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#1 Parent Sharp - 2015-07-19
Re What Is Happening In China?

Once you buy something that breaks, it’s hard, or perhaps impossible, to replace it. I recently purchased a remote controlled toy car that without my/my kid’s fault broke a couple days later; blame the poor plastic materials and work in China. Oh god, how many of those kinds of toys have I had to get to satisfy my kids and how many times have I had to feel so sorry for them? Are the Chinese toys parts of the local stock market? Anyway, the shop assistant that sold the toy to us claimed she could not exchange it, although after my persistent objecting she had her superior attempting to fix it (to no avail of course). Aside my kids, I also feel sorry for myself, when I go to the local bank; being told at times snobbishly there’s no money in my saving account, even though there’s a couple hundred thousand in, at times freaks me out. Who knows what the bankers do with my money, but after I frown at them when checking my balance sometimes, they put it back in the system somehow. Saving accounts in China are currently interesting and scary at the same time as well as are the choices to invest which I don’t do now.

Poor communication skills that mostly project passively and/or uniformly throw back the manufacturing and service industries most definitely. Meetings in factories or offices are all about one (the leader or manager) speaking while all others are listening; there’s no feedback whatsoever and in fact any response in meetings is discouraged in China. For this reason, superiors often are out of touch with the reality, and they know little about, for example, the low quality of toys that their factory produces or the cheap paint, which falls quickly of thermos that they make. Then, a customer service rep, for instance, hearing you complaining may neglect what you wish as his/her desire to keep the job is more important than you.

From another standpoint, the underhanded approach to producing and serving people reflect the locals’ ability to interact too. You may visit the same restaurant dozens of times and order the same food as many times; however, you may get the very same named dish prepared in a very different way a few times. The excuse may be that there is a different chef in the kitchen which you must accept politely and with a smile (not sarcastic) on your face. Otherwise, you will be rude and unwelcome back; if you do return under such circumstances, you may see the staff talking loudly behind (or in front of your face) your back which isn’t usually considered for impolite around. Moreover on serving people, taking a cab or getting a haircut may feel that you are in a police station instead, since you are obliged to answer some silly personal questions over and over again. Not following up on such questions creates an unfriendly atmosphere for the driver or hairdresser and you will more likely feel it too. On a second thought, perhaps, those cab drivers/hairdressers ought to be stockbrokers.

Anyhow, those attitudes that are presented above may, and most often do, result in a trend that puts many people in compromising situations. Most importantly, such tendencies reduce the value of products and services, consume the time and resources and endanger the health of people and markets. Whether the Chinese stock market or import export are affected by those behaviors; or, whether people’s health is at risk for those characteristics remains to be seen as the media isn’t up for sharing or the fight with the neo-totalitarian system.

#2 Parent Dragonized - 2015-07-19
Re What Is Happening In China?

Interesting article you wrote. I especially like how you pointed out how customer "service" in china works. I am wondering if you could elaborate on that and share some experiences that you or others have been through. I am certainly willing to give some stories of my own as I have already done on this forum years ago. But I am sure there are new ones now.

Sharp - 2015-07-18
What Is Happening In China?

Chinese neo-totalitarian system is driving the international community out of the country and building up a society of its own.

Foreign brand names and products are being hustled from many places out. Western franchised retailers are taken for a ride on lease agreements, established food franchisors are questioned for safety of their products and establishments, and then foreign diary suppliers to western supermarkets are under the microscope daily. From one Metro supermarket, all of the well known Swiss yoghurts, Australian milk or Dutch and Irish cheese, for example, has just been taken to the government lab this weekend. However, all the local branded dairy products are on shelves as they apparently do not need to be tested. This kind of a practice often results in misleading the local consumers to shop at local markets or to buy domestic products that may not, and often do not, match the quality of foreign products in this country.

Foreign academic programs in schools are being scrutinized and compromised by local experts who know little about the products but want to take control over their administrations. Foreign teachers are often closely monitored and their lessons are intentionally reduced in value, so that local teachers that can be well handled give traditional classes to solely prepare for tests. This leads to low quality of Chinese applicants for higher education abroad and foreign applicants to teach in Chinese schools with such programs which are opening the doors to inadequate local teachers.

The new generation’s schooling has been controlled tightly via absurdly strict tests and long hours in schools that give the young people little in a sense of any interests or social activities to uphold their strengths. This deliberate attempt to raise obedient “soldiers” without any outside influences proceeds with expectations to follow and not to challenge the powers. Neither the parents nor their kids question the Chinese educational system because it has raised them all in the same way, and then none of them wonder about what has happened to all the imported products in shopping malls or the diary products in Metro supermarket this weekend because complaining gets them nowhere in their community.

The choices provided to the local society dictate its evolution, and so the nation's people's upbringing reflects their social etiquette, communication skills and services. Most often, the Chinese civilization is harmoniously afraid of the authority, it usually believes the powers, it many times has uniformed opinion as taught in schools and it almost always ignores foreign suggestions. Local services, which often take no responsibilities for their actions, are mostly commanding rather than assisting. Attempting to suggest that something is wrong is unacceptable, because this is the way things are done around. As a consequence of this all, customer service reps dictate what consumers ought to do, social exchanges either formal or informal are often only partial and naive and the polite approach to foreigners is mostly silly inquisitive for the local lack of communicative abilities and limited knowledge of the world.

Chinese one-way street gives rise to a false identity, discrimination and devolution of humankind which all is to further empower the leadership of the largest nation that has tens, if not hundreds, of millions of its people around the world waiting to take part in leaderships of our civilizations.

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