China Calling

I am in the middle of a conversation with a customer, passionately defending our "NOT MADE IN CHINA" product when I suddenly realize that if the person in front of me asks if I have ever been in China, I would have to shamefully reply: "No, Sir. I have not been in China".

Luckily the customer did not challenge my standpoint, but from that day on, I felt the burning urge to travel to China and verify with my own eyes if their products are really worse than European ones. A few weeks after I joined the DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA elective program offered by the Management School where I was attending the MBA. On the 10th of May 2009 I was on the flight to Shanghai. Only at my return 10 days after I realized how deep this trip changed my perspective.

"Western companies are thankful that somewhere in the world there is a place where they can lower their standards, undercover."

MADE IN CHINA products are as good as the commissioning customer allows them to be.

The day I returned my husband picked me up at the airport. Although I was very happy to see him, I cried like a baby, because I was already missing China desperately.

Written on a monday morning in 2009

#China #Customer #MBA #WesternCompanies