He spent a little over 2 weeks in the hospital at a cost of 600 yuan (or roughly 87 USD) a day. Which, when you consider the average monthly income in China is about $200/month (and even less in rural areas, like where he is from), translates into a huge hit on their savings.
It changes your perspective a bit.
Mr. Johnson and I were recently watching the US Evening News, and learned of the massive recall of baby cribs underway in North America.
"The Chinese would think this is crazy," he said, when the panel of experts explained that, although there is a plastic clip available from the manufacturer to prevent the problem with the drop side, they recommend total replacement.
A US crib purchased @ a Wal-Mart in Anywhere, USA, would probably be equivalent to the monthly salary of an average Chinese worker. And even though the 1400 yuan they earn monthly would translate into greater buying power in the US (they can get more for their money here, than we could with is equivalent value in the US) its not likely they would even then see the benefit, especially if they could get the plastic clip for free.
The outrage in the US seems to stem in part from the fact that there has not necessarily been any safety testing done on children's products in the United States. I was a little startled by that fact as well. (Somehow I found the bit about the Maclaren strollers that can amputate a child's finger even more appalling than the risks with the drop sides, since most of the risk of the drop side stems from improper assembly).
But, in China, no one expects more of a product than what they see. So everything is tried out in advance. Buying a blender? The sales girl will assemble all the parts and plug it it and run it @ the store, because if you get home and find it doesn't work you don't have any recourse. There is no expectation that it will be as good it looks on the box, and no recourse or action to take if it isn't. Thus... you try on clothes, you plug in electric appliances, and do your own safety test in advance.
1 comment:
The whole return / recall world is something that we view as uniquely American - understanding of course that recalls occur elsewhere. But to expect compensation for something bought years ago, and possibly assembled wrong - that is what is unique. We've learned a lot about verifying exactly what we buy before leaving the store, and I think that's a good thing. Recalls exist here, but to a much more reserved level.
That said, other then one bad DVD played purchase we've alway been really lucky. The DVD we managed to swap out with broken Chinese telling them that we need to hurry to catch a plane. It was true too, the DVD player was for my parents....
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