The shopping mall--it's still a bit too Western for China to have really grasped how it works. The logistics simply aren't smoothed out yet, which I why I declare that China needs Huchendorf--my college Operations professor.
For example, in the new Dennis that opened in the new district near the school I work at, you can buy a hammer (with a bright pink handle!--the only one they have) but they don't have nails.
You can buy a selection of scented candles--no solely functional ones--but you cannot buy matches.
In the cleaning section in the basement grocery store you will not find rubber gloves--those are on the 3rd floor near the silverware.
There is a coffee shop near the mall entrance, and while they have their doors wide open and flower wreaths with banners hanging at their entrance, they don't have any coffee or drinks yet--the machines aren't set up yet.
Similarly, the little convenience store on campus offers a continually changing product selection. I doubt they do this based on historical sales data and a seasonal adaptation towards their most successful product portfolio; no, it's based on whatever deliveries come in that day. No water? Oh, the delivery guy didn't come.
Plus, "Caution" signs are missing from many places where I think they should be. The Dennis mall still has a lot of shops under construction. And the skyway that should connect the multiple blocks of the mall doesn't exist yet in some places, but that doesn't mean there's bright yellow tape to warn, the mall just stops and falls off. The customer had better have the sense to know to stop walking lest he fall from the second story.
But on a positive note, I do appreciate that this demands more consumer awareness the "caveat emptor" / buyer beware mentality and foolish lawsuits from people who just fail to take responsibility, now prevalent in the US, just would never happen here.
And in terms of product selection, I will admit that the Chinese grocery market beats the American one when finding Halloween foods to do the classic, stick-your-hand-in-a-bowl-of-spaghetti-and-I-tell-you-it's-worms trick. When I needed something to mirror a heart, all I had to do was buy the pig's heart neatly wrapped and lying in the meat section.
Happy Halloween,
Rick
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3 comments:
Hearts are always hard to come by, even here. Hopefully the next time I can do a demo I can get one for less than $8.
You had to pay $8 for a heart? Dang! I think i could buy one here and send it to you for less. The beautiful part is that it was about 8 yuan = $1.50.
Or I could put you in touch with the local butcher in Wilmont. You know he's a family friend, of course.
Ha! Both would be good options, I suspect. I was hoping Julia Child's butcher would have better prices, but alas---heart is not a commonly requested item.
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