It’s 1:30 AM right now. My back hurts, and I’m surviving on my third can of Red Bull.
But I’m writing this because I want my clients to understand one thing about manufacturing in China: Sometimes, email is useless.
The "Broken Machine" Excuse
Yesterday, a factory in [City Name, e.g., Zibo] emailed me with bad news. "Sorry, Caibin. The CNC machine broke down. Your client’s order will be delayed by 10 days."
My client (in the US) was devastated. He has a launch deadline. He asked me to forward his angry email to the factory.
I didn't forward the email. I knew that forwarding an angry email would just get a polite "We are sorry" reply, and the delay would still happen.
My gut told me they were lying.
The Surprise Visit
I got in my car and drove 3 hours to the factory. I didn't tell them I was coming.
When I walked onto the shop floor, guess what I heard? The humming sound of CNC machines running at full speed. The machine wasn't broken.
I walked into the boss's office. He looked shocked. He offered me tea, looking embarrassed.
The Real Reason
The truth came out after 5 minutes of awkward conversation. They had received a massive rush order from a huge domestic company (think BYD or Xiaomi). To please the big fish, they pushed my client's smaller order to the back of the queue. The "broken machine" was just a polite excuse to buy time.
How I Fixed It
I didn't yell. I simply sat on his leather sofa and said: "Mr. Li, I drove 3 hours to get here. I'm not leaving until I see my client's raw materials loaded onto that machine."
It was a battle of wills. He looked at his schedule. He looked at me (I wasn't moving).
Finally, he picked up his walkie-talkie and called the floor manager: "Pause the domestic batch. Run Caibin's order next."
The Value of "Being There"
The meeting took 15 minutes. The drive took 6 hours.
If I had stayed in my office and sent emails, my client would still be delayed 10 days. Because I showed up, production starts tomorrow morning.
In this industry, presence is pressure. You can't simulate that from overseas.
Need someone who will actually GO to the factory when things go wrong?