Fact
Mercuries F&B applies for an IPO
https://www.ctee.com.tw/news/20230317700218-430503
Shared by a PTT user; not an attempt to whitewash
https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Salary/M.1471935379.A.8F5.html
4 Signs to Watch for in an Interviewing Company: Consulting Firm CEO Advises, “Let It Go”
CommonWealth Magazine
2024.05.24
3,570 views
Every job seeker hopes to be treated kindly during an interview. Ryan, founder and CEO of Human Workplace, pointed out in Forbes that job seekers will inevitably encounter recruiting companies that act superior, judging candidates with an attitude of, “I can decide whether to hire you—you’re nothing.” If you encounter any of the following four situations, bravely skip the interview with that company. A company that disrespects you during the recruitment stage is even less likely to treat you well after hiring you.
By Chang Yung-ching — reprinted with permission from CommonWealth Magazine
Bei, who was looking for a job, received an interview invitation from a company saying it wanted to meet with her. At first, the company notified her that the interview would be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, but later changed it to 11 a.m. on Thursday. Although Bei was between jobs and had plenty of free time, she was still curious: shouldn’t recruiters first ask when it would be convenient for her? And with interview times being changed again and again, can everyone really accommodate them?
Every job seeker hopes to be treated kindly during an interview. Ryan, founder and CEO of Human Workplace, wrote in the American financial magazine Forbes that job seekers will inevitably encounter recruiting companies that act superior, judging candidates with an attitude of, “I can decide whether to hire you—you’re nothing.”
Ryan said this attitude is frightening and also an insult. Responding to Bei’s question, she said that if a company genuinely wants to recruit talent, it should indeed ask, “What time would work for the candidate for an interview?”
Ryan also said that many companies are extremely polite and courteous when they first contact job seekers to invite them to an interview, but once the interview stage arrives, they display an arrogant and rude attitude.
She said it is like a black hole for interview invitations. At first, the recruiter—or the person who calls you—makes you feel valued and special. But once you agree to proceed with the interview, the recruiting company’s attitude makes a complete 180-degree turn.
Ryan advises that if you encounter this situation, bravely skip the interview with that company. A company that does not respect you during the recruitment stage probably will not treat you well even if it eventually hires you.
Ryan also said that job seekers should skip the interview if they encounter any of the following four situations.
1. The recruiting company does not take you seriously
Ryan said that one example is when a recruiter does not first ask when it is convenient for the job seeker to interview, or keeps changing the time after it has been arranged.
2. If you feel bullied or threatened, run for the hills
Some internet users have said that during interviews they were asked to provide details of their past and current salary, or even to submit written documentation proving their previous earnings, with the company threatening severe punishment or legal action if they had misreported anything.
In fact, recruiters have generally already set a salary range when searching for candidates, and companies should also be capable of calculating how much value your work can create. Therefore, you can focus on the salary you believe you can obtain now and work to persuade the recruiter why you are worth that amount.
Ryan advises that if you have already made your position clear but the company still uses threatening language to pressure you into complying and doing what the boss wants, cross that company off your list of targets.
3. You research the company and discover it has a terrible reputation—run
If you visit forums or job-bank websites and find that other “people who have been there” have nothing but complaints about the company where you are about to interview, with no positive reviews at all, run. (Further reading: You received an interview invitation, but the company has poor online reviews. Should you go? | Career Clinic)
4. If your emails or calls never receive a response…
If you have questions for the company where you are about to interview, but your emails and phone calls disappear into a void, you may also consider canceling the interview outright. Ryan said that if a recruiting company truly values you and your questions, it will respond actively.
4 Signs to Watch for in an Interviewing Company: Consulting Firm CEO Advises, “Let It Go”
CommonWealth Magazine
2024.05.24
3,570 views
Every job seeker hopes to be treated kindly during an interview. Ryan, founder and CEO of Human Workplace, pointed out in Forbes that job seekers will inevitably encounter recruiting companies that act superior, judging candidates with an attitude of, “I can decide whether to hire you—you’re nothing.” If you encounter any of the following four situations, bravely skip the interview with that company. A company that disrespects you during the recruitment stage is even less likely to treat you well after hiring you.
By Chang Yung-ching — reprinted with permission from CommonWealth Magazine
Bei, who was looking for a job, received an interview invitation from a company saying it wanted to meet with her. At first, the company notified her that the interview would be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, but later changed it to 11 a.m. on Thursday. Although Bei was between jobs and had plenty of free time, she was still curious: shouldn’t recruiters first ask when it would be convenient for her? And with interview times being changed again and again, can everyone really accommodate them?
Every job seeker hopes to be treated kindly during an interview. Ryan, founder and CEO of Human Workplace, wrote in the American financial magazine Forbes that job seekers will inevitably encounter recruiting companies that act superior, judging candidates with an attitude of, “I can decide whether to hire you—you’re nothing.”
Ryan said this attitude is frightening and also an insult. Responding to Bei’s question, she said that if a company genuinely wants to recruit talent, it should indeed ask, “What time would work for the candidate for an interview?”
Ryan also said that many companies are extremely polite and courteous when they first contact job seekers to invite them to an interview, but once the interview stage arrives, they display an arrogant and rude attitude.
She said it is like a black hole for interview invitations. At first, the recruiter—or the person who calls you—makes you feel valued and special. But once you agree to proceed with the interview, the recruiting company’s attitude makes a complete 180-degree turn.
Ryan advises that if you encounter this situation, bravely skip the interview with that company. A company that does not respect you during the recruitment stage probably will not treat you well even if it eventually hires you.
Ryan also said that job seekers should skip the interview if they encounter any of the following four situations.
1. The recruiting company does not take you seriously
Ryan said that one example is when a recruiter does not first ask when it is convenient for the job seeker to interview, or keeps changing the time after it has been arranged.
2. If you feel bullied or threatened, run for the hills
Some internet users have said that during interviews they were asked to provide details of their past and current salary, or even to submit written documentation proving their previous earnings, with the company threatening severe punishment or legal action if they had misreported anything.
In fact, recruiters have generally already set a salary range when searching for candidates, and companies should also be capable of calculating how much value your work can create. Therefore, you can focus on the salary you believe you can obtain now and work to persuade the recruiter why you are worth that amount.
Ryan advises that if you have already made your position clear but the company still uses threatening language to pressure you into complying and doing what the boss wants, cross that company off your list of targets.
3. You research the company and discover it has a terrible reputation—run
If you visit forums or job-bank websites and find that other “people who have been there” have nothing but complaints about the company where you are about to interview, with no positive reviews at all, run. (Further reading: You received an interview invitation, but the company has poor online reviews. Should you go? | Career Clinic)
4. If your emails or calls never receive a response…
If you have questions for the company where you are about to interview, but your emails and phone calls disappear into a void, you may also consider canceling the interview outright. Ryan said that if a recruiting company truly values you and your questions, it will respond actively.
Mercuries Life Insurance made a profit of NT$3.06 billion in the first quarter, with a net worth ratio of 3.24%, returning to the statutory standard.
https://www.businessyee.com/article/3657-Mercuries%EF%BC%8Dlife-insurance-Q1-result
Mercuries Furniture has never been profitable.
Samsan (2905) investment holdings. Click the link to view the annual report of Sanshang Meifu; compared with the other subsidiaries, the figures are negative.
https://fubon-ebrokerdj.fbs.com.tw/z/zc/zcg/zcg_2905.djhtm
Samsan (2905) investment holdings. Click the link to view the annual report of Sanshang Meifu; compared with the other subsidiaries, the figures are negative.
https://fubon-ebrokerdj.fbs.com.tw/z/zc/zcg/zcg_2905.djhtm
3. Companies with a “professional manager governance” structure have the highest average salary levels, while companies with family characteristics have the lowest average salary levels.
Comparing the average annual salary per employee among companies with four types of control structures, companies with a “professional manager governance” structure have the highest average salary levels, approximately NT$1.2 million to NT$1.5 million; companies with a “state-owned capital-led” structure rank second, at approximately NT$1 million to NT$1.3 million. Companies with family characteristics have the lowest average salary levels: companies with a “single-family-led” structure have average salary levels of approximately NT$850,000 to NT$1.04 million, while companies with a “co-governed by two or more groups” structure have similarly average salary levels, approximately NT$870,000 to NT$1.05 million.
https://www.cheers.com.tw/talent/article.action?id=5102586
Family business cases
Case 1: Green Future Organics—long-term sexual harassment and exploitation of employees
https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Gossiping/M.1712649385.A.C60.html
Case 2: Maiqun Group
Husband owes NT$1.2 million in unpaid National Health Insurance premiums; sports equipment auctioned by court—Li Qianrong acknowledges her husband’s poor financial situation
https://news.tvbs.com.tw/local/1205348
Case 3: Xu Wei English
Xu Wei English branch sealed by court; owner finally speaks out: “I’m very surprised!” Court ruling revealed
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%BE%90%E8%96%87%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E5%88%86%E6%A0%A1%E9%81%AD%E6%9F%A5%E5%B0%81-%E6%9C%AC%E5%B0%8A%E4%B8%8D%E5%BF%8D%E9%96%8B%E8%85%94-%E6%88%91%E5%BE%88%E6%84%8F%E5%A4%96-%E6%B3%95%E9%99%A2%E5%88%A4%E6%B1%BA%E6%9B%9D%E5%85%89-085003995.html
Li Jinliang says, “I’m also a victim!” Bought illegal rhinoplasty materials from Xu Wei’s husband; sentenced to four months
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E6%9D%8E%E9%80%B2%E8%89%AF%E5%96%8A-%E6%88%91%E4%B9%9F%E6%98%AF%E5%8F%97%E5%AE%B3%E4%BA%BA-%E5%90%91%E5%BE%90%E8%96%87%E8%80%81%E5%85%AC%E8%B2%B7%E9%81%95%E6%B3%95%E9%9A%86%E9%BC%BB%E7%B7%9A%E6%9D%90-%E5%88%A4%E5%88%914%E5%80%8B%E6%9C%88-092252065.html
Xu Wei’s Hsinchu branch sealed by court! Executive director also asked employees to “front more than NT$1.7 million”; court ruling revealed
https://www.setn.com/m/ampnews.aspx?NewsID=1320604
San Shang Food's revenue is expected to increase by 15% this year
https://www.google.com/amp/s/money.udn.com/money/amp/story/11074/7741466
68% of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace; the proportion is highest in traditional and manufacturing industries
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/6%E6%88%908%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E9%81%87%E9%81%8E%E8%81%B7%E5%A0%B4%E6%80%A7%E9%A8%B7%E6%93%BE-%E5%82%B3%E7%94%A2-%E8%A3%BD%E9%80%A0%E6%A5%AD%E6%AF%94%E4%BE%8B%E6%9C%80%E9%AB%98-031124558.html
https://www.dcard.tw/f/job/p/241612000
This is currently my third job, and I’ve been here for a year.
My first two jobs were also in the chemical industry.
I’ve actually never really understood why middle-aged men in traditional industries (around 40 to 50 years old)
seem to be unfriendly toward young people.
Here are some things I’ve experienced:
1. They care that young employees earn more than they do when they join the company (but I’m an engineer, while some of the people who resent this only graduated from a technical college or a private university of science and technology).
The company’s salary system was followed, but they deliberately kept making things difficult for new employees
or slandering them behind their backs.
2. The senior-junior system:
They clearly don’t really want to teach, but seem to think that young people must help them with their work—even when it isn’t part of their job responsibilities.
3. Minor mistakes can be endlessly magnified and replayed.
New employees will inevitably make mistakes, but even minor ones get blown out of proportion, as if new employees are all careless.
But when those older employees make mistakes themselves, they keep quiet and never reflect on their own behavior.
4. They like to act one way in front of people and another behind their backs:
Some appear very enthusiastic about helping new employees on the surface,
but criticize and badmouth them everywhere behind their backs (?).
After working at three traditional-industry companies, I really feel that they can’t retain young people.
Part of the problem isn’t even salary;
it’s the people.
The worst part is feeling like you’re working with a group of giant babies.
At best, you just stay out of it ⋯
Traditional industry
Older employees
Young people
Work
Download Dcard to read shared experiences before changing jobs.
Everyone discusses things here.
#YearEndBonusSharing #PostHolidayJobChange #InterviewTips
A company asks employees to “do morning exercises and clean the environment”? The internet is enthusiastically nodding: “These 2 types of companies are extremely common.” People also revealed an “absurd workplace culture”: Serving tea on your knees still isn’t the craziest thing.
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E8%A6%81%E5%93%A1%E5%B7%A5-%E8%B7%B3%E6%97%A9%E6%93%8D-%E6%89%93%E6%8E%83%E7%92%B0%E5%A2%83-%E7%B6%B2%E7%8B%82%E9%BB%9E%E9%A0%AD-%E9%80%992%E9%A1%9E%E4%BC%81%E6%A5%AD%E8%B6%85%E5%B8%B8%E8%A6%8B-035658163.html
I’m 27 years old this year and have been working in semiconductor industrial piping (stainless-steel welding) for two years. In other words, I work for a TSMC subcontractor on plant construction projects.
My current position is foreman, but I’m actually not very interested in welding. After doing it for two years, I find it really tiring and boring.
I’m just about to enter the next stage of my life, and my family circumstances also allow me to pursue my dreams.
My dream is to learn residential interior renovation—the more high-end, the better.
However, after going through a series of interviews, I’ve learned that system cabinetry seems to be doing quite well too.
So I’d like to ask all the experienced people here:
1. Are high-end luxury residences mainly done with custom woodworking, or do they mostly use system cabinets?
I hope someone in the industry can answer this. This is the direction I want to work toward in the future.
I’ve applied to some system-cabinet jobs that involve installation only, with no woodworking (which seems to be the more budget-oriented type), and the going salary is low.
However, there is also one company that makes high-end system cabinets. The owner said that some of the work would involve woodworking, and the going salary is higher.
But I still don’t really understand:
2. What exactly does the “woodworking” part of system cabinets refer to?
Or are system furniture and system cabinets different things after all? I heard the owner repeatedly emphasize that it was “system furniture.”
3. Are the prospects for woodworking good? I’ve often heard that system cabinets are gradually replacing traditional woodworking (because of formaldehyde, cost, and time).
I previously watched some basic introductions on YouTube, and it seems that certain intricate designs still have to be completed through custom woodworking.
Otherwise, I really want to learn woodworking, especially for high-end residences. I’m worried that it will be difficult to get through the early stage and that the market conditions won’t be good later on. That would be a huge loss of time and effort.
I hope someone in the industry can give me some guidance. Thank you very much, everyone.
https://forum.gamer.com.tw/C.php?bsn=60561&snA=17868
I’m not a custom woodworker or a system-cabinet installer, but rather a design company that mainly takes on construction projects.
Based on your questions, I’ll give you some brief answers for reference.
1. High-end luxury residences are all done with custom woodworking, such as applying real-wood veneer, using solid-wood flooring, or, in top-level luxury residences, even using whole pieces of solid wood for laser engraving. In other words, you won’t see any system cabinets.
2. The biggest difference between system furniture and custom woodworking is that the materials are completely different. Any project with even a modest level of quality will not use system furniture.
System furniture only appears in commercial spaces with insufficient budgets, small home-renovation projects with insufficient budgets, or projects involving unscrupulous designers.
3. It’s difficult to say whether the prospects for woodworking are good. However, as for the claim that system furniture will replace custom-made wooden furniture, that is basically very unlikely. The materials’ durability, among other things, is on a completely different level. As long as the project has a high budget, system cabinets will not appear. At most, you might see system kitchen cabinets—the kind where a single kitchen setup costs over a million.
The experience required of system-furniture and woodworking craftsmen is different. Woodworking requires more experience, and the range of work is also more varied.
For example:
A system-furniture worker only makes furniture. When a woodworking craftsman arrives at a job site, they don’t only make wooden furniture. Someone who only makes furniture isn’t considered a craftsman in the woodworking trade.
Woodworking requires work such as sliding doors, fabric-upholstered base panels, layout and marking, veneering, and various other tasks. Therefore, among all the trades on a job site, carpenters have the highest wages.
Family-owned business
The issue of low wages for domestic workers has recently sparked considerable discussion. The causes identified in these discussions include the ineffective transformation of Taiwan’s industrial structure, companies operating through price-cutting competition by suppressing labor costs, generally low salaries in the service industry, the devaluation of academic credentials due to an oversupply of graduates, employees’ insufficient bargaining power over wages, and the anchoring effect of the NT$22,000 wage level.
While most discussions focus on industrial structure and labor-market factors, some market observers examine the causes of Taiwan’s low wages from the perspective of popular sentiment and culture. Many Taiwanese businesses are family-owned. As a result, they may lack sufficient capital to pay high salaries; moreover, when designing compensation plans, some family businesses may be more inclined to consider the interests of family members, leading to relatively lower salaries for other employees. Public opinion has also criticized Taiwanese business owners for being stingy with pay, treating employees more as “hired hands” than “partners,” being less willing to provide sufficient training or help employees grow, and feeling even less need to offer higher salaries. These values mainly stem from Taiwan’s long-standing culture of careful budgeting, particularly among family-run businesses.
For example, market observer Chen Zhendong noted that in Taiwanese family businesses, family members often occupy senior management positions. In particular, executives at Taiwan-listed companies are frequently major shareholders: they pay themselves high salaries and arrange for family members and relatives to serve as executives and receive high pay. To remain accountable to shareholders, however, they must suppress entry-level wages to maintain profit levels. He therefore believes that executives’ self-interest causes an unequal distribution of wages and is one reason why wages for Taiwan’s grassroots workers are low.
For another example, according to the “Table of Economic Growth Rates and Factor Income Shares of Gross Domestic Product over the Years” published by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the share of GDP accounted for by compensation of employees in Taiwan fell from over 50% in 1992 to 44.9% in 2020 over the past 25 years. During the same period, the share of GDP accounted for by operating surplus rose from 30% to 34%, indicating that corporate profits have not flowed into employee wages. In response, media worker Peng Xingzhu pointed out that business owners profit but are unwilling to share generously; the money all ends up in the pockets of business owners and major shareholders, making Taiwan’s wealth distribution even more unequal!
1. Due to extreme cost-cutting, employees have to handle many tasks themselves. You can build a solid foundation here, but the work is extremely demanding.
1. The company's policies change overnight, sometimes seemingly just for the sake of change, leaving frontline staff at a loss.
2. Salaries and bonus policies are changed arbitrarily without discussion or seeking employees' opinions, which is extremely disrespectful to employees.
3. The systems are outdated and very user-unfriendly, and there is no willingness to optimize or change them.
4. Recently, this company needs to recognize that it is a sales-oriented business and should not have so many design principles and personal opinions.
・The company has never made a profit
・The management is mediocre because the boss himself lacks quality and can only play office politics with people who are even worse than him
・Four days off per month; retail store position
・Disposable/perpetual job opening
·High turnover
Does “the security guards are very friendly” count?
1 Only able to do things according to the boss’s ideas
2 The heads of every department love passing the buck
3 Quite a few long-serving employees have rotated through every department and then become managers
4 Cross-departmental communication is very troublesome. As mentioned above, all the department heads love passing the buck
5 There are too many group chats, and communication is inefficient
6 The product purchasing unit seems to function like the accounting department, spending all day settling accounts
7 Meetings end without conclusions, or produce a new conclusion that overturns everything
8 When there is a new plan to implement, everyone appears extremely supportive; they just hope they won’t be the unlucky one
9 The system has long been complained about as difficult to use, yet they are unwilling to endure the transition period to replace it with an interface everyone can understand
10 Overtime is the norm, and receiving messages from the boss on holidays is also the norm
Refund for furniture purchase takes over a month to be credited
2004/08/10
【Reported by Chen Hsiu-chih／Taipei】“It has been a month since the refund was processed, but it still hasn’t been credited. This is outrageous!” Ms. Chen complained that on February 28 this year, she purchased NT$600,000 worth of furniture from the MFI San Shang Mei Fu Furniture Taipei Heping store. That day, she paid NT$210,000 by credit card as a deposit. She made the remaining payment in March, but the two parties later terminated the contract for an unspecified reason. On June 19, the deposit of more than NT$215,000 was refunded to the original card. She said, “I thought MFI would return the money to the bank that day or the next day. I never expected that I would wait a month and still not see it credited.”
Ms. Chen said angrily that she had called MFI’s headquarters several times, but the issue was never resolved. The company told her that it simply took that long. “MFI is deliberately making it difficult for consumers to obtain refunds.”
Holding her order form and refund form, Ms. Chen said that MFI’s refunds take a month and a half, and that she had not been informed of this in advance.
Suspected failure to disclose return timeline
A reporter called MFI customer service in Ms. Chen’s name. A customer service representative said that MFI’s procedure requires the store to return the goods to headquarters before the consumer can be refunded, and that the process normally takes a month and a half. The case was currently being handled.
MFI headquarters said that refunds for individual items can be issued within a week. However, because Ms. Chen purchased a large quantity of furniture and some materials had already been prepared, MFI’s return procedure requires the goods to be returned by the store to headquarters. After confirming that everything is in order, the finance department then contacts the bank to process the refund. The process usually takes four to six weeks. MFI requires all store managers to inform consumers of this when processing returns. The manager of the Heping store may have failed to inform the consumer of the return timeline and also apologized to the consumer.
Refund should be issued on the day of contract termination
However, Ms. Chen said that the store manager had not informed her in advance that the return would take a month and a half. She questioned whether MFI’s refund procedure disregarded consumers’ rights and said that, since she had already paid in March, it was unreasonable to make her wait another month and a half for a refund. She would complain to the consumer protection authority and demand compensation for the loss of interest.
Wu Cheng-hsueh, a consumer ombudsman with the Consumer Protection Commission of the Executive Yuan, said that when both parties agree to terminate a contract, the refund should be issued within a reasonable period. In this case, since Ms. Chen had already made the payment in March, MFI should have immediately refunded the money on the day the contract was terminated. Unless MFI had obtained Ms. Chen’s consent to issue the refund a month and a half later, Ms. Chen could claim that MFI had delayed payment and must compensate her for the loss of interest.
Case No.: C04072801
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1. For salary, please refer to:
mobile01>【System Furniture Industry】Shang Shang Group’s S³MART and SANTAROSA floating salary and bonus system
2. For training and career development, please refer to:
mobile01>Recruiting new blood is a huge scam! Does a S³MART system cabinet salesperson become an interior designer?
The HR manager was extremely disrespectful toward the candidate during the interview.
Not reviewing the résumé beforehand would have been bad enough, but she could not even understand the candidate’s clear and well-organized explanation. The interview itself was empty (doesn’t she need to understand the brands her own company represents?), she made the candidate wait for a long time, wanted to cut the salary before she could even explain the job duties, kept probing into the candidate’s private life (whether someone else has a partner is none of your damn business!), loved putting random labels on people, and deliberately smeared young candidates with good qualifications (if your own qualifications are poor, why don’t you reflect on yourself first?).
She kept bringing up San Shang Group at every turn—is San Shang Group your family’s company?
A company that disrespects you during the interview will mistreat you later
By Hong Xuezhen
Acting superior
They think that, because the company is big enough, they have the right to be extremely selective. The way they speak makes people uncomfortable: “There are too many applicants who want to join our company, so we have to take our time and choose carefully.”
Being one or two hours or more late
It is common to be kept waiting for one or two hours. Applying to interview with two supervisors often takes an entire day. What is hard to understand is: “How could they schedule an interview and a meeting on the same day? Isn’t it obvious that the times would clash?”
Failing to prepare
Companies expect candidates to prepare for interviews, but when conducting interviews themselves, many have not read the résumé or autobiography, do not understand the applicant’s background or experience, and instead read the résumé while conducting the interview.
Putting random labels on people
The most common criticism directed at candidates concerns their stability and ability to handle pressure: “You have changed jobs twice in three years. That indicates a very unstable work personality, and we are concerned that you have a low tolerance for pressure.”
Changing the job duties repeatedly
When companies post job openings, they often package them with attractive wording without clearly explaining the duties. Only after bringing people in for interviews do they reveal a little more; after starting work, however, candidates discover that the job is completely different from what was described.
Vague compensation
During interviews, companies ask about everything, even the candidate’s ancestors, but when asked about compensation, they gloss over it, remain vague, or describe a compensation structure so complicated that no one can understand it at all.
Asking about matters unrelated to the job
Many companies worry about hiring the wrong person and use all kinds of indirect probing to dig into every detail—even asking whether the candidate has a boyfriend, where he works, and how much he earns. That is completely out of line!
During interviews, companies should uphold the first and most important principle: show respect. Next, please do not pry into people’s private lives. Finally, be prepared, so candidates feel valued and have a positive experience, and so they leave with a good impression of the company.
San Shang Group—San Shang Enterprise and the UK’s MFI officially signed an agreement to establish the joint venture San Shang M.F. Furniture
1. Date of occurrence: 2001/02/21
2. Counterparty to the contract: MFI plc, UK
3. Relationship with the company: None
4. Contract start and end dates (or termination date): 2001/02/21
5. Main contents (not applicable to terminations): San Shang M.F. Furniture was officially established today (February 21) after San Shang Enterprise Chairman Chen Ho-Tung and MFI Group President Mr. John Hancock signed the agreement. The joint venture will enter Taiwan’s kitchen and bedroom furniture markets.
According to MFI President Mr. John Hancock, this is the company’s first overseas joint venture. Previously, the company’s overseas plans involved establishing furniture chains through licensing and franchising. This joint investment project in Taiwan with San Shang is intended primarily to leverage San Shang Enterprise’s decades of experience in Taiwan’s retail chain channels and to develop the Far Eastern market more deeply. Because MFI and San Shang are both optimistic about Taiwan’s strong consumer potential and the rapid improvement in the quality of home living, the two parties conducted long-term development assessments, market research, and marketing planning before finally settling on this cooperation project.
San Shang Enterprise stated that MFI is the UK’s largest furniture company, with integrated operations ranging from upstream production and manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing to downstream chain stores. Its products include kitchenware, furniture, and bedding. The joint venture, San Shang M.F., will primarily introduce kitchen and bedroom furniture. For various related kitchen fittings and accessories, it will seek Taiwanese suppliers as cooperative sales partners to provide consumers with comprehensive kitchen design, delivery, and installation services.
6. Restrictive provisions (not applicable to terminations): None
7. Expected impact on the company’s production and sales volume, operating revenue, and profit or loss (not applicable to terminations): San Shang indicated that domestic consumer demand for European-style kitchen furniture has continued to grow rapidly year after year. This year, San Shang M.F. will open four chain stores in the Greater Taipei metropolitan area and will then gradually expand to other regions. It is expected to begin generating profits after three years.
8. Specific purpose (not applicable to terminations): As stated in the preceding item
9. Other matters to be disclosed: The new company’s capital is NT$200 million: San Shang contributes NT$10 million, its affiliate Family Shoes contributes NT$90 million, and the UK’s MFI contributes NT$100 million.
Selling door panels, hardware, and system cabinets is worlds apart from working as an interior designer—so why do you keep lying?
Applied-for position: Designer/Sales
Employees are routinely required to work excessive overtime, and the job responsibilities cover just about everything.
There is no year-end bonus, which would be bad enough, but even the base salary is variable. Not only is there no overtime pay, but if you fail to sell system cabinets worth NT$420,000 in a month, your bonus is immediately cut in half to just 1%. This is an absolutely exploitative employer.
The store manager at the branch where I worked was also terrible and had no idea how to lead the people beneath them. They only treated employees as punching bags, verbally abusing them at will. The atmosphere at the branch was poor, and colleagues did not get along.
At the beginning of the interview, they did not explain things clearly. They said the position could be an interior designer, but I felt it absolutely was not—it was a system-cabinet sales position. The monthly sales pressure was very high. Management would constantly tell you to persuade customers not to do renovations or carpentry, but to install system cabinets instead, because the company’s main profit comes from selling cabinets. Even if you stayed for N years, you would never become an interior designer, because 美福 teaches Btocad and a simplified version of 圓方 designed specifically for 美福. You just casually place the modules around and the drawing is finished. I felt that this was a real waste of my time, and I learned nothing of value. The only thing I learned was how to handle a huge amount of complicated paperwork. Why does a walk-in customer have to have their personal information registered in four or five different places? Do they think everyone has endless time? Every day, time is wasted on piles of strange and complicated paperwork and writing all kinds of meaningless reports. The managers and senior employees have extremely old-fashioned ideas and attitudes that feel somewhat out of touch with the current era. What employee could put up with that? Competitive employees simply cannot stay there.
Please stop claiming that you are cultivating interior designers. You are absolutely not! The trainers are not, the store managers are not, the supervisors are not, and the sales staff are not professional interior-design talent either.
You cannot put together the length, width, and height of 3D cabinets, arrange them, drop a ready-made ceiling into the software, and then claim to be an interior designer. Please stop locking yourselves away and brainwashing one another. Look at the outside world and understand what a real interior-design company is........
I hope my honest work experience will help job seekers.
However, if you want to become a system-cabinet salesperson, I think working here can be helpful during the initial stage.
Not an interior design company; it mainly sells system cabinets.
The training staff did not graduate from a conventional interior design program; their education is at the junior-high or vocational college level, and they have no certifications.
The head of the Human Resources Department also did not graduate from a conventional human resources or related program; their education is at the vocational college level, and they have no certifications.
The starting salary for an office administrative assistant is NT$25,000–30,000 (after 2–3 years, considered senior).
The salary for a foreign trade assistant is NT$35,000; a vocational college education is sufficient.
The three annual holiday bonuses are NT$500 convenience-store vouchers; there is no profit sharing, performance bonus, or year-end bonus because the company has not made a profit for a long time and is living off its accumulated capital.
Bad companies do not need to improve, because everyone only wants to join good companies.
San Shang Holdings is one of Taiwan’s major local companies. Judging from its operating performance in 2016, “Simple Mart,” “Mister Donut,” and “FamilyMart” were its promising businesses. In addition, “Sanyou Cosmetics,” a joint venture established by San Shang Trading and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, also delivered commendable performance.
By contrast, San Shang Mi Fu’s operating performance was poor. Whether compared with San Shang Trading’s other business groups or with Taiwan’s chain brands Sealy and Taiwan ODE Furniture, the only four words that can describe it are “an absolute disaster.” With poor management, how could the company offer good salaries, bonus systems, and comprehensive benefits? Its biggest advantages are its low interview threshold, high hiring rate, and high turnover rate, making it suitable for people reentering the workforce or middle-aged unemployed people.
【Commercial Times】San Shang’s promising business, Simple Mart, to be spun off as an independent company, San Shang Home Shopping
https://ctee.com.tw/mobile/ViewCateNews.aspx?cateid=cedt&newsid=155872
【Liberty Times】San Shang Trading steps on the gas, aiming to double the number of Tomod’s drugstores and revenue
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/business/breakingnews/2001954
【Apple Daily】MFI’s British operator withdraws; San Shang Trading takes over
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/appledaily/article/finance/20060310/2457105/
Both the “essence” and the “conditions” are poor. Nothing you do will be effective, and you will never even see the taillights of outstanding companies.
The company’s environment is really good; unfortunately, the people are the problem.
At a certain branch in southern Taiwan, the store manager will require you to work with a particular renovation contractor (one personally brought in by the manager), but the prices are especially high. Anyone with a discerning eye should understand the reason. If you don’t cooperate, you’ll be made things difficult for until you resign.
Working here will turn you into an exceptionally capable administrative operations expert and train your EQ.
I briefly worked at one of the stores in Hsinchu.
The relationships and atmosphere throughout the store were extremely poor, with constant infighting and intrigue.
There was a severe seniority system.
Even if senior colleagues made snide remarks at you, you had to endure it.
Every day at work was nerve-racking. The store manager would make unreasonable demands and verbally berate you over all sorts of trivial matters.
As the person being bullied and assigned the grunt work, you had to do all kinds of miscellaneous tasks: buying lunch and dinner boxed meals, taking out the trash, serving as the senior employees’ driver, scrubbing toilets, wiping the store’s front door, and so on. There was an overwhelming amount of work.
If you refused, you could expect all kinds of verbal abuse from the store manager and senior colleagues.
Moreover, if you had any work-related questions, you had to ask humbly—almost beg—to receive guidance and assistance from the store manager and senior colleagues.
During working hours, you handled all kinds of errands like a gofer.
You could only start handling official work after getting off at 9 p.m.
If you want to experience military life, you can come work here.
Mainly sales for custom system cabinets.
If you fail to meet the performance target for three consecutive months, they will use various humiliating methods to drive you out, but they will not officially lay you off.
You only receive a bonus when your sales exceed 400,000, and this includes tax, meaning you need sales of at least 420,000 to receive the bonus. Even then, the bonus is only 2%; if you do not reach 420,000, you receive only a 1% bonus. There is a quarterly bonus, but you must achieve sales of at least 1.2 million. There is no year-end bonus.
They say one thing during the interview, but the actual job duties and compensation are another.
Think carefully before joining this company.
The female store manager surnamed Wu, whose name begins with L (called “Ludan” in Taiwanese), makes working with her truly painful and mentally and physically exhausting.
100% of what she says consists of making sarcastic remarks about employees and praising herself. She frequently takes out her emotions on employees, becoming enraged over even the most trivial matters and shouting at them all day long. Her temper and self-discipline are exceptionally poor; no wonder she can never retain employees.
1. The lunch break has some flexibility, and regular working hours are possible.
2. You can watch celebrity performances at the year-end banquet.
3. There is an annual bonus; the monthly salary is average.
4. Suitable for those planning for retirement and seeking stability.
1. There is a lack of integrity: what is said in the interview differs from what happens after being hired. Be cautious about any conversations during the interview, especially regarding salary. It is best to have written documentation; only after formally starting work will you have a basis for protecting your rights and interests.
2. A traditional exhibition-industry business with a large structure but little actual flexibility; it is conservative and stagnant, and the management is corrupt.
3. Internal communication is fragmented, and policies change from morning to evening.
4. Not suitable for those with passion and ambition.