>I have no particular interest in defending Ten Ren, although I enjoyed
>my one visit there. But what Rick describes is *one instance* of
>dishonest business practices. True, if it happened to me, it might be
>enough to keep me away in the future. I got food poisoning at
>Applebee's in 1993, and not only would I rather starve than eat there,
>I curse them whenever I see one of their advertisements, LOL. But
>still, such an instance is not enough to condemn the whole enterprise
>everywhere and forever.

It happened to me in Toronto and in NY. If I didn't speak some
Chinese, I wouldn't have been able to communicate with the little girls
in either shop. On top of that, the girls had little to none knowledge
on anything related to tea; I guessed they were relatives of the
manager or something.

In my mind, and this may be harsh, any sane person should stay away
from Ten Ren unless they are buying the dirt cheap tea that TenRen's
peddling. Granted, even that is probably being sold at a high price.

And yes,

>There is also more opportunity for dishonesty, since most Americans
>basically know bad coffee, but are not particularly savvy about tea.
>Not that this justifies such practices in any way, shape, or form.

This is how the Chinese do business with foreigners.