41–50 of 62 posts
I think the key point that he's missing is that the chinese manufacturers are now manufacturing to the market's demand, and this is why China is growing rich. In the old system, the state may have ordered the (state owned) pen manufacturer to make a top-quality pen. The manufacturer would have done its best to comply, but ultimately, would have made a product that nobody wanted. In the new system, the administration…
I'm no expert on process improvements, but it would generally seem that once the cost to create the good pens has been spent, it would be relatively cheap to apply them to both product lines.
Which suggests either they intentionally use cheaper parts (cheaper ink?) on one line, or they have a sophisticated binning system and can identify the borderline pens and remove them from the flow going to export and instead send them to the less demanding domestic market.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The markup isn't that bad. An 80 yen pen is about 10 or so Kuai, which puts the price at about 2X, though the yen has been quite weak lately.
Sorry. I am wrong - they are made in Japan.
I was told there is even a Chinese saying that amounts to "the average and not more"
You can even see this in San Francisco. Go to a chinese restaurant on Clement. The food will be amazing, but the windows look like they haven't been washed in years.
One of my friends here is an architect and she told me that her work crews always say she's OCD. When I actually saw one of her projects I was horrified. It's like big-picture okay, but all the details are wrong. Things are misaligned, poured concrete and splashed some on the white wall? who cares! It's just a smudge, no one will notice.
My friend who coordinates manufacturing here says the only way to get what you want is to constantly fly in for inspections and yell at manufacturers till you get what you want (and yes, if you don't yell people don't think you're being very serious)
While I've spent a bit of time in Japan too, (and I think the cultures are actually a lot closer than most people appreciate) - when it comes to quality it's a different planet
A decline in low-quality Chinese goods would certainly be a boon for the environment. The amount of waste plastic from discarded pens alone must be huge.
You'll have to get a decline in purchasing first.
I'm going to a bit culturally insensitive, but I've been living in China for the past 2 months and I'm convinced they have a huge cultural barrier that makes them absolutely incapable of creating high quality goods. I was told there is even a Chinese saying that amounts to "the average and not more" You can even see this in San Francisco. Go to a chinese restaurant on Clement. The food will be amazing, but the window…
The quality is there, but it can only go as far as the weakest link.
I think the key point that he's missing is that the chinese manufacturers are now manufacturing to the market's demand, and this is why China is growing rich. In the old system, the state may have ordered the (state owned) pen manufacturer to make a top-quality pen. The manufacturer would have done its best to comply, but ultimately, would have made a product that nobody wanted. In the new system, the administration…
It's hard to believe that in a market with a billion consumers there is not enough demand for slightly higher goods. But product quality is not just about the ball of the pen. Product quality is about the whole product and its place in the environment: labor conditions, energy production/use, material use, waste treatment, usability, precision, etc.
People who want and can afford higher quality goods, can probably also afford imported goods and the higher status they give.
What's so special about WeChat? Haven't used it, but interested what special could a chat app do.
I'm going to a bit culturally insensitive, but I've been living in China for the past 2 months and I'm convinced they have a huge cultural barrier that makes them absolutely incapable of creating high quality goods. I was told there is even a Chinese saying that amounts to "the average and not more" You can even see this in San Francisco. Go to a chinese restaurant on Clement. The food will be amazing, but the window…
There are definitely places where China over achieves, and food is one of them. Also, while the architects might have OCD, the migrant construction workers making 10 Kuai an hour do not...which probably drives the architect to tears. My wife is a UX designer who has the same problem with low end developers. The quality is there, but it can only go as far as the weakest link.
You know cheap immigrant labor in the US also makes squat and they don't do generally do a shabby job. The issue is that no one is held to a high standard here. In the US if you do a sloppy job you'll get fired and they'll find someone who can do it better for the same horrible wage. Here "average" work is expected an no one really seems to mind (as long as "it gets the job done" so to speak), and if you expect more then you're a mean boss or OCD or whatever.
The food is good, why do you care about the windows? The pen clicks and put ink on paper, what more do you need?
"Companies like Tencent which makes WeChat, a communications app that seems far ahead of what foreign apps can do" What's so special about WeChat? Haven't used it, but interested what special could a chat app do.