'Business' in China: Anecdotes
Hi all,
As you know, a while back there were many discussions pertaining to working in Asia. Specifically, a lot of discussions centered around the perception that the rising "Dragon" that is China would soon become the dominant economic force in the world. And then there were the talks of China being the so-called "land of honey and milk". Will this be the case? I don't have a crystal ball. But I want to share an experience I've had during my stay in Beijing for the past several months that lead me to strong believe that the United States won't be displaced from its hegemonic grip on the world anytime soon.
I recently went to a chain dry-cleaning store in Beijing to get my Brooks Brothers suit ready for a presentation I had later that week. I was initially reluctant- but the store looked like any dry-cleaning laundromat littering the states. I asked them to be extremely delicate with it, and was assured that it would be taken care of. Can you guess what happens next?
I come to pick up the suit a few days later. They seemed fidgety- my Spidey sense told me something was off. After 30 minutes of searching for my suit, they brought it out- my heart tanked. In front of my, was my $1000 Brooks Brothers suit- splotched with patches of white. Yup. I've seldom been speechless, but this was one of those occasions. What do you say? They apparently accidentally spilled bleach over it. Yup. I demanded to see the manager right away, but was told he's unavailable. I then demanded payment for my suit (or at least as much as I could recover)- their response: "There's no way" (in Chinese). I panicked. I called the police and they told me they don't deal with these situations. I called my uncle who is a corporate attorney in China. He told me that the only way to realistically get these guys to compensate would be to hire some "大哥's" (Big Brothers) and intimidate them. He offered to call his cop friends to "intimidate" in an unofficial capacity. Ultimately, two guys came out from the basement of the store, and told me forcefully to leave the premises. Needless to say, I never got compensated for that suit.
Summarily, just wanted to give everyone who perhaps has never had the chance to work in China some perspective. China, for the foreseeable future, is a society governed by “人情”- relationships, and power hierarchy. It is a society in which the rich and well-connected routinely mold, bend, and break laws to further their own self interests. It is a country where who-you-know is often a sufficient condition to do whatever you need. All people, from the poor, to the rich,live in fear. They fear a change to the status-quo of the power hierarchy.
Do some of these problems exist in the United States as well? Yes. They exist in all societies. But, there's one fundamental difference between China and the United States. US society is governed by the rule of LAW. Personalities will always have an influence on society,but they do so within the bounds of what is allowable by Law. And if the Law is violated, every person seek legal reprisal.
Anyway, just a rant. Still pissed off about that suit.





They don't call it Guanxi for
They don't call it Guanxi for nothing.
should have intimidated
should have intimidated
The US will be the dominant
The US will be the dominant power until the end of the world... in 2012.
Anyways... I'd imagine bankers in China are more well off than 99% of the population. Are you saying that we're in a position to step on the backs of the poor & powerless there?
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No absolutely not.
No absolutely not. @piperjaffray.
Power >> Money in China because the CCP is an authoritarian government that controls everything. No matter how rich you are, if you piss off someone who is in the power hierarchy in the CCP, you will lose all your assets like that/
Power > Money. Bankers can have all the money in the world, but perhaps even more than in the west, they can be fucked over big time by 'big brothers'.
So this incessant corruption
So this incessant corruption among the rich and those in control will hinder China from being the ultimate economic power eh? I can just imagine having to pay an exorbitant protection fee to these "big brothers" with tire irons just to walk across the street every morning. How is the situation in HK where it's mostly governed by legacy British rule of law?
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Oh Hong Kong is completely
Oh Hong Kong is completely different story. Definitely much, much better. The legal structure there is very mature and definitely comparable to the State. Hong Kong also has legit dry-cleaners.
I've heard about rudeness in
I've heard about rudeness in China like people spitting on the ground or bumping into you like it was nothing, but spilling bleach on your expensive suit at a well-known laundry chain and then telling you to GTFO is just medieval man.
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We are excited to formally extend to you an offer to join Bank of Ameria
you gotta pull out your glock
you gotta pull out your glock like we do in the states....
ibhopeful532
Summarily, just wanted to give everyone who perhaps has never had the chance to work in China some perspective. China, for the foreseeable future, is a society governed by “人情”- relationships, and power hierarchy. It is a society in which the rich and well-connected routinely mold, bend, and break laws to further their own self interests. It is a country where who-you-know is often a sufficient condition to do whatever you need. All people, from the poor, to the rich,live in fear. They fear a change to the status-quo of the power hierarchy.
I'm really not seeing how this is any different than the States...
you are stupid. i will
you are stupid. i will elaborate later.
I don't know. If a small dry
I don't know. If a small dry cleaner in the US fucked up your suit do you think they will pay $1,000 just like that? I don't doubt your claim that china has much more corruption, but the US is far from perfect too.
In the US I suppose you could go to court for your suit. But that would take alot of time/effort. And if they refuse to pay after the court sentence than it will take even more time. Most people would probably just give up and end with the same result.
In the US, banks control the
In the US, banks control the government. In China, the government controls the banks. It's no coincidence that the Chinese stock markets are highly correlated to the successes and failures of governmental policies
China did not start
China did not start modernizing until about 30 years ago, the U.S. has been at it for 200 years...what the hell are you expecting? Are India, Brazil, and Russia any better? For China to have gotten to where it is now in such a short span of time is already unprecedented. True, the legal, financial, and government systems in China have not kept up with the pace of economic growth, but give it some time. There's a reason China is still a "developing nation."
ReadLine wrote: I don't know.
I don't know. If a small dry cleaner in the US fucked up your suit do you think they will pay $1,000 just like that? I don't doubt your claim that china has much more corruption, but the US is far from perfect too.
In the US I suppose you could go to court for your suit. But that would take alot of time/effort. And if they refuse to pay after the court sentence than it will take even more time. Most people would probably just give up and end with the same result.
exactly my thoughts... my suit got shrank by a NYC dry cleaner and I got about 5 minutes of "i dont understand what you're saying" when I tried to explain that they've fucked up my only-interviewsuit-in-college (okay I had bought more at the time but this was really my first investment of that scale) of >$500. the other owner came out and basically told me to bring the suit and somehow prove that it was shrunken ... yea didn't happen
when you demanded your refund, did you tell them that it was a "$1000-us-dollar" suit? any small business owner of the right mind would do whatever they can to avoid that payment. the bleach could've been just a mistake..
sorry to hear about your suit though ..
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The real shocker in all this
The real shocker in all this is that you paid a $1000 for a Brooks Brothers suit?
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Nothing in that post was
The future of Chinese Economy
IDK if evidence of corruption
I agree with Power>money but
China's stimulation package
brick wrote: The future of
$1000 Brooks Brothers
Big law suits take a lot of
US will be the dominating
Honestly, that is by FAR not
The Rio Tinto guys in Chinese
cdnbanker][quote=brick
Fucking hilarious thread.
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It's cranberry juice...
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Are you a CEO, CFO or other executive facing these or similar charges?
Why should you go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?
jackofalltrades wrote: It's
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actually they don't have
Well in America you can sue
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We are excited to formally extend to you an offer to join Bank of Ameria
You generalize your
PiperJaffrayChiang
Im sorry, but you yanks are
Pardon me, but "关系" is Guan
I don't think the anecdotal
You could always just throw a
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"I just want to be a monkey of average intelligence who wears a suit. I'll go to business school!"
thats such a dumb example.
it might be just one example.
Lol at him asking for them to
OP: I agree with your
Sorry about your suit.
Should have said this: Wo cao
This has been a black eye for