A European trading experience in China Part 2
Ownership management is I dare say, non-existent. If you ask for something and they're not sure of it, they just say no. There is rarely any "Let me try or let me ask somebody else." or "Let me try to find out for you." Many a time we visited again the same factory to find that a product we needed could be done to our specifications but the other person didn't know.
Also, in some cases, once you pay the factory, you're suddenly not so important anymore. You're left waiting, emails are delayed, calls unreturned and if you have problems with your goods, start praying that your contract is well-written coz you could hear an incredible list of excuses for not providing fast efficient after sales service. A recent case in point is a client contacted us to help him with a specific matter. He found this company online and they seemed genuine. He was in touch with them for some time, until eventually decided to place an order. He paid the deposit, and when the order was ready, he was asked to pay the full amount, which he did. This was in mid February. To date, the goods haven’t left China.
There is a strong sense of identity with fortune, money and power and this is felt in several aspects of life here, even when choosing a mobile number. You have to make sure that the numbers chosen bring good fortune (the way numbers are said could have a negative meaning for. e.g. 514 sounds in Chinese like 'i want to die' while numbers having 869 refer to something flowing, smooth or continuous, long life).
These are just a few things on my mind that I keep coming across during my work in China. While this article does highlight some of the downsides of trading in China, I want to make clear that my intention was not to throw a bad light on China. I firmly believe that this is a beautiful country with friendly people and great trade potential. I'm also glad to say that we have had and still enjoy a good rapport with several factories that have provided and still do a professional and friendly service. I keep hoping that one day the service standards will improve from sales oriented to more customer oriented.
Well done for the forum.