I work in HCMC at a software company with US clients, mostly on the business side. I spend my nights on calls with American CTOs and my days hearing the Vietnamese side of the same story.

A few patterns I keep seeing:

• They hire for price, then complain about communication. The cheapest teams are usually the ones with the least English practice. The code is often fine. The misunderstanding isn’t.
• They add a middleman. One client of ours had a US CTO, a PM in Mexico and a team in Vietnam. Nobody shared a language or a time zone. Deadlines slipped and nobody could say why.
• They read silence as agreement. A lot of devs here won’t say “this spec doesn’t make sense” in a meeting with a foreign boss. Ask “what would you change?” and you get completely different answers.
• They forget Tết exists. Every year someone plans a big release for late January.

Vietnamese devs and anyone who’s worked with US teams: what’s the thing you wish clients understood?

Be aware of this rental agent (possibly others as well). They are found in almost every Facebook dalat rental group.

I texted this agent one day before, asking to check a place at 10AM next day and wanting to rent very very soon. Finally, the time had come (it was 10AM), literally had to text him "proactively" first to know that the place was rented out already.

Wasted the money and time to get on Grab. Literally no business ethics at all.

He could have texted even 10 minutes before the agreed-upon time.

UPDATE:

It seems many people have also encountered these shit agents before. To combat them, these are the different agents that POSTED the exact (100%) same apartment after one of the agents said it's been rented out. Be aware of these scammers.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/njsYRDK

Actually based crimefighting coming out of the police. Video report is particularly hilarious -- they brought hundreds of officers out in tour busses to nab these guys.

Another report from VTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze-wvgQrWeU

My vietnamese tutor is asking me to pick a name for myself now, since I will be attending classes in real life as well. At first, I thought maybe about just translating my english name into Vietnamese. However, I am a white American raised in Taiwan, so I also have a Chinese name. I think it is better if I use my Chinese name since it is easier to translate directly, rather than just having a viet-ified english name. If you translate my name from Chinese, my name becomes Thái Dĩ Tường. I think people would just call me Tường. Is this a weird name to have? Should I just go for my english name instead, or maybe just choose an entirely new vietnamese name?

what beach location is best for partying? going with a big group of friends for a birthday trip. we like hip hop/latin music, so would love if there were at least one club that played it!

I know this has been asked many times but I just wondered what everyone’s advice would be:

31 year old , female, solo traveler. I like to socialise and have a few drinks but definitely don’t want to be stuck with a large group of 20 year olds!

Looking to start the loop on 5th November .. is last minute bookings okay ?

Ideally the group would be a size of 8 - 12 not too young!

I am currently booked with mamas which I booked months ago following a friend’s recommendation however since reading online about the large group and big parties I’ve been put off .. not sure whether to just stick with it or go with someone else!

Spotted this at Ga Nha Trang. The VIP waiting room (Phong doi tau VIP) is on the platform side, and the price sign is in both Vietnamese and English:

- Regular passengers: 20,000 VND per visit, includes 1 bottle of water

- Tour companies and groups with a contract: 10,000 VND per person

- VIP and Gold/Silver loyalty card holders: free

The entrance and the price sign are in photos 2 and 3.

Do other big stations like Ga Sai Gon or Ga Da Nang have the same thing?

My partner and our 10 year old daughter are going to be moving from Thailand to Vietnam in December. As Thailand immigration has become to crazy.

My partner and her daughter are Russian so we figured we would go to Nha Trang, but are hearing December is bad time of year for weather. We both have been to Hanoi, Hoi An, and Da Nang several times and love the Vietnam food and affordability. But we heard they are affected by Monsoon also.

We want somewhere with a community for our daughter.

Could anyone recommend where in Vietnam we should head to avoid terrible monsoon weather?

Maybe Phu Quoc until Jan?

Tens of thousands of spectators flocked to My Dinh Stadium, not only energizing the BIGBANG stage but also attracting a large influx of money into tourism, accommodation, and services, with Hanoi's total revenue over two days potentially reaching 800 billion VND (~30 million USD).

Em chào mn ạ, em hiện 6.0 ielts nhưng e k có dấu hiệu tăng band, tháng 5 năm sau e thi, mn có tips gì cho cả 4 kỹ năng không ạ. Em yếu speaking (5.0) các cao nhân thường luyện speaking như thế nào và lụm tài liệu ở đâu ạ. E cảm ơn mn ạ

Are hotels in VN strict with max occupancy? Trying to book a room for my family (2 adults and 2 young kids aged 4 and 2). The room with two double beds, which would work great for us, says maximum occupancy 3. The website tells me I have to get a suite for 3x the price. If I book for 3 people and then show up with an extra two-year-old, will the hotel make a big deal out of it?

a lovely true life story with a good ending. may they live happily ever after.

Hello,
Traveling to Saigon this December. Can you please recommend a good salon in Saigon that offers balayage but without bleach? Appreciate if they can also communicate in English.

Thank you!

Chào mọi người,

Hiện tại mình đang thực hiện một khảo sát nhỏ về đề tài: “Góc nhìn của người trẻ (18 – 30 tuổi) đối với vấn đề kết hôn và sự khác biệt tôn giáo/tín ngưỡng” nhằm phục vụ mục đích nghiên cứu học tập.

Hôn nhân và tôn giáo vốn là đề tài vừa thực tế vừa nhiều khía cạnh để bàn luận. Dù bạn theo một tôn giáo cụ thể, tôn giáo gia đình hay không theo tôn giáo nào, góc nhìn cá nhân của bạn đều là dữ liệu rất quý giá cho đề tài này.

• Thời gian thực hiện: Khoảng 3 – 5 phút
• Tính bảo mật: Toàn bộ phản hồi được thu thập hoàn toàn ẩn danh (anonymous) và chỉ dùng cho mục đích thống kê, nghiên cứu.
• Link khảo sát: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjU0RAEB57iuYoC2jkhie8sbrR78F1CrmdGirAGzRYyWMK-w/viewform

The Grab app says that if I tip there, 100% if my tip goes to the drivers.

Some American companies that have the same business model, including Amazon and DoorDash, reduce the amount that they pay the driver, when the customer tips. Do Grab here do that too? I want to know because I will switch to cash tipping if they do. I want all of my tip to go to the driver

Captured this cozy moment while grabbing a quick bite and tea just outside Da Nang railway station. There's something really comforting about sitting roadside, watching the city slow down in the rain before catching my train to Hanoi.

For those who travel through Da Nang often, do you have any favorite local food spots or coffee shops nearby that you always visit?"

The proposed bill text is in https://chinhphu.vn/du-thao-vbqppl/du-thao-luat-sua-doi-bo-sung-mot-so-dieu-cua-luat-hien-lay-ghep-mo-bo-phan-co-the-nguoi-va-hien-7391.

The bill is NOT making it possible for children to sign up as organ donors without parental consent. Quite the literal opposite.

Please kindly read it all before making your arguments. An argument for or against a bill is inadmissible if you have read nothing but social media and "nhỏ không học lớn làm nhà báo" article headlines.

I have seen people in this sub spreading outright misinformation to further their political agenda in broad daylight. I expect better from you all. And from mods too.

Hi, me and my partner are currently in Vietnam and are debating whether to go Cat Ba Island or not. We are not bothered about Ha Long as have heard it’s way too touristy and just loud music, etc. a lot of posts on here about Cat Ba are about a year old but say there is lots of building work etc, and it’s slowly going the same way as Ha Long. How is it currently? Shall we see it now before it loses its charm or has it already happened? Any suggestions for what to do there would be appreciated too :)