"Enter for new line - do not translate, return as is, all other Chinese text should be translated into English: Business Ethics and Moral Principles for Global Operations"

Author: Duan Chao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Haier's "Sincerity Forever" – How a Company Built by Zhang Ruimin with a Hammer Achieved Limitless Success Today? The reason is simple. No company doesn’t understand the importance of integrity in establishing and growing its business, but the differences in practice are vast. Haier has set a successful example for us. Haier has a very famous slogan: "Sincerity Forever." Haier CEO Zhang Ruimin explained: "For a company to sustain its operations, it must first gain social and customer recognition. Only when a company is sincere to its customers forever can it receive the return of customers and society, ensuring the company’s continued growth."
"Customers are always right," Zhang Ruimin said. "No matter the time, place, or issue, the party at fault can never be the customer, only the manufacturer, regardless of how the surface situation appears."
A farmer wrote to say his refrigerator was broken. Haier immediately sent someone to the customer’s home, along with a new refrigerator. After traveling over 200 kilometers, they discovered the problem was simply that the thermostat wasn’t turned on. Once they adjusted it, everything worked fine. However, Haier’s management took this seriously and reflected: "We cannot blame the customer. Haier must meet everyone’s needs and ensure the instructions are written so that everyone can understand them."
In the summer of 1994, the Qingdao Evening News published a report condemning a taxi driver who had taken away a customer’s Haier air conditioner. After learning about this, Haier sent the customer a new air conditioner. The story became news again, and public opinion praised Haier for its selfless assistance. But Haier people believed the true responsibility lay with the company. If they had delivered the air conditioner directly to the customer’s home, this problem would never have occurred. This led to the development of Haier’s "No Moving Service."
Haier was one of the early companies in China to emphasize service, taking it to an extreme. Although many home appliance manufacturers later tried to imitate Haier’s approach, none could match its effectiveness, elegance, or credibility. The reason is that the superficial aspects of service are easy to learn—such as naming a service initiative (e.g., "Red Carpet Service") and introducing more measures—but the deeper elements are much harder to replicate—such as the spirit and quality of Haier employees, their strong execution awareness, the long-term influence of Haier’s culture, Zhang Ruimin’s strict management style, and his philosophy of service. It is these combined factors that have built Haier’s powerful competitive strength in service. It is also this internal "virtue" that supports the core value of the Haier brand, the premium image of its high-quality, high-priced products, and under the backdrop of Haier’s excellent service, "Sincerity Forever" appears even more confident and moving. P4-5