This week a furniture designer/maker (one man business) had a visit from a ‘suit’ and a Chinese furniture maker.
They both walked in and discussed the furniture on display not wanting to actually talk to the owner. The owner sparked up a conversation with the ‘suit’ and discovered that he represented a timber company which exported timber to China for furniture making and that his mate, the Chinese man, was a furniture maker in China. The Chinese man had found this business on the internet and especially wanted the ‘suit’ to take him there.
The owner was far from impressed as you can imagine. He told the ‘suit’ this was how he made his living by selling his own designed furniture, it was hard enough as it is trying to make a living out of it and didn’t want his designs copied. Neither was he here to give the Chinese furniture maker any ‘inspiration’ for ideas. The ‘suit’ just shrugged at this and said not to worry, he’d told his Chinese ‘friend’ not to take any photographs.
The owner looked at his camera security system and spied the Chinese man in the next room taking photographs!! The owner yelled “No, photographs” and these two ‘charmers’ slunk out of the shop. But the mission was accomplished, wasn’t it.
Isn’t it great that we have corporate Tasmania deliberately doing the little business man down. Whatever happened to ethics and integrity in business.
*Edmund Burke is known to the Editor.
