Why is it so frustrating trying to deal with chinese suppliers?

Everyone of them acts like they are going to get rich on the first order and don't seem to understand the concepts of creating a relationship that is a win-win and starting with lower quantities until trust, service level and quality have been proven.

It seem also that all of them speak some english but none speak good english and the level of english speaking ability or desire changes on a daily basis with the same person.

The common thread seems to be they want money but don't want to create a win-win relationship. 

Can anyone provide me with some perspective from the trenches that maybe I'm just not getting my mind wrapped around? 

Quoting from [bigbadlarry111]:

Why is it so frustrating trying to deal with chinese suppliers?

Everyone of them acts like they are going to get rich on the first order and don't seem to understand the concepts of creating a relationship that is a win-win and starting with lower quantities until trust, service level and quality have been proven.

It seem also that all of them speak some english but none speak good english and the level of english speaking ability or desire changes on a daily basis with the same person.

The common thread seems to be they want money but don't want to create a win-win relationship. 

Can anyone provide me with some perspective from the trenches that maybe I'm just not getting my mind wrapped around? 

 

Yes. everybody does business they want to get some profits.  no profits no one will do it .

And for small order it's acceptable. as the first order is just to let us , the buyer and the seller to know more with each other.  For the products. to get the recognized of the products it is. the quality, the workmanship and the service as well as the sincerity.

And here ,as a supplier, we still worry about the situation that after the first order close up. the buyer will not turn back to us . they know that our products , no matter the quality ,or the workmanship , it's the best products we offer.  Finally, they donot set the order to us anymore. they will not keep in touch with us. 

The buyer they just want to buy cheap price. they donot care the quality, the material, and the workmanship. this really let us disappointed.  Though same material, the quality is different, it also will affect the price.  but our clients donot care.  I do met such clients. . :-(

How should we do.?

For we dont reside in an english speaking environment.  our spoken english is not very fluency. we will improve our spoken english . it will let us more easier to communicate.

Thanks

Donnie

 

Quoting from [Egernia]:

There are a lot of things at play here but the most important thing to remember is this. If every seller in China spoke perfect English and was professional then there would be no need for middle men and your customers would just buy direct from China themselves. So the very frustrations that we encounter are the very things that protect the industry in my opinion.

1. Professionalism - this is a cultural thing. Many Chinese people deal with problems after they become a problem whereas many foreigners try to avoid problems. It is not uncommon for a supplier to discover a problem during production that could be easily fixed but they choose not to tell the customer in the hope that the customer will just accept it. They wont tell you early as they would then need to fix it. So they will either tell you once it is too late to fix, or let you find out when you receive the production. Perhaps this could be seen as dishonesty, but then again perhaps it is just optimism on their behalf!

2. English ability - this will depend a lot upon the type of supplier that you deal with and the price you pay. Smaller, cheaper factories outside of major cities tend to offer lower wages and therefore attract recent graduates or those whose English abilities are not the best. Once those sales staff have become competant they tend to move to higher paying jobs in larger factories or larger cities and often those factories charge more for products. So the price is low in some factories for a reason.

3. Bear in mind that often factory bosses cannot speak Englsh so their only guide to the capability of an English speaking staff member may be a test score. China has a national English test ranking but even individuals with the highest ranking can sometimes be very lacking in English comprehension ability as a lot of the testing is theoretical rather than practical.

4. In line with the above most sales staff prefer to communicate via messenger or email rather than telephone as their reading and writing comprehension is much better than their speaking and listening.

5. Sales - most sales staff are under considerable pressure to close deals. That pressure may be financial or may be the potential loss of their job. So when they see the potential for a sale they will often jump the gun to get to the finish line and get the money into the bank acct. You are probably not going to be able to change this so the best that you can do is to explain clearly in a point form basis how you work.

6. Inline with the above most sales staff are pretty transient in factories which is why they do not really care about potential sales in the future. They are only concerned with getting the best sale that they can now. This can conflict with your plans in building long term business slowly.

So my recommendations are as follows:

a. If you want good quality communication abilities and sales professionalism then stick with larger factories in larger cities and pay the price premium for this. These factories will often have English speaking management which will be more attuned to customer service and long term relationships - but bear in mind that many of these factories have long term relationships with large customers so if your orders are too small they may reject them.

b. If you want lower prices and enthusiasm from the seller even if you are a small buyer then you are probably best to stick with small factories. They will be a lot more work for you, but the returns can be very beneficial also.

I.m a new here .also just a graduate ,now work in a small factory in a small town.I very agree with your opinion.But my boss pay more attention on me .I think our company is a potential development. company.thanks for your advise.

Quoting from [bigbadlarry111]:

Why is it so frustrating trying to deal with chinese suppliers?

Everyone of them acts like they are going to get rich on the first order and don't seem to understand the concepts of creating a relationship that is a win-win and starting with lower quantities until trust, service level and quality have been proven.

As a manufacturer in China,I always try our best to serves for our clients.and i want to creat a win-win relationship too.I will try to improve my english level...Thank you..

linda

I'm members of someone speaking english not good...

we'are not native English speaker,

I'm sure i can speak Chinese better than you.

 

1. Professionalism - this is a cultural thing. Many Chinese people deal with problems after they become a problem whereas many foreigners try to avoid problems. It is not uncommon for a supplier to discover a problem during production that could be easily fixed but they choose not to tell the customer in the hope that the customer will just accept it. They wont tell you early as they would then need to fix it. So they will either tell you once it is too late to fix, or let you find out when you receive the production. Perhaps this could be seen as dishonesty, but then again perhaps it is just optimism on their behalf!

2. English ability - this will depend a lot upon the type of supplier that you deal with and the price you pay. Smaller, cheaper factories outside of major cities tend to offer lower wages and therefore attract recent graduates or those whose English abilities are not the best. Once those sales staff have become competant they tend to move to higher paying jobs in larger factories or larger cities and often those factories charge more for products. So the price is low in some factories for a reason.

3. Bear in mind that often factory bosses cannot speak Englsh so their only guide to the capability of an English speaking staff member may be a test score. China has a national English test ranking but even individuals with the highest ranking can sometimes be very lacking in English comprehension ability as a lot of the testing is theoretical rather than practical.

4. In line with the above most sales staff prefer to communicate via messenger or email rather than telephone as their reading and writing comprehension is much better than their speaking and listening.

5. Sales - most sales staff are under considerable pressure to close deals. That pressure may be financial or may be the potential loss of their job. So when they see the potential for a sale they will often jump the gun to get to the finish line and get the money into the bank acct. You are probably not going to be able to change this so the best that you can do is to explain clearly in a point form basis how you work.

HI,

ACCORDING TO THE WORDS YOU WRITTEN ABOVE, I GUESS YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT CHINA.

1.YOU SAID MANY CHINESE DEALS WITH THE PROBLEM WHEN IT BECAME THE REAL PROBLEM. MAYBE SOME OF THE SUPPLIERS IN CHINA DOES. BUT IF ONE SUPPLIIER WANT TO ESTABLISH A LONG TERM COOPERATION WITH YOU. IT WON'T. THEY WILL INFORM THEIR CUSTOMER WHAT HAPPENS AT THE FIRST TIME.

AS A SUPPLIER IN CHINA. WE DO HAVE SOME PROBLEMS FROM A FEW OF MY CUSTOMER. THEY ALWAYS MAKE A DECISION AT THE LAST MINUTES. MAYBE HE IS VERY TOO BUSY TO MAKE A DECISION UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE.

2.ENGLISH ABILITY  THAT'S TRUE, NEARLY ALL OF THE FACTORY OWNERS IN CHINA CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH. THEY RELIE ON THEIR EMPLOYEES. IF ONE JUST GRATUATE FROME SCHOOL, THEY NEED TO PRACTICE THEIR SPOKEN ENGLISH. HOWEVER, AS AN IMPORTER IF YOU WANT TO BUY FROM A SMALL FACTORY AND NOT SATIFIED WITH THE EMPLOYEE'S CHIENGLISH. WHY DON'T YOU FIND AN INTERPRETOR WORK FOR YOU?

3. THAT'S TRUE MOST OF THE SALES STAFF HAVE CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE.THE BOSS ASK A TARGET SELLING MONEY. EVEN THOUGH, WE STILL WANT TO MAKE SURE OF EVERY THING, AND THEN HAVE A CONTRACT. AT LAST, DO EVERY THING AS THE CONTRACT.

 

Maybe you need to look for companies with foreign management or sales staff.

My company has both, maybe we can supply products you are looking for.

We have a win-win policy and believe in creating long lasting productive partnerships.

reagrds Craig

 Quoting from [bigbadlarry111]:

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Company Name:Zhejiang Guangying Machinery Co., Ltd. Address:Jinyun Industral Zone,Zhejiang,China 321403 Tel:+86-578-83181111 83185777
E-mail:export@cngreening.com
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Dear friend,

I think that what you said is not all correct. People all around the world do business for money. Maybe the price is a little high, however, the quality is surely not the same. Please consider this point. Every body wants to make profits, but need to consider the cost.
As to English, i think that some friends may can't speak it very fluently, but they must be trying their best to speak it well. And it takes time.

Best regards.

you just did not find the right seller,

many buyers only targets on low price when buying from China, of course you will get low-quality service. Perfessional costs!