craigix said:
We can't continue the way it is, it takes too long. We spent *DAYS* just sticking on batch labels, bumpers, adhesive strips etc. Not good.
We need further organisation to speed things up, and these small changes we want will be worth it because they will mean the next 8000+ will be so much more easy to build.
Just stick with us while we get this right early on rather than later.
I'm going to be a PITA and ask that you grin and bear the customer backlash that could be heading your way, and provide the following as some snippets of reason for WHY customers may not be happy with this decision to give the plastics factory more work - especially as (for quality's sake) it will require more samples to be sent from China:
craigix said:
There isn't any accepting to do, these are the MP cases.
We just wanted the photos for a sort of insurance that they had built units.
craigix said:
But alas it had to be China with our budget.
You have to understand they just lie and lie and lie to us... It's all smoke and mirrors constantly. This is just how they seem to do business.
Anyway the good news is that all the final case samples have been absolutely superb.
...
The decline of manufacturing in the west is all due to this smoke and mirrors Chinese crap. I bet most companies go though it, save very little money, but stick with it because they invested so much. It's one big long con by China.
If I can I'll move that case production to the west at the earliest possible opportunity because I'm not falling for it.
craigix said:
That about sums up the shitty way they do business. Dishonest and lazy.
It is why I won't ever use a Chinese company again (that and reading up on how they treat their workers).
... however for all the hassle I would have rather paid more in the UK over a 12 month contract.
I'll be proud to put 'Not made in China' on the Pandora, and to support local business - and the price of the Pandora won't change a great deal.
craigix said:
We will get them, we will pull out of China. Problem solved.
I'll sleep better at night.
craigix said:
Pleng said:
Which leads us to ask why you went with a Chinese company in the first place?
Because I wanted to find out the reality for myself. That's just how I like to do things.
...
No, we didn't know how this factory treated people, or how they would treat us. Now we know. Now I'm taking the business away from them.
Simple isn't it?
Now I'd like to do some of my evil editorialising, to help clarify how I believe some will read those (and many other) posts you've made on the topic in context, as they happened. As with the quotes above, the order I'll put my thoughts in seems reasonable but isn't necessarily 100% chronological.
1. You bought from China, believing that you could not afford to get them made anywhere else at a cost you/we/the market could bear. Despite being aware of the reputation that China has - because "that's just how you like to do things".
2. The plastics factory have treated you/us poorly, and you have discovered that they treat their staff inhumanely as well. Disgusted, you declare that you will pull out of China at the earliest opportunity.
3. You assure us that you can not only get more cases made outside of China, but that it will not cost much more to do so - prices can remain either the same, or poretty close to it, with Western manufacturing.
4. Having brought assembly "home to the UK" instead of in the USA factory originally mentioned, you seem to have found both that the cases aren't quite as good as you'd previously thought/reported (each one needs "tweaking") and that there is more manual labour/it is harder work to assemble than you'd thought.
5. You announce that you are planning to give the Chinese plastics factory more work - one must assume for more money - despite the humanitarian issues that troubled you only quite recently, and despite a couple of assertions that - at the end of the day, using Chinese business to do the work doesn't ACTUALLY work out much cheaper.
At least, that SEEMS to be (a subset of) what you've said. The number of queries this raises is quite gargantuan, but there appears to be a lack of consistency, and I'm too exhausted just from this post to phrase a lot of queries. I hope it's self-evident that this move to give the plastics factory more money AND more time to delay things still further will doubtless cause people to question you quite vigorously. Cut them some slack please. Don't go off on one because it's embarrasing to be questioned so much. Please
