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| As the largest cellular phone company in Romania, Connex serves over one million subscribers with state-of-the-art technology. Between April 28 and May 8, my friend and business colleague, Charles Leahy, and I conducted a series of four two-day seminars for Connex collection officers, in addition to a management out-briefing to assist implementation. Charles focused on collections, while I emphasized effective negotiation techniques. | ||
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Training Sessions
The sessions were conducted in the Connex training facility in Bucharest. Nearly 100 managers, collection officers and staff participated in the training.
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Bucharest
Bucharest is emerging as a world city. When Nikolai Coucescu controlled the nation he tried to build a grand metropolis. A portion of those buildings have been completed, including the structure which houses the Romanian parliament and government offices. (It is the second largest building in the world, superceded only by the Pentagon.) The older section of Bucharest has nice shops and restaurants. The city also has more casinos than any city except Las Vegas.
The Marriott, in which we stayed, is the largest hotel in Eastern Europe and was originally earmarked to house Romanian military personnel. Since it was left unfinished, the Marriott chain converted it into a five-star facility. |
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Peles Castle at Sinaia
On the one day we had free, our driver and translator, Luigi, took us to the Carpathians where we enjoyed such attractions as Peles Castle. Built by King Carol in the 19th century, it has a distinctly German feel, a natural result of the king's Hohenzollern heritage. |
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Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)
The 15th century prince, Vlad Dracula, used grisly methods, including impaling, to control the border between Wallachia and Transylvania. Bram Stoker used his name when writing his 19th century novel, immortalizing "Vlad the Impaler," who remains a hero in Romania. The castle where he extracted tolls and organized blood-thirty events is located in Bran, Romania.
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The Carpathians
The Carpathian Mountains are gorgeous and pristine. Luigi took us up high on a mountain to look at the dramatic landscape below. A Romanian meal at a restaurant in Sinaia was the perfect complement to a very enjoyable day. |
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On
the return trip, we stopped in Slovakia where I was successful in
finding
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