We all accept we’re in China and products should be labeled in Chinese. Fair enough. But we tell our Chinese friends that to become more international they should at least put some elementary explanations in English on their labels. It irritates me when taking a shower in some sauna or gym that there are 3 bottles without any indication in English. What does it cost to add “shampoo”, “conditioner”, “body soap”, etc.? How much does it cost to put at least a simple English explanation in manuals or medication leaflets? Referring to a website for further information would also help a lot. All so simple things but it seems so complicated.
I call this poor marketing.
Now when foreign brands do the same or worse – see the many consumer brands on the market – that is real sloppy marketing.
Today my wife bought me the multi-vitamins I normally take, Wyeth Centrum. Problem, everything is in Chinese, so I had no idea if they were appropriate or not (I prefer Silver, if possible Ultra Men’s but those are normally not available here). Looking at the label, no clue. So I Googled and found somehow that “From A to Zinc” is one of the sub-brands. But, good luck at the Wyeth website. It is poorly done, no search, and to figure out what and where was “From A to Zinc” took me some time (basically, through elimination).
Maybe those foreign companies localize their staff too much.
Thumbs down for Wyeth. Maybe I can sell them some consulting on how to improve their marketing.
Consumer & Environment Issues
consumer analysis and impact on environment
Beijing traffic woes are getting a lot of attention
For me it all started unplanned, I had to make a speech about Beijing to the Beijing Mayor and I talked about how most of us foreigners think about the traffic here. One thing lead to another and now some people ask me “Since when did you become a traffic expert?”. I think my ideas are nothing special, just common sense.
So I got quite some exposure, see the pdf version of part of the special edition of The Economic Observer (“The World Economic Analysis”), done by glObserver.
The pdf version:
https://blog.strategy4china.com/wp-content/uploads/2010economicanalysis.pdf
Then I was invited in a seminar 3 September by The Beijing Transportation Research Center, where I simply referred to my written report to the Mayor.
See here one of the many articles in the Chinese press. Then people told me they saw me in the Beijing metro, on the TV screens, where I was sitting in the meeting.
Yesterday I was interviewed by “Het Nieuwsblad” (Belgium). And USA Today also published an article, see the link. However, I do not remember saying the police guys were smoking the whole day in their car. That would be too stressful.
“Traffic in China fuels quest for road civility” – By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-09-17-chinatraffic17_ST_N.htm
(19 September 2010)
I just wish Beijing really starts doing something.
17 September traffic chaos in Beijing
Friday is never a good day, certainly not when it rains. But the whole Friday ended up being a traffic chaos day. When I tried to take a taxi in Gongti Xi Lu in the afternoon to go to my Chinese class (lesson 182!), a cab showed the sign “pause”, but he hesitantly stopped. I told him my destination and he agreed to take me. Turns out the poor guy was totally frustrated as it took him 2 hours to take guests from the airport to Gongti Xi Lu, so he needed a break. We chatted on the way and he said traffic was becoming a nightmare with over 2000 new cars per day.
Coming back in the evening, as usual no taxis in CBD, even the tricycles were busy. So I walked home. Arriving near Gongti Nan Lu (Instituto Cervantes) I stopped to watch a bunch of people fighting in the middle of the street, their cars in all kind of weird positions blocking each other. They finally stopped the fist fight and slowly untangled their mess. Not that they got far. The whole Gongti area was becoming a parking lot. In front of Instituto Cervantes as well as on the intersection with Gongti Xi Lu, the Chinese drivers had perfectly succeeded to block each other by overtaking in the opposite lane and blocking the incoming traffic. In the pictures, no car is actually moving.
It turned out that it was one of the biggest ever traffic jams in Beijing – officially 140 roads were totally jammed, according to the police who stayed glued to their screens watching the chaos. Obviously no traffic police around to do anything. In a picture there is a police car, stuck too. None came out. Not their job I guess, and well, it rained a bit you know.
As long as Chinese drivers continue to drive like cave people, ignoring all the rules and just selfishly doing whatever they like, traffic and pollution will never improve. Police doesn’t enforce any rules. Biking is becoming very dangerous, if your bike is not stolen – due to the general lack of bike parking.
I talked about that – to the Mayor, to the newspapers. See some articles attached.
Don’t expect anything great to happen – authorities lack the courage to tackle the issues.
My report to the Mayor was published by the Waiban in English & Chinese. Feel free to request a copy.
Deluxe 3-wheel motorbike
I love this new addition to our Julong Garden parking lot. I had never seen anything like it. It’s shiny, fully equipped with radio, a big fan, etc. Real cute. Wish I had one of those to beat the Beijing traffic that is becoming worse by the day. Getting a taxi is also becoming more difficult, the worst regions being Wangfujing and surroundings and CBD. Don’t expect any help from the police nor government, they are basically useless to improve the situation.
I am still considering buying a bike but as parking lots are mostly as rare as fresh air and bikes are stolen in a wink, what’s the point. Riding a bike is also dangerous, either you get hit by a car (Chinese drivers have zero civility and act like cave people driving cars) or get lung cancer, Pollution levels (AQI) were close to 500 in the past days but you won’t learn that from the government.
And, yes I know, that little red beauty pollutes a lot. Nothing is perfect.
So my current solution is to take a pedicab (“sanlunche”, tricycle), most have now an electric motor. Most of the pedicabs know me in the CBD area, so no need to bargain and they already know where I want to go. It’s fast and those people earn a living too.
Moulinex Crystal Arôme: how to repair
I bought this coffee maker in 1994. That means, 15 years of heavy duty service as I am a real big coffee drinker. I regularly clean it completely.
The machine started giving up about two years ago. The plastic tube that carries the boiling water upwards was cracking up. A first simple repair lasted for quite some time: I took out the damaged tube, put aluminum foil around it and secured it by lots of cotton sewing thread, as you cannot use any glue or plastic stuff due to the hot temperature.
But then the whole tube disintegrated. Solution: our Chinese maid found some stainless steel pipes that were a near fit. I replaced the plastic with the stainless steel tube.
As the boiling water goes through it and the pipe sits in the water container, the water starts to warm up slightly but that is not a major problem.
I hate to throw away stuff. Repairing keeps it for much longer instead of polluting the environment with the discarded machine and using more of our precious resources.
I know, the USA is number one in buy – use – throw away when broken; China is a willing copier of this nasty and shameless consumer habit.