Yes or No, okay?

[Randy W]

 

 

Boy this is classic Jess. Way to go. I have to use that someday.

Orange Juice Please. Thank you.....

 

 

The girl at the Chinese Pizza Hut would not let me custom order my pizza. But then I got to thinking they must have an english speaking manager and ask to make sure this is the way it is. Fen was surprised at my agressiveness about this, but it saved me from writing the head of Tom's here in the USA to complain after I got home. I find that if I get a store manger I get what I want exactly like I want it, and tastes nearly like home.

 

All these sports friends of Fen are way more direct than what I dealt with in the past, though sometimes Fen tells me something I understand one way, but I find I need clarification from time to time.

 

 

We bought a fan at a good price at the downtown Jincheng - the price marked on the shelf was the one Jiaying wanted to pay, but the computer rang up a higher price. They actually went and got the tag off the shelf showing the lower price, compared it to the merchandise, but still wanted us to pay the price in the computer. Jiaying had to call about 8 managers down before they agreed to sell at the advertised price.

Fen is not so bent on getting her price as I have read and experienced before. She will argue down a little, but just enjoys life a bit too much for it all that. She admires your wife for knowing what she wants and achieving it.

 

 

We tend to avoid places where you have to do that - the "bargaining" tends to start at an inflated price, and you BEGIN by telegraphing to the proprietor that you WANT a particular item, and that their price is in the ballpark

 

In this case, Jiaying simply insisted on the price that was marked on the shelf.

 

The stores know they can get in trouble for false advertising.

[amberjack1234]

The wife does the bargaining thing. It's embarrassing some times but it does save money sometimes at least here in America where bargaining is not attainable sometimes.

 

Short story: On our last trip to Beijing the wife bought a pencil kit for the nephew and mama said that he already had a new one when she saw it. So the wife said we'll take it back. Mama said "that's impossible". Wife said come on and I'll show you. They went back to the sore and ask for a refund for the unopened pencil box and of course was told 'that was impossible' from the department clerk. Wife went through two or three managers until one conceded and gave her money back. Mama said 'that was the first time that had ever happened'. Wife said "learned that from my husband".

 

Another story. I'm full of them today: I wanted to get the nephew some balloons. The store had sever different size bags of them and of course I was going to get him a large bag. Wife "oh no just several balloons is enough". I was not there at the time so the wife talked the clerk into selling her just 3-4 balloons out of a pack. As she was paying for them I walked up and the clerk ask her if the balloons were for me and she said that I was buying them for our nephew. Clerk said damn if I know that they were for a laowai he would have had to buy the whole bag and not only that but the price would have been three time the marked price. You are not a good Chinese sister to help China out. Wife had no reply.

 

Larry

[tsap seui]

That's funny Larry, and so true about that "laowei pricing". Wenyan taught me on the first trip to stand outside while she went inside to buy things. I mentioned something I needed to buy and she had me walk with her past the store so we were out of sight of it's windows. Since we didn't have a common language she pointed at a spot on the sidewalk, took me by the arm, and had me stand there. Then she pointed at me, then the store, rubbed her fingers together in the universal money sign, and then held her hands wide apart vertically. She then pointed at herself, the store, then made the money sign, and held her hands much closer together. I got the point, and like Lassie I stood there, shaking my tail and panting as I waited for my master. Well, actually I padded over to a fire hydrant and took a leak.

 

On various trips we have gone into smaller mom and pop stores to look at chothes she wanted to buy for me....like a suit coat. It's really a shame they feel so compeled to raise the price so high just because of skin color and look. I would prefer to help out the local economy, especially a mom and pop operation...but after that suit coat Wenyan told me we were only going to buy things for me from stores that had price tags on them. Hence, my days of mom and pop stores are pretty much shot, as far as Wenyan is concerned. I really don't mind paying extra to help out mom and pop....even when I know they are ripping me off to hell and back. Thank God for the exchange rate.

 

Here in America all the sales girls and guys know Wenyan, now, in the stores she frequents in the mall I drop her off at while I go to the VA. It's funny, invariably they will see her walk into their shop and they'll tell her what day the sales start, or the cosmetics girls will tell her if they are giving out free samples or not that day when she would buy so so many dollars worth of products.

 

She very politely asks for better prices sometimes, uses her military ID card, and often asks if she uses her store credit card will she get any futher discounts. Didn't take her long to figure out the American system...and man, she has saved hundreds of dollars using her military ID card. LOL She uses her military ID card more than I use mine. I usually forget about using mine unless I'm in Lowes or Home Depot. Not lil' rabbit, she uses it in every store she buys something from.

 

With her small size she cleans up on the $2 and $4 clearance sales, often getting really nice brand name clothes for herself or for gifts back home. Some of those clothes were marked down from as much as $70 to $90.

 

I keep telling her to buy "something at full price" at least once in awhile....that "we don't want the shop to go out of business."

 

That taking things back must really be tough in China. Wenyan says the shop people get very angry with you for taking things back. Saying things like the boss must be there to give the okay. Of course the boss is never there. Or the shop keeper will try and intimidate or insult you by saying something like, "Don't you have any money, why are you bringing this back?" Needless to say, she loves how easy it is to take things back in America.

 

tsap seui

[Fu Lai]

I didn't know it was difficult here, at least in Wuhan. My girl does it all the time, even when things are opened. Then again I know she is a demanding customer... soooooooooooo picky. And for a human of less than five feet she is very intimidating.

[amberjack1234]

Sounds like they are a lot a like. She got the haven't you got any money comment that day too. I understand the way that you feel about the mom and pop folks. I would much prefer doing business with them but alas it seems impossible for the time being anyway. I have an idea that it is the same way in other countries as well.

 

I do the go down the street and wait close to a fire hydrant thingie too.

 

Once, while we were there, I wanted an spare pair of eye glasses, while I could get then cheap. We were on Wangfujing Avenue and we walked past the optometrist/eye glasses store and I waited dutiful by the hydrant as told. It was to late though they had already spotted us as we went by. The price was $700 US dollars. She came back and said later. We went to another place and got the eye glasses and titanium frames for $70 US dollars. Best damn glasses I have ever had. I have had American made glasses with the scratch resistant coating on them and have to have the lenses replaced ever 6 months. I have had these pair of glasses for 5 years now and not one single scratch. Who says they don't make good stuff in China.

 

Before we left the wife was going to get her a pair of glasses in the states. Sears has their 50% off thing and even with that she was going to have to pay $700. The girl told her that they had to be special made because she has myopia and even the glasses that they would make would look like coke bottle bottoms. She got a pair in Beijing with the thin lenses and the frame for $90 US dollars.

 

Larry

[warpedbored]

My wife was surprised that you could take things back to the store when she got here. She also says they don't do take them back in China. I suppose it's possible that things have changed a lot in 9 years but somehow I doubt it. Maybe Wuhan is way different than everywhere else in China. Somehow I doubt that too.

[Randy W]

Jiaying has always had a take-it-home to try it out mentality. She'll occasionally buy something for me just to bring it home and see if I want it.

 

I had to caution her about that in the U.S., since even Macy's has their limits.

[Doug]

Fen frequents stores enough in Changzhou that she takes things back no problem. I was the one who said you can't get your money back. She DID have me wait outside to do it though. It was the only time.

 

I also don't get the jacked up price like I did in Bejing in 2005. In fact I have been looking at stuff when folks start to negotiate with me to get me to buy.

 

They have a big & tall shop of sorts she frequents and now I do. This last time we took the other ladies who coach and I was the model for one, as her husband is dang near as big.

 

Folks in this city are pretty nice to me.