Come back? Not for all the scooters in China

The Chinese way of working has almost defeated one British entrepreneur, writes Malcolm Moore in Wuxi.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/m...0_1556371c.jpg
Workers install the electrics at Bright Mountain Motorcycle factory

At 8 o'clock in the morning, the Bright Mountain Motorcycle factory in Wuxi, one hour's drive from Shanghai, whirrs into life.
But as the production lines start rolling and workers begin bolting together the day's order of motorcycles and scooters, one
person is not happy.

Chris, who asked that we did not use his real name, is a 28-year-old British entrepreneur determined to make his fortune by
manufacturing high-end electric scooters in China and importing them to Britain.

He arrived in the southern city of Guangzhou two years ago to search for a factory that would help him design and build a
scooter. Without any experience of business in China, or any language skills, it has been a gruelling process.
Now, with rows of his scooters standing on the floor of Bright Mountain's plant, waiting to be loaded and shipped, he is
clearly exhausted. For the past six months, he has lived at the factory.

"If I had known back then how China works, I would have used a factory in England," he says wistfully. "Well, maybe not
England because it is too expensive, but perhaps Taiwan or Japan. I'm looking at switching production to there for the next
batch," he adds. From the very beginning, delays have eaten into the budget for his start-up. "I'm £50,000 to £60,000 over
budget," he says.

Unlike in the West, Chinese businesses aim to build relationships with their clients before they negotiate the details of any order.

"We seemed to spend all of our time just sitting around drinking tea with bosses. I played ping-pong for hours with the head of
one of the largest battery factories in the north. They put us up in five-star hotels and we had endless drunken banquets," he
says. "But then when it came to negotiating the deal, it kept breaking down."
Finally, Chris met Victor, a Chinese sales manager for Bright Mountain, who assured him that he could build the exact scooter
that he wanted. A deal was struck for an initial test order of 25 bikes. Since then, however, nothing has gone to plan.

"Initially I went back to the UK while they were making the prototype. Victor sent me email updates with pictures of the bike
and when it looked like it was finished I returned to China," says Chris. "What I found when I got to the factory was no
prototype, just a wooden frame with an engine in the middle."

Across the courtyard from the main factory floor, Victor works in Bright Mountain's sales office. He is in charge of foreign
orders, but the only two other orders from abroad that Bright Mountain has had so far have gone disastrously wrong.

One, a shipment of 3,000 motorcycles to Germany, ended in acrimony when the Germans found that Bright Mountain had
substituted the specified parts for cheaper ones, causing the engines to explode. The second order, a monthly shipment of
1,000 scooters to India, was terminated after the first container was opened and all the bikes were found to be rusty.

Victor is frank. "I would not buy my wife a bike from Bright Mountain," he says, shaking his head cheerily. "They are too
dangerous. Of course, that's just the domestic models. Export ones are OK." When asked what had happened during the
making of the prototype he freely confessed to having lied to Chris. "During all those months, I did nothing. Nothing at all.
He asked what was happening, so I emailed him to say everything was fine and sent him photographs from a friend's
factory," he says.

"Victor is the most dishonest man I have met in my entire life," says Chris, tersely. "But the problem is that no one takes any
direct responsibility. The workers lie to their bosses. The bosses lie to the salesmen, the salesmen are our point of contact,
but they don't know what is going on," he adds.
Other mishaps seemed to occur randomly. When Chris asked for the prototype to be made in black, he received one in
bright pink. The workers managed to scratch a large number of the bikes and had not ordered enough spare parts to
replace the damaged panels.

But now, after several months of delays, there is just a list of 10 small modifications that need to be made before the bikes
can be shipped to the UK and sold. To get them done, Chris has to visit the deputy head of the factory, a man who Victor
describes as "the big potato".

Outside, two workers buff his Mercedes S-Class sedan. "The big boss is the second most corrupt man in Wuxi!" Victor
says proudly.

The factory used to be state-owned and much of its office space now lies empty, the staff having been stripped back.
The deputy head's office is expansive, with a polished marble floor and a solid bronze statue of a bull. The boss sits on a
sofa in the corner, wearing a light green sleeveless shirt, rimless spectacles and a Rolex. He listens calmly to Chris' demands
and orders the chief engineer to take care of them.

"When we were told about the order by our salesmen, we didn't realise how technically difficult it would be," he explains
later, quietly.

"We never would have taken it if we realised we would have to come up with an entirely original design and such a high
standard. It has cost us a lot of time and effort to fill the order."
Chris returns to the factory floor, but most of the engineers are not working on Chris' bikes, but are instead in a small
back room, smoking and "designing" new bikes.

Bright Mountain's design process involves taking apart a well-known bike, perhaps a Vespa or a Honda, and
reverse-engineering it until the factory has its own pirated version to offer to its customers. Today, the men appear to be
working on a version of a Harley-Davidson.
Meanwhile, on the production line, 18-year-old Jiang Shasha says the work is "quite relaxed". She's tiny, and looks much
younger than she claims to be. She arrived at the factory from her home province after failing China's university
entrance exam. "We are busier in the morning and then we get to relax a bit after lunch," she says.

"They work to order," says Chris. "I've seen them work all night and all weekend if they have an order to fill.
When they don't, they slack off," he explains. At 11.30, there is no sign of the chief engineer, Xiao Yi, or Little Yi, who
has been put in charge of finishing off Chris's bikes. "He's never around. One lunch he went to karaoke and came
back sozzled," says Chris in dismay.

It is not until four o'clock that Little Yi returns, perfectly sober. By then, the activity in the rest of the factory has
slowed to a virtual halt in the late afternoon haze. Workers stand around chatting as the sun streams through large
windows onto the production line. Little Yi grumbles at the list of last-minute changes and disappears into his office.

By 5.30, it is clear that Chris will not manage to ship the bikes on time. "I came here with a list of 10 things. The list
has now grown and I don't think we'll get anything done today," he says. "My natural instinct is to trust people
and I have learned not to do that in China."
On the mountain behind the factory there is a Buddhist temple. Victor proposes that we go there to pray for the bikes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/c...-in-China.html

:clap::clap::clap: Awesome story! And yeah, of course I am sorry for the British man (and glad I am not him) but that does not make the story worse. Or wait, actually playing 8 hours ping pong with a factory boss sounds cool :D I would love it to be around there in all that chaos, as long as my money is not involved :naughty:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bikerdoc

"My natural instinct is to trust people and I have learned not to do that in China."

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That's a bit harsh, even for an opinion piece. Last I checked, there were good and bad people all over the world.

Jump into China without experience and this is a good example of what will happen. Spend your days working inside the factories and things tend to go better.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Jeez, I'm glad that not was me. Because I could kill the Victor and Little Yi. :icon10:

"Today, the men appear to be working on a version of a Harley-Davidson."

Mother ov God!!! :eekers:

"On the mountain behind the factory there is a Buddhist temple. Victor proposes that we go there to pray for the bikes."

Amen

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Originally Posted by Lefthandy

"On the mountain behind the factory there is a Buddhist temple. Victor proposes that we go there to pray for the bikes."

Amen

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Gotta love China because of those little quirks xD

Heh, I'll go to prays for H-D copy to "what-ever" temple.
Brilliant quality of H-D mixed with briliant quality of Chinese manufacturing, directed by Little Yi and his caraoke... That could be... interesting technological marriage. Don't you think? :D

lol, Chris is an unqualified business man in China.
I don't expect nice from a British journalist, but the style is typically extreme negative.

This story is old I read it somewhere two years ago.

To many times I see people think there just going to go to China and start getting things done with out doing there due diligence and getting burnt.Then walking away whinging to anyone who will listen.

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Originally Posted by td_ref

lol, Chris is an unqualified business man in China.

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But look on his age. I've full respect for him. He taken the hazard of unknown bussines. Of corse he was ittle ignorant person beacuse he did not recognize the culture reality in China, but from the other side, how culd he do it some years ago?

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Originally Posted by td_ref

I don't expect nice from a British journalist, but the style is typically extreme negative.

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Do you think this is extreme negative? You should see what writes polish journalists. So extremal and stupid bullshits for morons and rightiest ogres you will not see anywhere :D

I know how he feels. Every time I go to a mechanics I have to hover around making sure everything is done properly. No that clutch lever needs grease, that tire is massively over inflated, er how about loctite? that's an engine bolt! You have to constantly bully and complain to get anything done well, seems the locals are like a river, and take the easiest course. There are a few diamonds who do things right but they just can't be brought together as a team when nepotism is part of the hiring process. Plus the few people who do things well usually work for themselves.

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

... that tire is massively over inflated...

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Oh yeah I recently had my wire wheel rims converted to tubeless on my Dragstar 1100. It cost rmb2500 including the tires, fitting and conversion at a shop which is specialising in working on big motorcyles, jap imports, some euorpean stuff etc., though the workshop is a typical CHN garage -a pigsty. I removed the wheels and took them to the shop so that there'd be less chance of something going wrong or happening to my bike while it was parked in the shop for the 2-3 days, it was to take for the conversion. The day arrived when it was to be completed so that evening me and a mate (who'd told me about the workshop) went to collect the wheels. Unfortunately they weren't completely ready, but after a couple of hours I had two new tubeless tyres on wire spoked wheel rims. Took them home and fitted them the next day, then proceeded to set my bike up for a three day ride planned in June, but I didn't check the tyre pressures of the wheels. foolish me, I have lived here long enough, I should know by now... you just can't trust 'em. During my ride http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...u-AnHui-return it didn't take me long to work out that my front tyre was overinflated, she was pulling wide in corners and the feedback from bumps in the road were noticeable. I had a compressor with me, as I always take a shiet load of gear/tools on our longer rides, just in case. When I removed the valve cap, and tried to let air out it was ridiculously slow, the air was coming out so little that even after 30 mins the pressure had decreased by less than 1 lb/in2. In the end I gave up. At some broken backwater of a little town during our ride I found a car/truck tyre shop/garage (apply shop/garage with imagination) anyway, it took the guy working there ages to finally get air out of the tyre, he tried all kinds of methods. Finally he managed to use a long thick pin/needle which allowed the air out. Depressing the valve was just a waste of time. Removing the valve did nothing, no air escapped even when the valve had been removed completely from the valve stem. There was just so much air inside it had occluded the small hole internally.
So how over inflated was my front tyre... guess? 5 ib/in2, maybe 10, 15 perhaps even 20... oh no... it was more than 90 lb/in2 almost 300%. When I told the guy that had told me about that motorcycle shop, he was like oh yeah well they wanted to over-inflate to help bead the seal in. WTF!
That's why not only should we apply some common-sense like "you get what you pay for" but also here it's like "you also get what-EVER you get, what you pay for!"
Everything here just for looking beAware the smoke and mirrors for nothing (absolutely nothing) is as it seems!

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Originally Posted by bikerdoc

So how over inflated was my front tyre... guess? 5 ib/in2, maybe 10, 15 perhaps even 20... oh no... it was more than 90 lb/in2 almost 300%. When I told the guy that had told me about that motorcycle shop, he was like oh yeah well they wanted to over-inflate to help bead the seal in. WTF!

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What is it about tire pressure in China? No one has a simple pressure gauge, and no stores seem to sell them. All I find in the automotive shops are these big contraptions the size of a hand pump. Nowhere can I find those pen-shaped gauges that are so universal elsewhere. Anyone know where to buy these? I'm in the awkward position of having no idea of the pressure in my tires right now.

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Nowhere can I find those pen-shaped gauges that are so universal elsewhere. Anyone know where to buy these? I'm in the awkward position of having no idea of the pressure in my tires right now.

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taobao.com (local online bidding like ebay.com) has many, as cheap as 15RMB per one, postage fee about 15 RMB may vary.

Thanks, TD. Good suggestion. I'll see what I can find.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

What is it about tire pressure in China? No one has a simple pressure gauge, and no stores seem to sell them. All I find in the automotive shops are these big contraptions the size of a hand pump. Nowhere can I find those pen-shaped gauges that are so universal elsewhere. Anyone know where to buy these? I'm in the awkward position of having no idea of the pressure in my tires right now.

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Bicycle shops come to the rescue! Have a look in a Merida or Giant shop many have lightweight hand pumps, yes with pressure gauges in PSI and bar too, some even made in T****n! Great addition to the tool kit only 100-200 grams! I'll take you to a shop in Zibo that has them next week.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

What is it about tire pressure in China? No one has a simple pressure gauge, and no stores seem to sell them. All I find in the automotive shops are these big contraptions the size of a hand pump. Nowhere can I find those pen-shaped gauges that are so universal elsewhere. Anyone know where to buy these? I'm in the awkward position of having no idea of the pressure in my tires right now.

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Well you may very well ask the question more broadly, what is it about the ppl in PRC! It sounds prejudice, but its the truth and I really wish it wasn't so. I've never been so prejudiced and cynical since I have been in China so (too) long... [he writes shaking his head].

Anyway the small pressure guages you refer to can be bought at quite a few places, many of the automotive shops carry them, as well as some of the places that do car washes that often have a small add-on care care section. Even some of the car sales dealers (new car sales) also sell them if they are anything like the local dealers down here, where most have an auto accessories shop. Yellow Hat, one of Japans largest auto accessories shops has many stores scattered through out China and have been here since mid 2000. Another easy option might be your local METRO store, 'cause I know they also stock them along with a few other things you might want to get yourself, like a small portable air compressor. I always carry one on my longer rides, along with a couple of cans of pressurised tyre repair sealant. I carry a small set of fold out allen keys, open ended spanner set, and a small tool kit.

Is in China abolished the death penalty?

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Originally Posted by Zorge

Is in China abolished the death penalty?

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No, death penalty is still very much an option...

And I thought so, but I wanted to check. Maybe people from the mentioned plant should not be punished by death penalty, but they should be beaten with nettles and forced to kneel all day on corn grains.

It would be great if we managed to make lists of A (good), B (average), and C (poor) Chinese motorcycle manufacturers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Nowhere can I find those pen-shaped gauges that are so universal elsewhere. Anyone know where to buy these?

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HAHA, this is funny since those things are always made in china...

I did manage to find a decent pressure gauge -- in the little auto parts section at Carrefour, the French supermarket chain.

Actually, it's always surprising how difficult it is to find simple stuff here in China that ubiquitous in America and certainly made in China. Retail in China is still in its infancy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Actually, it's always surprising how difficult it is to find simple stuff here in China that ubiquitous in America and certainly made in China. Retail in China is still in its infancy.

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as a local chinese guy i suffer the same thing, as not many people have other hobbies except gambling and massage.