The business trip for product inspection: Workplace experience and interesting stories
In the workplace, going on business trips for product inspections is a common task. I was fortunate enough to accompany the experienced Brother L on a business trip for three consecutive days. During these three days, I learned a lot of product inspection skills and ways of dealing with things in the workplace from him. The trip to Nanhai on the fourth day even made me experience a product inspection process full of challenges and reflections.
Inspection Storm of Baby Strollers in the South China Sea
That day, we went to Nanhai to inspect a type of children's stroller. This children's stroller is not for children to sit in but is designed as a toy for children to play with. Moreover, it is ingeniously designed and can be folded. When unfolded, it becomes a small and lovely stroller. After arriving in Nanhai, the factory driver warmly picked us up and took us to the factory, and arranged a QC supervisor to accompany us in the inspection work.
The order volume of this batch of children's bicycles is quite large, up to more than 200,000 units, and it will at least fill ten high - cube containers. Brother L has inspected the goods at the factory once during the production process. This time, we are conducting the second and final inspection. We follow the process and carefully carry out operations such as counting, random box selection, and goods inspection. Generally speaking, the workmanship of the products is quite good. The main materials are plastic parts and fabrics, and the sewing process of the fabrics is also relatively delicate.
Since this is a toy product, we conducted a decolorization (fading) test on the fabric. The test method is to soak the fabric from the product in warm water at 40 degrees Celsius for two hours. If there is no fading phenomenon, it is judged as qualified. However, an unexpected situation occurred. Less than half an hour after the red fabric was put into the warm water, the water turned red and half of the color of the fabric faded. This situation left the factory's QC supervisor stunned. He immediately invited the factory owner over. The two of them randomly checked several more products and soaked the fabric in cold water for testing. The result was still not ideal. In less than half an hour, the water turned red again. The factory owner was also shocked and quickly asked the QC supervisor to go to the purchasing department to find out the source of the fabric.
The factory owner anxiously asked Brother L about the solution for this batch of goods. Brother L clearly stated that according to the test results, this batch of goods was unqualified. He suggested that the factory owner communicate with our Hong Kong business for a solution. At this time, the factory was filled to the brim with the goods in ten containers, and the aisles were also full. If this batch of goods couldn't be shipped out, the factory owner would really be on the verge of tears.
Brother L quickly finished writing the inspection report, and I also signed it. The report clearly stated that the fabric fading test had failed, and the overall conclusion was PENDING. After the factory signed the report, Brother L faxed it back to the company and then called the salespeople in Guangzhou and Hong Kong respectively. The Hong Kong salesperson was like a chatterbox, constantly communicating with Brother L and the factory owner on the phone and having repeated discussions. It could be seen from the factory owner's face that he was very anxious and helpless. However, the company did not ask the factory owner to write a letter of guarantee. We didn't leave the factory until more than half an hour later.
On the coach back to Guangzhou, Brother L analyzed that as this batch of goods was for promotional gifts, the company would most likely make concessions and accept them, but might ask the factory to reduce the price or downgrade the goods, that is, offer a discount on the original price. The Hong Kong business didn't immediately inform the factory of the inspection result. Perhaps this was the company's strategy. On the one hand, they needed to communicate with the customers; on the other hand, they also wanted to buy some time and let the factory voluntarily offer to sell the goods at a discounted price. I benefited a lot from Brother L's analysis. He always teaches me some practical things at work.
Interesting anecdotes in the company's life
We didn't go on business trips in the next two days. At lunchtime, the manager organized everyone to go to a restaurant to order food. There is a restaurant mainly catering to the office workers in the surrounding area. When a group of people go there for a meal and order four dishes, only the cost of the dishes is charged, and they can eat as much rice as they want. On average, each person only needs to spend about ten yuan. In the bustling downtown area of Guangzhou, this price is still reasonable. Excluding the employees on business trips, there were a total of IX people from the company going for the meal, and they ordered five dishes. Everyone chatted while eating, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.
It was my first time to go to this restaurant. My appetite increased greatly. I ate five small bowls of cooked rice by myself. Just as I was having my sixth bowl, looking at the five small bowls stacked on the table, I felt a great sense of achievement. The other colleagues were all full. They were waiting for me while drinking tea and even joked that I had a big appetite. A female waiter passing by saw the stacked rice bowls on my table and couldn't help bursting into laughter. Brother A joked that if ten people with an appetite like mine came to the restaurant every day, it would surely go bankrupt. Since then, all my colleagues in the company have known that I'm a "big eater".
Back at the company, Brother L took me to the sample room to rest. We lay on the leisure products and took a nap. Although the company doesn't have a clear regulation on the lunch break time, except for the manager, everyone will spontaneously go to the sample room to rest for half an hour. We inspectors have to rest for at least one hour. Around four o'clock in the afternoon, the company also provides afternoon tea, including drinks, pastries, fruits, etc. Everyone gets together to chat, and the day's work is coming to an end in a relaxed atmosphere.
Subsequent inspection experiences
After working in the company for two days, I went to Maoming with Brother L to inspect a type of placemat. It takes nearly five hours to get from Guangzhou to Maoming. We set off in the morning and didn't arrive until the afternoon. On the way to the factory, we had to take a taxi through some secluded places. Along the way, I saw farmers by the roadside using pesticide sprayers to spray the dried fish laid out on the ground. I couldn't help wondering whether these fish were for their own consumption or for sale.
Upon arriving at the factory, we began to inspect the goods. This type of placemat is relatively simple and has no obvious quality issues. However, after comparing the samples with the bulk goods, we found that there were some differences in color between the bulk goods and the samples, but the differences were not significant. The factory's person in charge said that the color should be the same as that of the bulk goods inspected last time. Brother L still judged the inspection result as PENDING and decided to take two sets of inspection samples back to the company for comparison with the previous inspection samples. It was already too late to inform the company of the inspection result that day. The factory warmly invited us to have a meal and sent us to the hotel.
The next day, when we returned to the company, we compared the colors of the inspection samples and found them to be exactly the same as the previous ones. During the meeting in the afternoon, problems from various departments were discussed. The manager asked Brother L if I could go on inspection trips independently. Brother L affirmed that I had rich experience and could handle it independently. The manager also mentioned the issue of inspection judgments, pointing out that for obvious results, we should directly judge FAIL or PASS instead of always judging as PENDING to avoid worrying the Hong Kong business. He also pointed out that Brother L had been writing PENDING a lot recently, but there was no intention of criticism. The atmosphere of the meeting was friendly, mainly to convey the instructions from Hong Kong and discuss problems in the work.
Inspect goods alone ("fly solo")
The day after the meeting ended, I started to go on a business trip alone to inspect the goods. The task this time was to go to Jiangmen to inspect a type of aluminum hammer, which is a tool used in the kitchen to pound meat. Since the order was placed with a state-owned foreign trade company in Guangdong, the company sent people and a vehicle to accompany me throughout the process. It took less than an hour and a half from Guangzhou to Jiangmen, and then we arrived at an unnamed factory. Walking into the workshop, I found that there were aluminum products everywhere, and there were also student workers helping out. In Jiangmen and Xinhui, factories have a characteristic of hiring student workers to work part-time during holidays.
During the inspection process, the salesperson of the state-owned foreign trade company always followed closely beside me. Maybe they were worried that I would obtain important information from the factory. I completed the inspection work in the morning and found that there were many problems with the products. For example, the handles were not straight, and the stamped characters were also unclear, which greatly exceeded the AQL (Acceptable Quality Level). I firmly judged it as FAIL. I immediately informed the company's sales department and faxed the inspection report. I took a few defective samples and quickly returned to the company by car.
After the manager looked at the samples I brought back, he affirmed my inspection ability, saying that the colleagues who went for the inspection last time didn't notice these problems. He also said that I could go on business trips alone from then on. Thus, I officially embarked on my "solo" career journey and was even more looking forward to accumulating more experience and growing in future work.