#1
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Trouble's Coming
Someone is going to be in trouble. Not me though.
It comes from my being the resident English speaker on duty as it were. I was waiting around at the bike shop for a meeting with the owner. She was a bit late, the mechanics were too busy for talking, and I really didn't have anything to do. Wander upstairs. Wander downstairs. Wander upstairs. Take a look at some of the shiny new goodies in the cabinet of very small and very expensive items. There's a Selle Italia saddle in there that, if I weren't about to go on long distance tour I'd been buying for my race bike. I'd waited months for this saddle to come in. It was always backordered. And now that's it's in stock I'm about to head out on my tour bike. Race bike toys will just have to wait for the next time I'm racing. Next to my intended saddle there was another one. Full carbon. Scary light. Beautiful in the way a Porsche is beautiful. I could purchase it but I won't. It wouldn't match the rider or her race bike. I'm just not that good. Little cardboard booklet tied to the saddle rails with string. Bike shop owner not here yet. At home I read cereal boxes. Here I read instruction booklets attached to carbon fiber saddles. I read it through. I read it through again. And a third time. How could this be? This is an American brand, surely an American brand wouldn't have that many or that kind of typographical error ... especially not one that's in the business of selling very very _very_ expensive items, with this being an especially expensive representative of that brand's tendency to be expensive. I hear the bike shop owner downstairs and put the saddle down. On my way downstairs I walk past the large poster exhorting people in Chinese not to buy counterfeit or gray market goods. It was put out by Shimano Shanghai as part of the shop-in-shop partnership thing. Sitting down with her in the back of the shop I can see a row of Discovery Channel team jerseys that cost over USD100 apiece. Next to them is one that looks more or less like the others with a large sign on it "Counterfeit Product, Not For Sale". I already know that if I look at it up close it will say UCI Europe Tour instead of UCI Pro Tour and that I can find four or five other insignificant places where it doesn't quite pass muster. There are other things to talk about. It doesn't occur to me to mention what I saw upstairs. However, an hour later, I'm on the way to dinner with them and I'm looking at the English on the back of the ID badge identifying the manager of the bike shop as a torch bearer for the relay. It's perfect. I comment on the perfection of the English, and then, because it had stuck in my mind as being strange that the English on the tag wasn't right I mentioned that. What do I mean the English isn't right? I mean not right. I mean one sentence printed twice. I mean another sentence in the wrong place. I mean a sentence that ends in mid-word. That's very strange. A suggestion is made that perhaps I shouldn't hold local goods up to the same level of English scrutiny that I hold foreign products up to. After all, everyone in the car knows that English on local products is there mostly as decoration. By the way, what did I see this tag on? I tell them. I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. She has four bike shops in two cities. She's also the person who brings in most of the mid-end stuff for six more partner shops in another five cities. She provides all the rental bikes and their maintenance packages to all of the five star resorts in the province. Someone in going to be in trouble. Big trouble. I don't know who the someone is but whoever they are I'd hate to be them. In fact, right now, until an explanation is found for the incorrect English on that particular tag I'd hate to be in the import department of any company that sells expensive bike goods in China. -M |
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#2
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Trouble's Coming
On May 3, 9:21 am, "
wrote: I tell them. I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... |
#3
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Trouble's Coming
I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... Spell it out. What, exactly are you saying? |
#4
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Trouble's Coming
Will wrote: Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... Pat wrote: Spell it out. What, exactly are you saying? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Me too. I'd like to know what you mean. Is it the assumption that-- 1.) An American manufacturer of high end products would not put out bad English? 2.) The owner of a Chinese bike business would outwardly condemn counterfeit merchandise, but secretly help sell it? 3.) The owner of the bike business was feigning anger? 4.) What you took for a bike saddle was really part of an English as a second language kit? |
#5
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Trouble's Coming
On May 4, 1:21*am, "Pat" wrote:
I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... Spell it out. What, exactly are you saying? I'm in the shop's office right now having just spent the last thirty minutes typing up a bilingual document clearly pointing out the eleven mistakes I found in two small pages. The spelling errors are almost acceptable. The number of spelling errors and the lack of spelling errors on other documentation put out by the same company as well as the missing punctuation, the sentence that has been moved to the wrong location, and the sentence that was printed twice can only lead one to believe one thing... Which is that the saddle (which is no longer in the display case) is about to get sent back to the distributors it came from and if the manager doesn't get a VERY GOOD explanation for why they seem to have ended up with something that looks suspiciously like a high end counterfeit the distributor in question might find themselves losing a lot of business. There are many businesses (including non Chinese ones) I can easily see mounting an anti-counterfeiting campaign while secretly selling counterfeit goods. This shop is not one of them. -M |
#6
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Trouble's Coming
I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... Spell it out. What, exactly are you saying? In the off chance that you thought I was asking you to explain yourself, be assured my question was directed toward "Will." Pat in TX |
#7
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Trouble's Coming
On May 4, 11:28 pm, "Pat" wrote:
I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... Spell it out. What, exactly are you saying? In the off chance that you thought I was asking you to explain yourself, be assured my question was directed toward "Will." It did seem a bit strange of a response, but since I had new information on the situation I figured I'd err on the side of 'gosh I thought I was clear but maybe not' especially since with the additional response from Leo. -M |
#8
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Trouble's Coming
On May 3, 12:21 pm, "Pat" wrote:
I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... Spell it out. What, exactly are you saying? There are fakes in the shop. The owner is not a cabbage-head. She's running a significant business wholesaling to other businesses and resorts. So...was the reaction appropriate? Would you get "as-mad-as- I've-ever-seen" before you examined the goods? reviewed the invoice? talked to the supplier? Displays of high anger from a seasoned entrepreneur, would make me cautious. Before I formed my opinion, I'd look at a lot of other merchandise. Finally, it might be the saddle wasn't "fake". It might be black market instead. The factory produces 1000 units for the "contract" and 100 for the "back door". |
#9
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Trouble's Coming
wrote: (clip) especially since with the additional response from Leo. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In the off-chance that it was not clear, my response was also directed at Will. Marian, I thought your original post was well written, entertaining and appropriate. I will *assume* that if Will wants to point out any unwarranted assumptions he will do so, and clarify his earlier post. |
#10
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Trouble's Coming
On May 5, 12:07*am, Will wrote:
On May 3, 12:21 pm, "Pat" wrote: I've known the bike shop owner for nearly three years now and I've never before seen her look so angry. Methinks you should question your assumptions carefully... Spell it out. What, exactly are you saying? There are fakes in the shop. The owner is not a cabbage-head. She's running a significant business wholesaling to other businesses and resorts. So...was the reaction appropriate? Would you get "as-mad-as- I've-ever-seen" before you examined the goods? reviewed the invoice? talked to the supplier? If a highly trusted employee (and despite the fact that I don't get a salary per se, I am an employee of her's) came to you with indisputable proof that you one of your distributors was cheating you, yes, the reaction would be appropriate. Displays of high anger from a seasoned entrepreneur, would make me cautious. When the person in question is well known for never ever losing their temper at anything (I've seen her stamp her foot once or twice) and is in a private space with only employees and family members to see her... ? Before I formed my opinion, I'd look at a lot of other merchandise. I have looked at a lot of the other merchandise. Some of it I was one of the consultants on purchasing. Some of it I was the primary contact with the distributor. And most nearly everything that came in without a Chinese label was translated by me. I've seen the shipping crate that still had the US Postal Service labels and the return address of Madison Wisconsin for the first Trek Madone in China. It's really hard to fake something like that. Fake the bike (unlikely but maybe) but not fake the postage on the box in the garbage. Finally, it might be the saddle wasn't "fake". It might be black market instead. The factory produces 1000 units for the "contract" and 100 for the "back door". They don't especially like black market things either. They don't have the kind of quality control that you really want when you are selling astonishingly expensive and potentially breakable items that rely on word of mouth advertising. -M |
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