What is a "Fixer"?

When I was growing up in Chicago it was the guy with connections to the local courts and judges  to whom you went in order to get your tax assessments, parking tickets, etc. taken care of cheaply, i.e. "fixed".  It all worked well until the 1980's when the feds came in and arrested and convicted over 100 people, including 15 judges.  No shortage of "fixers" in VN...

Ah, that makes sense and is about what I figured they do.   I haven't run into any situations where I needed help like this -- is it common to utilize their services?

DanFromSF wrote:

I haven't run into any situations where I needed help like this -- is it common to utilize their services?

Fixers are really cheap in VN. The couple I know make you feel uncomfortable even looking at them.

USD$50 will really get some shaken up, terminally costs $100.

Who said the Vietnamese were different?

They usually get things done more conveniently for you with a fee.

So, how does this work?  Do people have a fixer that they regularly call on when they need something straightened out?  Or do you put the word out to your Vietnamese friends that you need a fixer for a specific problem?

Sorry for the noob questions.  This is uncharted territory for me.

Dejavu.dot, do you consider yourself a fixer?

Hi. I am reading richiv, jaitch, namron to see what definition of this word is. Where did you see this word?

In VN. fixer= day robber. It means they wear nice official clothes and ask money legally. More dangerous than people who have tatoos. But if you consider it as a good thing, it will have another meaning: Everything can be bought by money, or by a lot of money.

We use that term to refer to a person, who will help you for faster and more convenient services. For example, you wanted to get your driver's license faster. Then, you will have to contact a "fixer" to help you with. Of course, that comes with a fee.

I asked a Vietnamese friend of mine and she also knows about this. However, they are not exactly familiar with the term "fixer" itself. But she knows what these "fixers" do.

So, how do you find a fixer?  Do you just ask around? 

Are there different types of fixers, or do they all pretty much do the same things for you?

DanFromSF wrote:

So, how do you find a fixer?  Do you just ask around? 

Are there different types of fixers, or do they all pretty much do the same things for you?

You can ask a friend if they know someone. There are different types depending on what you need them to help you with.

DanFromSF wrote:

So, how do you find a fixer?  Do you just ask around? 

Are there different types of fixers, or do they all pretty much do the same things for you?

I assume so, that different kind of issues might require different fixers

Dejavu.dot wrote:

Hi. I am reading richiv, jaitch, namron to see what definition of this word is. Where did you see this word?

In VN. fixer= day robber. It means they wear nice official clothes and ask money legally. More dangerous than people who have tatoos. But if you consider it as a good thing, it will have another meaning: Everything can be bought by money, or by a lot of money.

Good or Bad, dangerous or not, It is the point of view which makes it so. Someone might have difficulties to get  their work permit on their own - they use the agent, possible another word for fixer.
I

DanFromSF wrote:

So, how do you find a fixer?  Do you just ask around?  Are there different types of fixers, or do they all pretty much do the same things for you?

If you, as a Foreigner, 'asked around' you would either get scammed or scooped by the cops.

Even VNese have trouble connecting. Fixers exist in a certain strata of society in any country. You either 'know of them' and don't exist in that strata or, you do know them and are of that strata.

I found mine through a Cop and I know where to find him 'socially', which is way out of my comfort zone, as well as through a fixed phone contact he uses. They sure don't don't dress in suits, either!

Sure is quicker than Peoples Courts! And you rarely lose.

I will use a "fixer" anytime I need something done that's government related. I know a lot of people don't like them but I do. They get things done fast, easy, and they can actually save you money. I'd much rather pay a fixer a few bucks and not have to run around, get the runaround, or pay-off a half dozen officials. Not to mention they can get things done that aren't always supposed to be done.

Adhome01 wrote:

They get things done fast, easy, and they can actually save you money. I'd much rather pay a fixer a few bucks and not have to run around, get the runaround, or pay-off a half dozen officials. Not to mention they can get things done that aren't always supposed to be done.

Another word, in your case, is lawyer.

I'm starting to think there's more to this "fixer" thing than meets the eye.

DanFromSF wrote:

I'm starting to think there's more to this "fixer" thing than meets the eye.

Just come to VN and you will understand well without thinking.

DanFromSF wrote:

I'm starting to think there's more to this "fixer" thing than meets the eye.

Dont worry about "fixer" if you have much money when you live here.
Just worry about some Vietnamese girls around you . I've just heard someone said "most Vietnamese girl are like "gái điếm" (prostitute)"... hic hic.

I just tell those women I have no money, so I have to live in Vietnam.  Then I ask them to loan me 500,000 dong. 

DanFromSF wrote:

I just tell those women I have no money, so I have to live in Vietnam.  Then I ask them to loan me 500,000 dong. 

So, dont drive some motobikes that you like .
BTW, bad women are always very attractive . You have more expriences with Vietnamese, but never enough .

It's okay, I will shave my head and live at the pagoda one of these days.  Women will not matter and I look good in orange.

ngattt wrote:

Just worry about some Vietnamese girls around you . I've just heard someone said "most Vietnamese girl are like "gái điếm" (prostitute)"

For an allegedly intelligent person (teaching IT) you have a pretty generalised immature view of Vietnamese women that is not supported by fact.

ngattt wrote:

BTW, bad women are always very attractive. You have more expriences (sic) with Vietnamese, but never enough

Another statement not based in fact.

How would you like someone to say that about your sister or mother, or that they were prostitutes?

I have flagged your two posts.

I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt -- I think she's referring to women she thinks might target me ("some Vietnamese girls around you"), not Vietnamese women in general.

And "bad women are always very attractive" is clearly hyperbole, but that's very different than saying "very attractive women are always bad."

No, Jaitch, I never think about Vietnamese women like that. Because many women live around me, they are really good women here. But these days, when I heard some foreigners said about Vietnamse women, I was very upset. And now, I'm trying to know, why some guys have experiences like that. Just want to know not to shock about some people...

And, because I think Dan is a funny man, so I want to talk to him some funny stories. Sorry, I know it's not relevant to this topic, so I will stop here.

DanFromSF wrote:

It's okay, I will shave my head and live at the pagoda one of these days.  Women will not matter and I look good in orange.

You think living in pagoda does not need to pay?

Dejavu.dot wrote:

You think living in pagoda does not need to pay?

No, I thought monks don't have women.  Am I wrong about that?  Shocking.

DanFromSF wrote:

Dejavu.dot wrote:

You think living in pagoda does not need to pay?

No, I thought monks don't have women.  Am I wrong about that?  Shocking.

There are many women in the pagodas cos many Buddhists are ladies. That's an interesting world.

I guess I have a lot more to learn about Vietnam...

Well everyone is saying it right in here. I too know the life of Chicago fixers, and I doubt the city could have run without them.

Every country has fixers for different things, there isnt a one-size-fits-all. So they tend to specialize, like visa fixers, traffic ticket fixers. The term fixer refers to someone who is needed to solve a problem which cannot be solved to the liking of the payer using the by-the-book way. A fixer is someone who knows what to do in bad situations and has the contacts to get it done, whether in government or business.

Sometimes, not all, fixers are also mafia. Your business got bombed, and for a price you can pay protection money to them to stop it. A related kind of actual fixer would be a person who becomes a negotiator for your problem that caused your shop to get bombed in the first place. Another fixer is someone to negotiate a false or sky-high utility bill, but usually fixers confine themselves to a persons legal problems, permit problems, police problems.

They operate on the fringes of the law or completely outside it. Thats why they are hard to find, yet everyone knows they exist, and nobody wants to admit they ever knew one.

Well...i wrote all this to get to an interesting point. Everyone knows what Hells Angels are. They are definitely master fixers. Once in an interview with Sonny Barger, the head of the club, a journalist said to him as he was about to enter a huge room full of people:
Sonny, how does it feel to be the envy of every man in the room?
Sonny was perplexed and thought nobody was envious.
Interviewer said, There isnt a man in this room who at one time or the other didnt come upon a problem he couldnt fix if he were a Hells Angel.

But fixing can also work against you if you got on the wrong side. In the digital realm fixers are called Anonymous, and they are capable crashing governments and companies. A friend who got in awful verbal scuffle with a Anonymous member found himself fired from his job when the next day the Anonymous member called his employer and whispered something in his ear.

Now you know forever what a fixer is.

What is the Viet term for a fixer?

cvco wrote:

What is the Viet term for a fixer?

http://vdict.com/fixer,1,0,0.html

cvco wrote:

Well everyone is saying it right in here.

I was referring to monks having women.

I think in Viet term, it means "người bảo kê". It's not right for all case, because fixer in this case is illegal ==> "mafia".

That dictionary didnt help.

In Chicago, the most common fixes were:
1) Your son got refused employment at the city government because they found him to be an incompetent idiot and degenerate fool in the job interview. You call your fixer and voila, he gets the job with open arms. (Remember similar in the movie, Godfather?)
2) You built your office building to substandard quality to save money. You cut every corner and the inspector refuses to sign the final inspection. Your fixer makes a few calls and voila, you can open your building now.
3) Your dream of opening a bar is dashed when its found that your criminal background prevents issuing a licence. Your fixer will have your permit within 24 hours.

Its hilarious really. In all big cities of the world when big money is at stake, you find fixers. But we all somehow need a permanent fixer in our lives, an advocate of our position, someone to look after us. Im willing to pay a permanent monthly fee for the right friend.

cvco wrote:

That dictionary didnt help.

In Chicago, the most common fixes were:
1) Your son got refused employment at the city government because they found him to be an incompetent idiot and degenerate fool in the job interview. You call your fixer and voila, he gets the job with open arms. (Remember similar in the movie, Godfather?)
2) You built your office building to substandard quality to save money. You cut every corner and the inspector refuses to sign the final inspection. Your fixer makes a few calls and voila, you can open your building now.
3) Your dream of opening a bar is dashed when its found that your criminal background prevents issuing a licence. Your fixer will have your permit within 24 hours.

Its hilarious really. In all big cities of the world when big money is at stake, you find fixers. But we all somehow need a permanent fixer in our lives, an advocate of our position, someone to look after us. Im willing to pay a permanent monthly fee for the right friend.

In NYC a "fixer" would come calling you if didn't pay back your gambling debt or money owed to a loan shark. Come to think of it, they have those kind of fixers here in VN too.

Ah... just like that scene in The Godfather:

"When the boss says push the button on a guy - I push the button, see, Senator?"
―Willie Cicci

haha! What an interesting life, that of a fixer. I think I missed my calling!

From my experience, fixers are those who help in press activities: apply for press visa, press permit, arrange schedule and transportation, research, interpret, looking for sound man/drone operator, etc depend on the demand of the correspondent/journalist.

I've done the job as a fixer twice with a documentary film and an commercial film.

Meomum, i think you are really describing a "coordinator." A fixer is basically a corrupt person operating on the outside, who knows someone on the inside who, for bribe money, can solve a person's special problem. Thats not you. You are a good girl.

Fixers are problem-solvers who usually stem out of political parties. They fix problems for people, like getting a business permit, in exchange for you continuing to keep a political party in power. Thats how it worked in Chicago in USA. Every neighborhood had a captain who was in a certain political party. He was the person all of the neighbors called when they needed special help. In exchange, on election day he made sure all neighbors got to the polls and voted for his boss, like the Mayor of the city, or senator or governor, or city councilman, depending on which elections were being held.

In Malaysia, such people are called "cables," meaning your line into government. Cables or fixers are usually dishonest people doing dishonest work. You got a traffic summons. You call a friend in government who destroys the summons and wipes your record clean. For a moment, that person became your fixer.

Again in Malaysia, fixers were always an active part of a Chinese clan house. A clan house was built by a powerful family or small group of close families. In modern times they are called club houses because they serve the entire chinese community. When you had a problem usually a legal problem, you went to your club house where you could present your problems to a small committee of "connected" men and soon your problem went away, or the committee would hold a "court" and decide the solution, like getting another member to pay their illegal gambling debt to you.

After these posts were written in 2014, I followed a hunch and set off to investigate the histories of traditional Chinese clan houses and found to my surprise that "fixers" were a very active part of the old, traditional Chinese communities. When I then began polling very old Chinese men about this, about what they remember from the old days, and if such activities still existed today,  they became very sensitive, denied fixing as a profession and forbid me from talking about it. Interesting, yes? I really hit the nerves and, not being Chinese myself, they sure didnt like that. Sure, who is going to admit to a non-family member their lives operated on bribery and corruption?

After I was shut-off for my journalistic history questions, asked myself why there werent clubs for expats and others to accomplish the same activities? Thats the front face of a forum, people come with problems seeking solutions, but nobody has a real "fix" which is the desired thing.

Its funny that this topic came up again. I was just thinking so hard about this just this week. Expats really need people to help with problems. New expats often put their new girlfriends into the role of "problem fixers" but as an ongoing measure to keep their lives going smoothly, fixers are badly needed. Both locals and expats need help but very few know how to get it unless they are connected "higher up the ladder." In other words, money talks. Reveal the right money, fixers mysteriously appear out of thin air. But what are smaller people to do? This is the situation, this is the headache in need of pain pills.

Hi cvco,

Thank you for sharing!

Based on what you said, there wouldn't be "fixer", if there isn't "you".

"You" are the one who want to do things wrongfully, and "you" pay for "fixer" to do it.
(i.e: you want your son to have the job when your son is an idiot)

So, before complain about "fixer", it's better to complain about "you".


And what are the problems of expats/locals do you mean?
And what is the real fix do you mean?

Meomun,

No no, you are going the wrong direction. Nobody is judging a fixer or the person needing the help, we are only talking about what a fixer is, its definition and what the activities are of such a person. Otherwise, yes I can see you understand.

Example of an expat problem? I think the simplest or common one is that I apply for a visa to stay Vietnam. The process normally takes one year, lets say, and everyone knows that. But I need an answer, and a favorable one, in 24 hours. So, a fixer would be a person I pay $3000 to and he gets my visa in 24 hours--- even if I am an international criminal and not deserving of any visa in any country. And how did he get that visa? I dont even want to know.

In this case, both people are corrupt. I pay a bribe for a wrongful activity, and someone accepts that bribe to get the rules bent in my direction. I do not judge the people, only define there roles and activities. Thats the definition of a true fixer.

In China, the police are the most common fixers. I see a shop I like to rent for my business, the shops location is perfect, but its already occupied by a another tenant. I need that space and offer the shop $10,000 to leave. The shop refuses to leave. I tell my friend, a policeman. He accepts $5,000 from me and two days later the shop is vacant and ready for me.

So, for an expat the problem could be anything and whats needed is someone to facilitate a favorable result. Lets not judge any person, thats not what this is about, just define them.