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.