Workplace reviews and discussion: 天喜國際時尚股份有限公司

Dramatically improved acting and flattery skills

The following is from current employees at “Tianxi.”

I previously saw a review of this company, and I can only say that the “original poster” was incredible.

(I only saw part of it, but then it disappeared, so it’s obvious that company personnel “reported” it. This proves that what the “original poster” said was true.)

I’ll also “roughly” add my personal views here (a history of bitterness...) and organize them.

It will be very long, but I hope there will be no more victims—people who have ability but are taken advantage of.

Company brand history:

Tianxi International Fashion Co., Ltd. has a brand called “SST&C”; you can Google it yourselves. The key point is: before 2008, SST&C was an Italian brand, and Taiwan was only its agent at the time. But after 2008, because of the financial crisis, it was sold by Italy to Taiwan. Therefore, “SST&C” is now completely “one of Taiwan’s generic brands” (referred to as a “generic brand”), not the Italian brand that store employees claim it is. This year, two branches opened in Singapore and the United States. Managers require store staff to say that “SST&C is an Italian brand,” but in reality it is not...

Only part of the introduction on the 104 website is correct; much of it is not.

I’ll break it down for everyone below.

“Scheduled to expand with a branch in Los Angeles, USA, in September” = The first store opened in mid-October last year, while the second store only opened in mid-January this year (originally scheduled for mid-December last year).

[The reason for the delay will be explained later.]

“Smooth promotion channels” = You have to be very “obedient” and flatter people, but basically, don’t expect too much.

“Comprehensive education and training” = It depends on who you are and which department you’re in; most people are lazy and look down on others.

Company benefits:

Year-end bonus: Currently, only five people in the entire company “really” receive a year-end bonus. Everyone else gets just one red envelope (approximately NT$1,000–2,000, though most receive nothing).

Bonuses for the three major holidays: Cash = 0. They are replaced with gift boxes or singing at Cashbox KTV (the gift box depends on the CEO’s mood; if you don’t go to Cashbox, nothing else is provided).

Year-end party: Don’t even think about it (often justified on “religious” grounds).

Overtime pay: Don’t even think about it (currently, only two people in the company have ever had every application approved; everyone else can forget it. Everyone knows this, so they “disappear” promptly when work ends and remain reachable by phone 24 hours a day when there are matters to handle).

Salary: It depends on the unit, but most positions do not exceed NT$29,000... (unless you have “really worked there for a long time” or are “very good at talking”).

The company’s way of working and atmosphere:

1. The company is run like a military organization. It demands speed = it only wants obedient employees with sufficient submissiveness (the workplace is arranged very much like military training; anyone who has served will know immediately. Still, it is better than the military).

2. Company personnel = extremely disharmonious (they are excellent at putting on a show and could be actors) + incompetent people are extremely arrogant + scheming and internal conflict continue until someone is forced to leave + some senior employees lack even basic manners (especially the women in the product design department)~~!! (The number went from five to three; in January 2017, two also resigned, but they left because they “regularly” forced new shipping staff or people they disliked to leave, while their supervisor was unable to control them...)

3. The company’s clothes are made by the CEO and two manager-level employees, who look at other major brands and then tell the design department to “make slight modifications.”

4. Senior management and a certain inspector are extremely difficult to communicate with~!! They avoid responsibility, only talk, and pass the buck.

5. The company’s computers and telephones are wiretapped by the company, so there is absolutely no privacy. The company also uses telephones to collect audio and then prints it out with a computer; if there is a problem, you will be called in for questioning (which is why the company feels so much like the military).

6. The marketing department has it worst, because when performance is poor, senior management will criticize it, claiming that marketing failed to do its job... (Sigh... they never investigate the root cause...)

7. The company is jointly operated by the CEO and two manager-level partners (to put it plainly, they are friends who invested together).

Taiwan:

In mid-September 2016, two people joined the marketing department, but left after only three days...

At the end of October 2016, a newly opened store was berated because its sign fell down. The northern regional supervisor was also criticized (but the northern inspector at the company also loves talking about others, is irresponsible, and often acts as if he is somebody important...)

Before the end of November 2016, the tie at a certain store “caused trouble”: the back of the tie stated “Made in Turkey,” but it was written in simplified Chinese, so you can imagine where it was actually made... (The person responsible only received a minor demerit... because the mistake was made by a manager-level employee at headquarters.)

The accountant also resigned in mid-December 2016 (the replacement arrived in mid-November and spent a month handing over duties). The official explanation was that she told internal company personnel that the company was not making money; in reality, it was because she loved “talking back” to the CEO’s confidant and looked down on others.

Two people from the design department resigned in January 2017. (There is a cause for every effect.)

Three people resigned in March 2017 (general affairs, human resources, and the vice president [parachuted in and hired on a contract basis]).

[Reason for the vice president’s resignation: the CEO could not control him. Reason for the HR employee’s resignation: employee turnover had been high in recent years, and the CEO shifted the blame to HR...]

United States:

Before the end of October 2016, the US manager-level employee was dismissed. The official explanation was that it was to take care of family (in reality, the store opened nearly a month late, the CEO and manager-level staff “barely” dealt with the matter, and everything was based on Taiwan’s management and renovation model, resulting in poor communication).

Singapore:

Stores No. 1 and No. 2 opened in April and May 2016, and have remained unprofitable from opening until now. Beginning in early April 2017, all employees were removed and replaced with a new group (including the supervisor; the supervisor was also a “contract worker”...).

[Reason for the supervisor’s departure: the CEO and manager-level staff could not control the situation. Previously, a “manager-level employee” even tried to set a “trap” to cover up their own mistake, but failed.]

The personalities and thinking patterns of the CEO and the two manager-level employees:

1. They often say they run the company like the military and demand speed, fixing mistakes slowly afterward (but it depends on who made the mistake; if it was a confidant, then... heh heh).

2. They love hearing praise, which causes them to lose the ability to distinguish right from wrong and become unclear-headed (the company is already “losing money,” yet they keep expanding... to strive for a stock-market listing...)

3. They are ve~~ry fond of bragging and talking about their past; once they start, it lasts at least an hour (their history = they used to be department-store salespeople, how they made it to where they are now, and so on. As for the bragging, they constantly tell employees that SST&C’s sales are twice those of G2000, and that G2000 never dares open a store next door or nearby because SST&C is better... In reality, G2000 is afraid of lowering its own brand image...)

4. They “frequently” use religion as a shield. When they make a mistake, they say they are “devout Christians” and that when something goes wrong, they first reflect on themselves... (Poor Christ...)

5. They “habitually” look at other people’s phone and computer screens from behind (they do this frequently; previously, it was said that when the CEO went to Singapore, he used his authority to demand that employees hand over their phones, and a female employee burst into tears on the spot... Previously, this CEO would also secretly look at employees’ phones while they slept. <Thanks to the former employee who exposed this.>)

6. They “frequently” assign work and personal matters at night and in the middle of the night. If they travel to the United States, it is even worse, because you have to handle both US and Taiwan work at the same time (even with the time difference). When they have materials in hand, they often send them at 12–1 a.m. and tell you to work on them...

7. The CEO and his friend (the manager-level employee) = both are “lenient with themselves and strict with others.” They demand respect...

8. They “frequently” try to apply Taiwan’s work and labor model (especially salaries and benefits) to the United States and Singapore (to put it plainly, they want to save money wherever possible).

9. They “habitually” save small amounts of money while spending large amounts (saving small amounts on freight and display-clothing hangers, while spending large amounts on expansion—but only if the stores can make money).

10. No matter how capable you are, if you are not obedient and do not keep to yourself, it is all useless.

11. When new employees join the company, manager-level staff “habitually” blame departed employees for current mistakes in certain situations and tell lies that do not match the facts.

Explanation of positions:

1. Administrative and general affairs = responsible for the material needs of 35 stores, headquarters, Singapore, and the United States, as well as petty cash for certain stores (to put it plainly, a pile of miscellaneous tasks is pushed onto general affairs, while some store managers and senior employees shirk their responsibilities).

2. Executive assistant to the CEO = you have to be a servant, half a secretary, understand his humor (95% of it is neither funny nor easy to understand), and have no privacy. He will “habitually” use Line to assign you tasks after work (put nicely, he says to do them tomorrow, but in reality...)

3. Administrative and sales-document assistants = one handles internal work and one handles external meeting minutes (the internal person “frequently” attends meetings; the external person has it easier). They do essentially the same work, but it is easy for others to look down on them...

4. Accounting intern and accounting assistant (the same position) = help the principal accountant handle simple tasks (reasons they want to hire someone include: 1. The main accountant is so diligent that they have to work overtime on Saturdays, so hiring an “accounting intern” is cheaper and avoids paying high overtime costs (they can hire a good accountant, but not many). 2. The company’s accounts can never be fully calculated or reconciled (the previous person worked for four months and completed four months of accounts. The person before that worked for two months and completed one month of accounts. The person before that worked for only one month but completely slacked off).

5. Northern-region store-counter supervisor = on standby almost 24 hours a day, more tedious and troublesome than general affairs (the previous person left because the sign at a newly opened store fell down, and the CEO became furious when he learned about it).

Conclusion: Very suitable for people who want to “work off their bad karma.” If possible, please post this on PPT for publicity. I won’t say anything about those who see it before going to an interview; that way, more people can see it.

To prevent the next person who is desperate, innocent, and capable from becoming a victim. Thank you.

If more people want to know what happened afterward, please leave a comment. I’ll expose more of the company’s “dark side.”