Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 679 Fish and bear paws
When most internet users open their computers and habitually browse portal websites, keywords such as Microsoft Samsung, XP Lite, and fraud keep popping up.

Cao Zhengze used a sensationalist headline personally taught by Cheng Yi, which was already very eye-catching for users, and it also involved two giants, Microsoft and Samsung.

The popularity of the comment sections on various websites far surpasses that of NiuBai.com itself.

This is no longer a discussion within a small circle of intellectuals, but has become a major debate involving the entire population.

The voices supporting Luo Yonghao were the absolute mainstream, because most of the public opinion was being swayed by Cao Zhengze's subordinates.

We support Luo Yonghao in pursuing this case to the end.

Microsoft and Samsung should get out of China.

What? I also installed this crappy "speed version", it's completely useless.

After reading that post, I turned around and smashed my Samsung TV...

Guided by this trend, Luo Yonghao's original fan base found a backbone. They spontaneously organized themselves and charged into the comment sections of various platforms and related news, using Luo Yonghao's sharp language to refute those who defended Microsoft and Samsung, pushing the event's popularity to new heights.

Of course, dissenting and opposing voices exist, but they appear extremely weak in the face of overwhelming public opinion, and once they emerge, they are met with concentrated attacks from Luo's fans and online trolls.

"Whose fault is it that the blogger's computer is so bad? Why doesn't he blame himself for being poor?"

Reply: "Is poverty a cardinal sin? Does your capitalist father know how filial you are?"

"It takes two to tango, the blogger must also have some issues."

Reply: "Come on, let me slap you across the face and see if it makes a sound?"

"A company as big as Microsoft, would they need to scam you out of this little bit of money?"

Reply: "Your logic is touching. Big companies don't cheat people out of money? Madoff, the world's largest investment company, cheated people out of $600 billion. People with your kind of thinking are the ones who got cheated."

This sudden cyber storm was far more intense than Microsoft had anticipated.

They were used to controlling the discourse of mainstream media and channels, but they underestimated the power of grassroots blogs and emerging online communities to ignite specific events, and they never expected that Momo Group would intervene and amplify the matter so quickly.

Yanjing, the headquarters of Microsoft Asia Group.

On the computer screen in front of Waters, the pages of three major portal websites, Xinlang, Sohu, and NetEase, were open simultaneously. The disgusting sensational headlines and the almost unanimous negative comments below made him particularly irritable.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have learned Chinese; at least he could have avoided seeing it and being bothered by it.

I don't want to watch it, ... but I still can't help but want to go and see it.

I felt sad after watching it, and after feeling sad, I wanted to watch it again...

However, Waters did not seem too concerned about these opinions.

Before promoting XP Lite, their strategy department had already simulated Momo Group's next reaction.

The first scenario is that Momo Group will use its powerful media influence to attack their XP Lite version.

However, their deduction was that Momo Group would suppress them in terms of functionality, and then conduct reviews in various media, directly extending to the consumer level, which they did not expect.

Focusing on the consumer level is time-consuming and laborious, and it's too easy to break through and solve problems that way.

Once the consumer's demands are met, the matter will be resolved. If not, then the consumer must have been hired by Momo Group. With Microsoft's intelligence capabilities, it wouldn't be difficult for them to find out whether the consumer was hired by Momo Group.

If they find any clues and publish them, Momo Group's reputation will be ruined.

Only a fool would take the irreversible path of encouraging consumers.

But now, Momo Group has actually taken this path.

Waters thought about it carefully and realized that the most urgent task at hand was not to address consumer demands, but to figure out the root cause.

He quickly dialed Lee Jae-young's private number.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. The background noise was somewhat loud, as if it were coming from some high-end club.

"Mr. Waters, what can I do for you?" Lee Jae-yong asked in a calm tone.

On the other end of the phone, you could hear some girls' voices.

Waters said slowly, "Vice President Li, I hope you have seen what is happening on the Chinese Internet, regarding our cooperation on XP Speed ​​Edition and your Samsung authorized service centers."

Li Zairong was silent for a few seconds, then said with a hint of indifference, "Oh, you mean that post on that Bullog website in China? It's an unknown little website, a blogger with a bad temper. It's just making a mountain out of a molehill. Our legal team is evaluating it and we can consider suing him for defamation."

Waters frowned and said, "It's not difficult to sue him, but now Momo Group has its eye on this matter and has turned it into a hot topic of national concern. If we sue, it will only add fuel to the fire. I think what we should do now is to solve this problem at its root. We need to investigate why this happened first, and then give Chinese netizens an answer."

Lee Jae-yong's tone became more serious as he said, "Mr. Waters, you also need to understand Samsung's channel model in China. Most of those authorized service centers and specialty stores are operated by our partner distributors in China, not by our direct employees at Samsung Electronics."

"In order to promote the XP system, we have given them very favorable agency fee discounts in exchange for their commitment to assist in the installation and promotion of our system. However, it is difficult for our headquarters to directly and effectively manage these specific store staff, their quality, and their service attitude."

He paused for a moment and said, "You know, these local employees may have had a relatively leisurely life before. Now, suddenly they are required to promote and install the system at a high intensity. It is inevitable that they will have some emotional issues and their service attitude will be problematic."

"Feeling emotional? It's inevitable?" Waters repeated Li Zairong's words, then said in a low voice, "Vice Chairman Li, what we need now is a solution, not empathy for these frontline employees." Li Zairong said, "Of course I'm talking about a solution, Mr. Waters. We must find a way to motivate the frontline staff. The most direct and effective method right now is cash incentives. How about this? We can jointly fund a special subsidy to be directly distributed to these frontline promotion and installation personnel, increasing their income. Naturally, they will have a better service attitude..."

"No, no, no, absolutely not!"

Before Lee Jae-yong could finish speaking, Waters interrupted him almost rudely.

His voice even trembled slightly with excitement; the word "subsidy" always brought back some unpleasant memories.

“Vice President Li,” Water said in a deep voice, “you simply don’t understand. In the Chinese market, you absolutely cannot easily try this kind of subsidy policy that directly targets the end users, because it’s a bottomless pit.”

He took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "I just experienced it. Do you know the result of the MSN promotion not long ago? A whopping 70% of our budget was wasted by those damn users in all sorts of unimaginable ways!"

"As long as you offer subsidies, your agents can create tens of thousands of fictitious users to receive the subsidies. In China, those clever guys can legally and legitimately drain your funds in less than two months, and you won't even see a ripple."

Waters' tone lowered as he said, "I will never do this kind of subsidy thing again in my life."

Lee Jae-young on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned by Waters's intense reaction; he couldn't fully comprehend Waters's almost post-traumatic stress disorder-like state of mind.

However, he could also somewhat understand Waters' concerns.

Indeed, if subsidies are given per person, their agents, who are already a mixed bag of franchisees, would likely bring in all sorts of relatives and friends to take advantage of the subsidies if they offered subsidies.

If subsidies are given on a per-store basis, those agents will probably pocket the money.

After all, putting ourselves in their shoes, what we have in abundance right now is employees. Firing disgruntled long-term employees and recruiting new ones results in the same salary but a completely different experience.

A raise?
Wouldn't that make them want to fly to the sky?

Li Zairong thought for a moment, then changed his approach and said, "Mr. Waters, how about we try a different method? Instead of subsidies based on the number of people or stores, let's do it based on results and the number of installations. For example, for every computer they successfully install XP Speed ​​Edition on, we'll give the installer a cash reward of 20 RMB. This way, it's directly linked to their work."

“No.” Waters still refused. “I can assure you that once this policy is implemented, you will see a miracle in less than a month. The installation volume of some of your Samsung service centers will explode, with a growth rate of several thousand percent. They will set up several production lines and do nothing but repeatedly format and install our system on the same batch of computers. They will install it today, uninstall it tomorrow, and install it again the day after tomorrow.”

He sighed, his voice filled with exhaustion, and said, "Vice Chairman Li, the root of the problem isn't whether or not money is given, or how much. The root of the problem is that Samsung's multi-layered subcontracting distribution model has spiraled out of control at the very end. Those store employees don't care about the Samsung brand, nor do they care about Microsoft's strategy; they only care about their own immediate interests."

"Then, in your opinion, what should we do now?" Lee Jae-yong finally gave up his illusion of solving the problem with money, and his tone became serious.

He discovered that behind this seemingly simple service dispute lay a complex and thorny localization dilemma.

Waters looked at the ever-increasing negative comments on the screen, rubbed his throbbing temples, and said in a deep voice, "Let's initiate the crisis public relations process first. First, order the Samsung service center involved to suspend operations for rectification, dismiss the employees involved, and announce the results of the handling to the public, making an example of them to warn others."

"Secondly, our two companies should issue a joint apology statement, which should be sincere and acknowledge the oversights in channel management and employee training."

"Third, we will offer a free offline system replacement service to all users who have installed XP Speed ​​Edition and are dissatisfied with it. This service will be provided by highly trained technicians appointed by Microsoft."

"Furthermore, we will send one person to each of your service centers and specialty stores to assist with system installation. We will do our best to improve our service."

"Can you get so many people in such a short time?" Lee Jae-yong asked hesitantly.

This would require thousands or even tens of thousands of people.

Where did you get so many people in such a short time?
“I’ll try to borrow some people from Dell,” Waters replied.

"If you borrow people from there, won't you still be trapped in the subsidy cycle? What's the fundamental difference between borrowing Dell's staff and using our staff directly? Dell's service centers are all franchisees too." Li Zairong delivered a direct blow to Waters.

Lee Jae-yong's words left Waters speechless.

Waters leaned back in the expensive leather seat, looking somewhat helpless.

He found himself trapped in a vicious cycle.

They wanted to improve the quality of last-mile services, but they couldn't effectively incentivize and control the agents who were spread across the counties and districts of China.

They tried to bypass the store clerks, but discovered the technical resources available for deployment.

Microsoft's foundation in China is far less solid than he imagined.

After a silence of more than ten seconds, Li Zairong said, "Mr. Waters, since we dare not use subsidies to directly feed the channels, why not change our approach? Let the market and consumers help us complete this incentive process."

"Let the consumers?" Waters frowned slightly.

"Yes, we can announce that the free installation will end within seven days, and then switch to paid installation with a clear price. For each installation of XP Speed ​​Edition, we will charge consumers 20 RMB for the installation service. All of this fee will be distributed as performance bonuses to the technicians who actually performed the installation."

"Charge?" Waters asked, somewhat reluctantly.

He had considered this approach, but their biggest problem was attracting users. Momo's operating system was free, and pirated XP was everywhere. They had only managed to gain a foothold in the computer market by offering free services as a gimmick. If they were to switch to charging now, even for a mere 20 yuan, it would scare away many price-sensitive users.

This is a classic case of not being able to have your cake and eat it too.

“Mr. Waters,” Lee Jae-yong said patiently, “I think you’ve fallen into a misconception before, thinking that free is the only attraction. In fact, a moderate and reasonable charge is nothing to users who are really troubled by computer lag issues. It’s just the price of a cup of coffee.”

“More importantly,” Li Zairong said with a smile, “you are the prestigious Microsoft, and your brand value speaks for itself. This is an advantage that Momo Group has been unable to match even after ten years of effort.”

(End of this chapter)