randall_flagg Posted December 5, 2008 at 08:25 PM Report Posted December 5, 2008 at 08:25 PM (edited) I can almost promise you that you'll love this one! See why a Brit pretends to be the Olympic Inspection Committee!! Looking forward to everybody's reactions and comments. Randall Edited December 5, 2008 at 08:46 PM by randall_flagg Quote
Guest realmayo Posted December 5, 2008 at 09:39 PM Report Posted December 5, 2008 at 09:39 PM Just watched the first 3 minutes, not sure I can watch any more, that British cushion maker is going to surely going to lose everything, right? Quote
randall_flagg Posted December 5, 2008 at 10:26 PM Author Report Posted December 5, 2008 at 10:26 PM I don't want to spoil it all, but you might be in for a suprise.... Keep on watching, the "kitchen-bloke" quite the character, too. Quote
whereishunter Posted December 5, 2008 at 11:52 PM Report Posted December 5, 2008 at 11:52 PM Its an interesting documentary and I enjoyed watching it. But its not new and I first watched it about 2 years ago. Quote
Xiao Kui Posted December 6, 2008 at 02:20 AM Report Posted December 6, 2008 at 02:20 AM I just watched the whole thing - inspiring and entertaining! Thanks for sharing the link! Quote
randall_flagg Posted December 6, 2008 at 01:10 PM Author Report Posted December 6, 2008 at 01:10 PM Entertaining indeed! I think the people who produced this were especially enchanted by that 70 year-old English gentleman. For comic value, however, I favor the Kitchen guy. What a character! Quote
ABCinChina Posted December 6, 2008 at 02:56 PM Report Posted December 6, 2008 at 02:56 PM (edited) I'm not yet done watching the whole thing but what's up with that one guy coming here and talking trash to everyone and telling them to shove whatever part he's holding up their a? I hate laowais like that that come to China and think they're a king or something. Edit: Great documentary! Edited December 6, 2008 at 03:51 PM by ABCinChina Quote
randall_flagg Posted December 6, 2008 at 03:00 PM Author Report Posted December 6, 2008 at 03:00 PM I don't approve of talking to people like that or of some of the other stuff he pulls, but golly, some of the chaps he's yelling did have it coming. Notice that he says that he hasn't read a book since 1992. Quote
self-taught-mba Posted December 6, 2008 at 05:23 PM Report Posted December 6, 2008 at 05:23 PM I'm not yet done watching the whole thing but what's up with that one guy coming here and talking trash to everyone and telling them to shove whatever part he's holding up their a? I hate laowais like that that come to China and think they're a king or something. I didn't think he did that. Did he? Or did he only yell at people who he had already paid large sums of money to or had a contract with. Big difference. Not that I think it is suitable for me. Quote
kdavid Posted December 6, 2008 at 11:09 PM Report Posted December 6, 2008 at 11:09 PM Great find. They're all lucky in that they didn't lose their shirts. I really like Cecil's spelling out of the 4 (or is it 5?) C's: connection, clout, cash and cultural understanding. Those are all absolutely necessary to break into the Chinese market or do any type of business here. Neither the cushion guy or the magic box guy had any of those in the beginning. The cushion guy really could have lost it all. Only Vance is the one seemed to understand the people he was dealing with. He made a lot of smart moves. Quote
randall_flagg Posted December 6, 2008 at 11:43 PM Author Report Posted December 6, 2008 at 11:43 PM I thought the cushion guy would never even see his factory finished. But I also thought that Vance would snap when he saw the pool that his cash had built (I think I might have!) Quote
imron Posted December 7, 2008 at 01:12 AM Report Posted December 7, 2008 at 01:12 AM Nah, the cushions guy's factory was always going to be finished on time. One thing anyone who's spent anytime in China knows is that Chinese are really fast at putting up buildings, and buildings can go from empty shell to finished building in a very short period of time. Quote
randall_flagg Posted December 7, 2008 at 01:19 AM Author Report Posted December 7, 2008 at 01:19 AM Well, guess I haven't spent any time in China, then. For I have seen plenty of abandoned projects, where hopes were higher than pockets deep. Quote
heifeng Posted December 7, 2008 at 01:38 AM Report Posted December 7, 2008 at 01:38 AM I dunno Imron, there's still alot of 烂尾楼 AND 豆腐渣工程 in China too... I have to stop reading this thread now b/c i haven't finished the segments yet!(sh) but from everyones comments it looks like not only does his factory get completed but it doesn't cave in...that's a pretty lucky feller' already [edit: Rats, Randall beat me to the punch up there. Anyway, I think it's big government projects that go up in a matter of nanoseconds:mrgreen:] Quote
flameproof Posted December 7, 2008 at 03:44 AM Report Posted December 7, 2008 at 03:44 AM Thanks for the link. Really interesting. One thing anyone who's spent anytime in China knows is that Chinese are really fast at putting up buildings Not if you pay upfront. What I think: Vance - he had obviously lots of bad experiences. The cheapest of the cheapest is not that cheap if 50% of the quality is *hit. I would go with better quality factories and price them down. It's pointless to have factories which can't do the quality in the first place. Mr. Cushion - He was lucky. I would not have left with the half finished factory. That it was finished when he returned was really lucky. The General - it WILL be copied. I wonder if he ever got paid. My guess is not. As a small player you have no chance to market such a product. I would have sold the rights to Samsung or LG. I wonder if he made it, can't find any reverence to him other then links to this May 2007 video. Quote
randall_flagg Posted December 7, 2008 at 10:53 AM Author Report Posted December 7, 2008 at 10:53 AM About the general: Well, maybe I'm lacking entrepreneurial spirit (or a nagging wife at home?), but what drives a 70 year old retired army general into the murky waters that are Chinese business is beyond me. Quote
WAITEY Posted December 9, 2008 at 05:13 PM Report Posted December 9, 2008 at 05:13 PM Saw this years ago and the seem to remember the kitchen guy featured on Watchdog, a consumer affairs program in the UK, where he had enough complaints against his company to warrent the TV show investigating him. Can remember the conclusion but he was a very aggresive character. Quote
flameproof Posted December 10, 2008 at 01:40 AM Report Posted December 10, 2008 at 01:40 AM (edited) There is plenty of reading about Vane Miller in the web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_Miller http://www.vance-miller.com Tony's biz is online: http://www.caldeira.co.uk I am most interested in the "Peter Williams" story, but can't find anything at all. Seems he vanished together with his magic device. Update: That's it: http://www.conditionaire.org.uk , Colonel Peter Williams is Conditionaire's chairman. http://www.ukceed.org/low-carbon/info.php?record=91 However, a goggle for "Aircon Energy Saver" brings up plenty of companies all over the world with similar models. Edited December 10, 2008 at 06:26 AM by flameproof Quote
johnmck Posted December 11, 2008 at 11:43 AM Report Posted December 11, 2008 at 11:43 AM Vance really is larger than life: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1007/1007638_rogue_trader_on_the_run.html Quote
randall_flagg Posted December 11, 2008 at 06:29 PM Author Report Posted December 11, 2008 at 06:29 PM This guy's story is more interesting when I first started this thread! Here's Vance's account of how he fled the country. http://www.vance-miller.com/running.htm My favorite quote from it: "The first chance I got, I slipped the police and made a run for it, leaving all 30 of them out of breath and way behind." Quote
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