something that I just made up? Did I over-laugh ('cause I'm typically jovial, even making jokes, regardless of who I'm faced with)? Did I make a fool of myself in any part whatsoever?

Oh forget it! I just joked I would file raps against them for wiretapping, in their heads. #