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Post by Tim on Mar 18, 2018 12:39:04 GMT
For inexpensive hi-fi, the Chinese are coming up the slope very well. Look at SMSL as one example. That made me chuckle, never good to use those two words in the same sentence . . . Agree though, Chinese products are often not what people think they are, as in all crap - lots of really good product coming out of China these days. |
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Post by Chris on Mar 18, 2018 13:10:11 GMT
Agree about the Chinese kit. See if they just sorted out their quality control they really would be a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately it's a bit all over the place just now - one thing can be good the next can be guff.
QC is the answer I tell you!
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Post by Tim on Mar 18, 2018 13:42:01 GMT
I came across two policies regarding quality control in China. The company I worked for was meticulous, nothing left the assembly line without being checked by the factories QC first and we always had two of our own QC staff double checking their work before it went into a box. Part of my job was overseeing this.
Another manufacturer of a similar, but much cheaper product had a different MO. They just allowed product to be checked by the factory QC staff and rarely checked anything with their own staff. They had one guy on site who made random visits to the line when production was running (as opposed to our 3/4 who were always on the line). I spoke to him about this once and he said they turn out so much product and cheaply, that they found it more cost effective to replace items if a customer complained, rather than check and double check everything before shipping.
After seeing it in action, both seemed valid when you took the price point of the product into consideration. Unlucky if you got a bad one, but as long as it was replaced without question, which they did, then everybody wins - in theory.
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Post by Slinger on Mar 18, 2018 14:12:32 GMT
The trouble with method #2 is that if you get a couple of lemons from the same company you tend to tell people about it and not go back to them yourself. Proof of method #1 (I would bet) is the number of us praising SMSL here, and actively steering people towards their kit.
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Post by Chris on Mar 18, 2018 14:52:31 GMT
That's quite interesting Tim. I'm with Slinger here - if I was one of the unlucky ones (highly probable) I wouldn't be happy about a replacement. Plus - there's no compensation for your loss of time and effort you've had to put into dealing with all that sort of hassle.
No1 seems a much better idea to me.
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Post by Tim on Mar 18, 2018 15:03:53 GMT
Well I personally agree Chris, as I'm a fuss arse which was why I got the job. However, they were shipping many thousands of units to our hundreds and their product was a tenth of the price of ours, so I guess they weren't worried about losing a few customers along the way. Plus people tend not to be so fussy about a product costing a hundred dollars as opposed to one costing a thousand dollars.
It seemed to work for them, as they've been in business a long time.
It wasn't something I had ever thought about prior to working over there, but it does explain a lot of the disparity for QC, as for sure it's not unique to this one factory. And don't get me wrong, they still did have QC, but an operator employed by the factory is likely to be a little less vigilant than the clients own QC.
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Post by Slinger on Mar 18, 2018 15:32:31 GMT
In terms of perception, it's the difference between a company that appears to care about its customers and one who apparently couldn't give a toss. Again, we all know which company gets our repeat business.
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Post by Tim on Mar 18, 2018 15:38:08 GMT
Aye, tis' true that.
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 18, 2018 17:33:54 GMT
For inexpensive hi-fi, the Chinese are coming up the slope very well. Look at SMSL as one example. Lenovo. One of the best PC makers going. Once upon a time we used to say "Jap crap". No longer |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 18, 2018 18:21:46 GMT
Indeed I agree that Lenovo are excellent, but it's worth remembering that they acquired the IBM laptop division wholesale which made for a great start.
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Post by Slinger on Mar 18, 2018 18:37:30 GMT
I've got one of Lenovo's 'YOGA Pad 3 Plus' tablets. Bloody silly name, but a really good tablet.
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 18, 2018 18:44:06 GMT
Indeed I agree that Lenovo are excellent, but it's worth remembering that they acquired the IBM laptop division wholesale which made for a great start. For sure. I expected them to drop the ball very soon. They carried on the good work. You probably remember when it was IBM. Were they comparable ? |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 18, 2018 20:00:12 GMT
Yes - the ThinkPad range remain superb, the 'domestic' laptops are par for the course.
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 19, 2018 11:05:13 GMT
Ah. Didn't know there was a difference.
Glad to say I have a ThinkPad.
What are the others called ?
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Post by MartinT on Mar 19, 2018 13:16:17 GMT
Glad to say I have a ThinkPad. What are the others called ? ThinkPads are the real deal and some of the best laptops money can buy. The other Lenovos are just G-range, Z-range etc. but should never be mistaken for a proper ThinkPad. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 19, 2018 14:41:10 GMT
Thanks
Will make sure I always buy Thinkpads
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Post by Tim on Mar 20, 2018 16:57:42 GMT
ThinkPads are the bizzo, but as Martin says, don't mistake the two. I have recommended these to people who went and bought a Lenovo in PC World then moaned at me as they were just OK, but not as good as I had bigged them up to be . . . why don't people listen   Nowt wrong with a Lenovo mind you, it's just not as rugged as a ThinkPad. |
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