Sunday, September 28, 2008
Business as Usual
I’m starting this post in the Shenzhen airport and I’m not sure where it will end. I’m on my way back from a weekend in Hong Kong. There won’t be any photos this time, as my camera is M.I.A. and my cell phone with a camera just died last week. So you’ll have to be sated with words. I had to make a dash out of the mainland before October 1 to renew my visa. I went early because October 1 is the Chinese National Day (equivalent to our 4th of July) and everyone gets a week off. The whole country bogs down for that week and traveling is a real pain. I like to buy a bunch of DVDs and lock my door during the public holidays here.
Work isn’t exactly what I do all the time but it’s what I think about most of the time. I just hired an engineer this week, who will start a week from Monday. This brings the size of the office to three people, including myself. I’m a little nervous about having enough work to keep everyone busy and being able to appear confident even when I have no idea what is going on (which is most of the time). I’ve learned more about coaxial cable, satellite components and power tools in the past months than I thought was possible. We haven’t bought anything yet but I’ve talked to plenty of factory bosses and sales managers. Making friends is really a big part of this initial phase of the office.
Business in China depends a lot on friendship (or at least the appearance of friendship). Generally the first contact I have with a factory is through email. These exchanges are usually brief and uninspired on the factory side. It’s assumed that you are either illegitimate or not worth the time. That’s not just the language barrier either; I get the same response even when I have Eric contact them in Chinese. However, that all changes when you show up and spend a day (or two) at the factory. By the end of the visit you are at least friends, if not brothers. Invitations are always extended for return trips to visit the countryside or spend the night in a KTV.
While it seems a little ridiculous, it’s actually a big part of my job. We are trying to develop one product but only want to make a small-ish number of them. The factory we were trying to work with wasn’t interested in even talking about the product until after I traveled four hours by bus and spent a night in a KTV, holding hands with a drunken boss and singing Backstreet Boys songs with him. After that he said there was no problem and gave us a quote right away.
This brings me to another part of my job: drinking. While college students in China are very straight-laced compared to US students, they more than make up for it once they enter the business world. Business suppers resemble frat parties where the pressure to drink and the competitiveness of drinking is generally the focal point. People save their empty bottles and compare throughout the night. Fortunately, I have a few advantages. First is intimidation. Unlike most Chinese men, I’m not allergic to alcohol, so I don’t turn red and start sweating after one small glass. Beyond that, Americans have a reputation for being able to drink large amounts. I make sure to neither confirm nor deny this. At one meal, a factory VP who hadn’t said anything to me the whole day turned to me with his glass and said, “Come on America Cowboy.” (Eric had a hard time translating “Giddy up” back to him). Second, we generally drink beer, and while it comes in one liter bottles, it’s usually only 1.9 to 3.1 percent alcohol. So my stomach fills long before the alcohol has an effect on me. My final and best weapon is Eric, who doesn’t drink. Together we form a “good cop, bad cop” team. Eric explains to host how it isn’t necessary to see who can drink more (implying it’s me), while I reluctantly do several “gan bei’s” (which literally means “dry glass” or “bottoms up”), simultaneous telling the host I shouldn’t drink more. It sounds strange but generally allows us to stop drinking early without anyone losing face. The worst part of this culture is when these competitions happen at lunch and we’re expected to still hold meetings in the afternoon. Fortunately I’ve been able to limit these big nights out to only a few a month.
While writing this post I’ve nearly missed my flight. I just made it through security and will be boarding soon. So I’ll have to end here. I’ll post more later and hopefully get pictures too.
Work isn’t exactly what I do all the time but it’s what I think about most of the time. I just hired an engineer this week, who will start a week from Monday. This brings the size of the office to three people, including myself. I’m a little nervous about having enough work to keep everyone busy and being able to appear confident even when I have no idea what is going on (which is most of the time). I’ve learned more about coaxial cable, satellite components and power tools in the past months than I thought was possible. We haven’t bought anything yet but I’ve talked to plenty of factory bosses and sales managers. Making friends is really a big part of this initial phase of the office.
Business in China depends a lot on friendship (or at least the appearance of friendship). Generally the first contact I have with a factory is through email. These exchanges are usually brief and uninspired on the factory side. It’s assumed that you are either illegitimate or not worth the time. That’s not just the language barrier either; I get the same response even when I have Eric contact them in Chinese. However, that all changes when you show up and spend a day (or two) at the factory. By the end of the visit you are at least friends, if not brothers. Invitations are always extended for return trips to visit the countryside or spend the night in a KTV.
While it seems a little ridiculous, it’s actually a big part of my job. We are trying to develop one product but only want to make a small-ish number of them. The factory we were trying to work with wasn’t interested in even talking about the product until after I traveled four hours by bus and spent a night in a KTV, holding hands with a drunken boss and singing Backstreet Boys songs with him. After that he said there was no problem and gave us a quote right away.
This brings me to another part of my job: drinking. While college students in China are very straight-laced compared to US students, they more than make up for it once they enter the business world. Business suppers resemble frat parties where the pressure to drink and the competitiveness of drinking is generally the focal point. People save their empty bottles and compare throughout the night. Fortunately, I have a few advantages. First is intimidation. Unlike most Chinese men, I’m not allergic to alcohol, so I don’t turn red and start sweating after one small glass. Beyond that, Americans have a reputation for being able to drink large amounts. I make sure to neither confirm nor deny this. At one meal, a factory VP who hadn’t said anything to me the whole day turned to me with his glass and said, “Come on America Cowboy.” (Eric had a hard time translating “Giddy up” back to him). Second, we generally drink beer, and while it comes in one liter bottles, it’s usually only 1.9 to 3.1 percent alcohol. So my stomach fills long before the alcohol has an effect on me. My final and best weapon is Eric, who doesn’t drink. Together we form a “good cop, bad cop” team. Eric explains to host how it isn’t necessary to see who can drink more (implying it’s me), while I reluctantly do several “gan bei’s” (which literally means “dry glass” or “bottoms up”), simultaneous telling the host I shouldn’t drink more. It sounds strange but generally allows us to stop drinking early without anyone losing face. The worst part of this culture is when these competitions happen at lunch and we’re expected to still hold meetings in the afternoon. Fortunately I’ve been able to limit these big nights out to only a few a month.
While writing this post I’ve nearly missed my flight. I just made it through security and will be boarding soon. So I’ll have to end here. I’ll post more later and hopefully get pictures too.
