Sorry 'bout your experience, but I enjoyed reading this.

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"Mydnight" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have been to two or three Tian Fu (TenRen in the west) shops here
> (Dongguan and Guangzhou in Guangdong province), two of which I had
> visited before and had a decent experience, and it seems that there
> have been changes in the way they do business. I firstly noticed that
> nearly all of the cha jiu (tea stuff...includes trays, pots, gaiwans)
> if it is below the 30 or 40 dollar range has either been disposed of or
> just not restocked. Like in the West, I think they are trying to
> market to the higher income people in an attempt to make their shop
> appear to be the elitist alternative to teashops. Also, I was able to
> try one of their "Anxi Tieguanyin('s)" and was very disappointed to
> find that it was the cheap Guan Yin Wang that is peddled here in
> profundity and can be bought for like 5 bucks a kilo at the Fangcun
> market in Guangzhou. They have resorted to huai dan (bad egg)
> businessman tactics in their selling of tea; last time I remember their
> Anxi being very fresh and high quality with excellent leaves.
>
> The second and most annoying aspect of these shops was that I literally
> had my every step stalked by an attendant in the shop reasserting the
> prices and so kindly showing me the most expensive items in the shop.
> Normally when you say, "kan yi sha" (just want to have a look) they
> leave you alone; not anymore. I thought it especially priceless when
> one young lad with an idiotic grin tried to sell me some horrid quality
> longjing (leaves were dark green, broken, and filled with holes from
> bugs) for much higher than the price on the box said...the box having
> the price in Chinese, so he was sure I couldn't read it. Being shown
> the most expensive items in the shop is not a new experience for a
> foreigner in China, but it was terribly overdone here.
>
> I also especially hate it when an attendant tries to sell me some tea
> without even letting me see the leaves or try it. In the West you can
> put a little more faith in what it says on the box, but not here. They
> could be selling you a bag of dust mites and you would never know it
> until you get home and open the bag.
>
> To my utter disappointment, I have decided to stay away from the TianFu
> chain in this area. By the way, they wanted me to pay 200 yuan to them
> after I tried their "Anxi Tieguanyin" without mentioning that
> beforehand...I politely replied 'wo ting bu dong' (I don't understand)
> and left without looking back.
>