兆琪(上海)貿易有限公司惠州分公司

You might think you’ve joined a great women’s shoe brand—fashionable, progressive, appealing, and perhaps beloved by the media. Wrong!

This family-run company is absolutely unbelievable. The company got its start in the shoe business in China and only began trying to develop its business in Taiwan in recent years. They always say, “We sell very well in mainland China, Europe, the United States, and Japan, so how could we possibly fail in Taiwan?”

As a result, they simply moved their entire mainland marketing approach to Taiwan. The problem is that the public sentiment and consumer acceptance in the two places are completely different. This company only accepts its own ideas and refuses to face the needs of the Taiwanese market.

At the Taipei headquarters, there are more than ten people just in finance and administration, while the marketing department is pitifully understaffed, with only four people. Supervisors are usually constantly traveling between mainland China and Taiwan, so their presence is practically meaningless. Yet they love monitoring you through WeChat, QQ, and the company’s internet phone system! You have to report and send back information on everything, big or small, and can only proceed to the next step after getting their approval. The only thing missing is having to report when you go to the bathroom. It’s practically no different from the Communist Party.

Because it’s a family business, many senior positions are held by family members. Whenever you see them, you have to greet them respectfully. If you’re busy and fail to greet them, you may even be called into the office and reprimanded... Do they really think they’re kings and queens? This company is ridiculous. You’re completely tied up in everything you do, given no autonomy, yet still pressured to produce results—and there isn’t even a performance bonus. Even more absurdly, although you work in marketing administration, you’re required to take shifts at department-store sales counters simply because they can’t find sales staff! They even force you to work shifts on holidays. It’s completely outrageous.

Most of the coworkers are quite young. Perhaps because they lack experience, they are ordered around constantly, and they are even fine with frequently working overtime until midnight. The extent to which they are mistreated only encourages the company to push its limits further. In addition to events, there are also company worship and pilgrimage activities, and you’re expected to waste your weekends carrying them out for the company. Sometimes I really can’t figure out what this company is doing. Why don’t they just open a temple?

They also think they’re very high-class and that their brand is the absolute best! Yet when they carry out marketing, they reference the two major women’s shoe brands that originated from Taiwan’s online retail market. Whether it’s marketing or visual design, they love copying everything and refuse to admit it. Many of their shoe styles are also just like those of European and American luxury brands—they copy shamelessly.

There are actually many more shortcomings, but I can’t be bothered to list them all. If you love a challenge, you can join this company and experience it for yourself. It really is astonishing—you’ll get to see what an incredibly bizarre company looks like!

It is a company that cultivates talent.

In the end, all the talent is handed over to others.

Approximately 1–2 km from the shopping mall

The following comments are not intended as criticism, but are provided solely for the reference of job applicants (or new hires):

1. Long working hours: Evenings (6:00–7:30 p.m.) are not mentioned during the interview. Upon arrival in mainland China, you will be told that this is a “mandatory requirement,” forcing you to work before you are ready.

2. Accommodation: You live with people from mainland China, and it is very noisy. The room is damp and has an unpleasant odor. If you live on the first floor, you may constantly smell the miscellaneous odors from the courtyard garbage area (which is messy), and flies and mosquitoes are common. “Filtered drinking water” is not provided; you have to buy it yourself. Electricity use is restricted, and you will be charged for excess usage. There is access control for entering and leaving, and the security guards are very attentive in recording when and with whom you come and go. Your supervisor may remind you at any time not to get too close to certain people (or remind you to work more overtime and not just have fun)~

3. Food: You eat in the same restaurant as people from mainland China. Although the dishes are separated, they start repeating after three days. You eat on the first floor, while the mainland Chinese managers eat on the second floor and admire your three meals every day. During working hours, they may ask, “How was today’s fried chicken leg?” and conveniently remind you about the quality of the cooking oil...

4. Supervisors: Most are “family members” or “people close to them,” so... as for their professionalism or EQ/IQ... you can draw your own conclusions. If you are the type who is highly capable and action-oriented, you may find it difficult to adapt...

5. Company organization: It depends on which department you are in. A small number of the top-level executives are from Taiwan, while nine levels of middle management are from mainland China. You will have to assess the good and bad for yourself.

6. Salary: Relatively low (considering Guangzhou, mainland China, overall). If your salary is higher than expected, after two or three weeks you may be reminded that there is still plenty more you can do.

Especially when your supervisor is from mainland China....... Consider carefully....

7. Culture: In a five-person meeting, the boss may scold you at the conference table. The volume can reach 80 decibels, and everyone in the office can hear it clearly. Some people ask: Is this deliberate scolding of Taiwanese employees for the benefit of people from mainland China?~

8. Benefits: There is no such thing as a company car... Take a taxi yourself!

9. Laundry: The auntie charges a fee to do laundry. I don’t know whether the price has gone up—ask her yourself~

...............There is still much more that cannot be explained in detail. For those determined to report for work, I sincerely recommend that you first ask them for the “Management Regulations for Taiwanese Employees.” It is a very thick document, so read it carefully; otherwise, you may.... lose everything (if you do not pass the probationary period, they do not reimburse your airfare~).

Most of the points listed above have been recommended for improvement, but “painting a rosy picture” / “placating” / “passing the buck,” and they may even say, “You’re the only one with a problem; everyone else is fine”... there is no solution!

The above was shared after the events had already passed, so I do not know whether anything has improved..... It is provided solely for evaluation purposes.