Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Near the end of the year, everyone became very busy, and Lin Yao was no exception. She had a few orders to process and ship out before the Spring Festival. During this time, she kept rushing the shipments of products every day.
“Hello, Mr. Zhang? This is Xiao Lin from Lingyun Industry. The delivery date for the batch of rocker arms my company ordered is approaching. I’d like to know how long it will take to complete it.”
Mr. Zhang spoke Mandarin with a heavy local accent. “Miss Lin, the factory has been extremely busy recently, and everyone is in a hurry to ship, so, can I give you the answer this afternoon?”
Lin Yao readily agreed. “Of course, then I’ll call you again this afternoon! By the way, Chairman Zhang, what time would it be convenient to call you?”
“Uh…” Chairman Zhang paused and asked tentatively, “Four o’clock in the afternoon?”
Lin Yao quickly consented. “Okay, I’ll call you at four in the afternoon, and then you can confirm the earliest delivery time for us.”
Chairman Zhang hesitated for a moment before saying, “Yes, no problem.”
Lin Yao didn’t waste more time talking to him. “Alright then, thank you, Mr. Zhang, and let’s get in touch this afternoon.”
Chairman Zhang laughed heartily over the phone and said, “You’re welcome, you’re welcome.”
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yao recorded in her notebook: 4 pm, call Chairman Zhang of Longzheng Machinery to confirm the delivery time of the rocker arms.
She wasn’t a rookie fresh out of school, nor was it her first day dealing with suppliers.
In her experience, these small-scale factories with dozens of people often had countless delivery times on the contract. Generally, the boss had the final say in which batch of shipments would be made first, and the delivery times were extremely flexible.
If Chairman Zhang really decided to get to the bottom of this matter, then she wouldn’t need to wait until the afternoon to get a reply on when the batch of products would be shipped.
When Chairman Zhang said, “The factory has been extremely busy… Reply in the afternoon,” it meant that he was being perfunctory and simply delaying the time.
It didn’t necessarily mean that he was deliberately delaying the shipment, but rather because, by the end of the year, everyone was eager to ship, so there were probably people urging him more aggressively than her.
For example, every three to five days she would remind Chairman Zhang about their order, but other companies urged Zhang three to five times every single day. It was very likely that Chairman Zhang would arrange the shipment for other companies first.
If she didn’t pay closer attention, she might not even be able to get her orders shipped in time for the Spring Festival holiday.
Of course, it wasn’t that she should urge him as frequently as possible. Overly frequent reminders had a tendency to irritate people and might backfire.
As the owner of a factory, Chairman Zhang had already stated that he would give her a reply in the afternoon, so he probably wouldn’t be willing to change the time and reply in the morning instead. So Lin Yao, as a small office worker, had no choice but to agree. But she could take the initiative and propose that he give her a reply in the afternoon. This way, Chairman Zhang could no longer continue to delay.
Therefore, no matter what one said or did, maintaining a certain level of control was important, and what degree of control had to be slowly realized through work experience.
******
Coincidentally, right after Lin Yao finished finalizing the delivery time with several other suppliers, Mr. Wen’s phone call came.
“Good afternoon~! Please connect me to Xiao Lin.”
Lin Yao’s had an impression of Mr. Wen. She rallied and said energetically, “Good afternoon! Mr. Wen, this is Xiao Lin.”
“Wow~!” Mr. Wen exclaimed on the other end of the phone, “Today you had enough~ food~ so when you speak you sound so full of~ energy~?”
Lin Yao looked at the time. It was past four o’clock in the afternoon, so who would be eating at such an hour, and if so, what meal would that be?
But if she didn’t sound “full of energy,” wouldn’t Mr. Wen have a talk with her boss?
Lin Yao curled her lips slightly. “Mr. Wen, I eat a lot every day.”
It wasn’t her bragging but, in terms of appetite, she had yet to be outrivaled in Lingyun Industry.
Mr. Wen chuckled. “Hah, I can tell from your voice.”
Only then did Lin Yao realize that she must have fallen into his trap again. “I still don’t know what Mr. Wen’s instructions are yet?”
Mr. Wen was in a good mood, and he said slowly, “Yes~, of~course~, I called~ because I simply wanted to know~ what shipments can I expect this month~?”
Mr. Wen usually asked Lin Yun these sorts of questions, but Mr. Wen’s business had many miscellaneous orders, and the questions he asked were so specific that even Lin Yun rarely answered them completely.
From time to time, Lin Yun needed to ask Lin Yao for help answering him. Sometimes she couldn’t clearly get the message across so she would have Lin Yao answer the phone.
Gradually, Mr. Wen began to remember that he could bargain with Lin Yun, but, after placing an order, he should ask Lin Yao about the shipping.
As if enumerating her family assets, Lin Yao would reply, “Sync, Ring, and O/C, Cover can be completed in about a week, Center Bearing and Drag Link need two weeks. These goods should be placed together to fill a 20-foot cabinet, and the difference in shipment time for these goods aren’t that far apart either, so I recommend having them shipped together.
“These factories are all in the province, and the delivery time takes about one to two days. After the goods are placed in the warehouse, they will be expected to be shipped in about a week, and the earliest shipping date is expected to be the middle of next month.”
That was to say, there would indeed be products finished this month, but they will be shipped next month.
Mr. Wen was obviously dissatisfied with this answer, and he said with displeasure, “How come you need so much~ time?!”
From Mr. Wen’s question, Lin Yao inferred two of the following:
One, he wanted to know which products will be finished this month;
Two, he thought that they would be shipped this month, but that wasn’t the case, so he was disappointed.
In the course of international trade, customers always asked about delivery time/shipping time.
However, the exporter’s and foreign customers’ understanding of the delivery time/shipping time was somewhat different. The exporter believed that the delivery time/shipping time equaled the date the factory completed the production, while in the eyes of foreign customers, the delivery time and shipping time equaled shipment date on the bill of lading.
For example, Mr. Wen not only wanted to know when the factory would complete the production but rather when the factory completed the production, freight delivery to the designated warehouse, completion of customs declaration, cargo shipment, then ship sailing. In short, he wanted to know when the entire procedure would be completed.
In order to prevent Mr. Wen from mistakenly believing that the finished product would be boarded or on board in two weeks, she had to explain it to him as soon as possible.
If she didn’t clearly explain it to him now, Mr. Wen would be even more disappointed in two weeks.
By that time, he might doubt Lin Yao’s work efficiency, may even suspect that Lingyun Industrial didn’t prioritize him or his orders, and was deliberately delaying, or even deceiving him.
Lin Yao tirelessly explained the domestic export process and the time required again, then proposed, “If you need any product extremely urgently, I can urge the factory some more, so that it can be finished about a week in advance. Of course, you can also receive Sync. Ring and O/C, Cover first.”
Mr. Wen sighed heavily and said, “No need~ for me~. I’m fine with receiving the shipments in the middle of next month~.”
When Mr. Wen said that, Lin Yao couldn’t help but feel secretly relieved. She surmised that Lin Yun probably mentioned that the shipments would be made at the end of this month when Mr. Wen had contacted Lin Yun before, so she tactfully circled back to the topic again.
“Actually, Mrs. Lin and I want these products to be shipped more than you do, but we were worried that the factory will use this as an excuse to reduce the quality. When that problem arises, you’ll blame us for rushing things.”
Mr. Wen appeared enlightened. “That’s how it is~, ah~, let’s not be too impatient~. Quality~ is the most important~! Don’t rush them too much~. Let them follow normal procedure~ and make my products perfect!”
Lin Yao said sincerely, “You’re so brilliant!”
Flattery truly got one everywhere. Mr. Wen was amused by Lin Yao’s straightforward compliment. He chuckled softly and said, “You thinking this~ makes me happy~. In fact, if my shipment arrived a week earlier~ or a week later~ it wouldn’t make that big of a difference~, but if they make low-quality products, that will cause me a lot of trouble.”
Lin Yao nodded.
Mr. Wen’s mood improved, and he opened up like a chatterbox. “To be honest~, I’m also in collaboration with several other domestic companies… Whenever a problem arises~, they always use that exact excuse. In fact, I still have this problem. I can afford it~, so I never thought about holding them responsible for it~, but their attitude~ disappoints me~.”
On that day, Mr. Wen had a long conversation with Lin Yao. Most of the time, Lin Yao listened and simply answered by muttering “Um,””Yes,” and “You’re right.”
Mr. Wen rambled on and on about his experience working in Japan at a young age and then going to Nanyang to start a business as an adult.
The phone call between them lasted quite a long time, so when Lin Yun walked in and out of her office several times in the meantime, she would discover that Lin Yao was still on the phone.
Lin Yun could tell who the caller was from Mr. Wen’s highly distinctive accent, but…
Lin Yun didn’t say anything and returned to her office in a sulky mood.