Financial freedom starts with smiling at life

Chapter 336 Isn't President Jiang afraid of offending major internet companies?
Jiang Beicheng was the youngest of the four guests attending the main venue of the "Service Industry CEO Summit" on the first day.

The other three are all people who have been deeply involved in the industry for two or three decades, with rich experience and profound knowledge.

Zhang Wenzhong of Wumart Group is almost three cycles older than Jiang Beicheng.

Jiang Beicheng has only been in the catering service industry for about a year.

Jiang Beicheng is very honored to be able to discuss and learn from such senior figures at this high-level forum.

Before the host introduced the three guests, he took the initiative to greet them.

"Brother Donglai," Jiang Beicheng addressed him politely.

Yu Donglai smiled and shook hands with Jiang Beicheng: "Oh, little brother Beicheng, I like you so much. I've always wanted to meet you, and today my dream has come true."

He is a very gentle and down-to-earth person.

He and Jiang Beicheng have many similarities in their approach to life and work.

Although it was their first meeting, they acted like old friends.

"I'll arrange some time to come to Pangdong to study," Jiang Beicheng said modestly.

"Hahaha, you're welcome anytime. I'll be waiting for you in Xuchang," Yu Donglai said with a laugh.

Jiang Beicheng then shook hands with his old acquaintance Zhang Yong.

Finally, he politely addressed Zhang Wenzhong, a veteran in the retail industry.

"President Jiang, welcome to Beijing."

Wumart's headquarters are in Beijing, so it's understandable that Zhang Wenzhong would welcome Jiang Beicheng as a host.

After greeting everyone, I took my seat in the front row.

The host began by introducing the guests of today's summit.

Pang Donglai's popularity goes without saying; as soon as Yu Donglai stood up, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

He greeted all the guests and media with a smile, took the microphone from the host, and sat down on the sofa on the stage.

The Beicheng Hotel is also very popular, being one of the most popular catering IPs on the Chinese internet, but people don't have a deep understanding or impression of Jiangbei City.

Because he rarely appeared in the public eye before.

Strictly speaking, today marks his first time attending a formal industry forum as the founder of Beicheng Hotel.

Therefore, when the host finished introducing him, the reaction from the audience was not as strong as when Yu Donglai came on stage; instead, it was filled with doubt.

There was still a hint of shock in his eyes.

How did a young man in his twenties create the Beicheng Hotel restaurant brand in just one year?

He rejected the Black Pearl and Michelin ratings and declared that he would never participate again.
Today he is going to have a discussion with three other people on stage who can be described as grandfathers.
...Many questions arose.

Even the live stream chat was filled with disbelief.

Jiang Beicheng remained calm and took his seat.

Since he decided to attend the CEO Summit and be exposed to the public eye, he was mentally prepared to be questioned.

At the same time, preparations have been made to build a personal entrepreneurial brand.

In the future, I will gradually step into the limelight, make friends with customers, and make friends with the general public.

The host exclaimed excitedly, "The four distinguished guests on stage today are all entrepreneurs I greatly admire."

There is Mr. Zhang, a veteran who has been deeply involved in the industry for many years; Mr. Zhang Yong, who pursues a high-quality life; Brother Donglai, who conveys freedom and love; and Mr. Jiang, a new leader in our catering service industry.

I feel incredibly honored to be able to sit and exchange ideas with the four of you.

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause once again.

The host continued, "Today, our CEO Summit at the main venue of the opening ceremony will mainly revolve around two parts."

The first segment was a high-level dialogue between several industry presidents.

The second part is to answer questions that the public is concerned about online.

Today, our first topic is how to view the current compensation and benefits in the service industry from the perspective of service industry practitioners, namely employees and bosses.

Shall we ask Brother Donglai to have a chat?

On this topic, Pang Donglai is the most qualified to speak.

Yu Donglai picked up the microphone and said, "Pang Donglai's welfare system is very transparent and has been thoroughly exposed by netizens and media colleagues."

Pang Donglai's philosophy has never changed: to create a better life for its employees.

We used to talk about understanding employees' needs, but I think that's no longer in line with the requirements of the times. As a business manager, you need to discover your employees' needs, instead of just asking them verbally.

As a leader, if you ask your subordinates, would they dare to tell the truth?

How do we discover employee needs?

I think the first thing is to love yourself and love life. When you understand what love is and truly love life, you will naturally understand what your employees need.

We often say that people's sadness and pain are not shared, and it's difficult to empathize with them. But love can be transmitted, and joy and happiness are contagious and interconnected.

The numbers on the payslip are just a starting point; there's so much more to do. The welfare system needs improvement, and ultimately, we aim to achieve shared prosperity and a better life.

The applause at the scene was deafening.

The host clapped along, then looked at Jiang Beicheng. "As far as I know, Beicheng Hotel is known as the industry's pinnacle, not only for its excellent service quality, but also for its top-notch employee benefits."

Mr. Jiang, could you continue this topic and share your feelings?

Jiang Beicheng picked up the microphone and smiled, "I just felt the love that Brother Donglai conveyed on site, and I feel very happy."

Yu Donglai patted Jiang Beicheng's arm with a smile. Jiang Beicheng continued, "To some extent, I didn't consider the profitability of the Beicheng Hotel when I created it."

On the one hand, I want to carry on my mother's will, and on the other hand, I want to convey love and happiness through food.

Before coming to Beijing to attend this summit, the company had just passed a resolution to increase employee salaries by 10% and award management 5% equity, effective from the fourth quarter.

After this adjustment was implemented, the average monthly salary of employees at Beicheng Hotel was close to 7,500 yuan, after deducting social security contributions.

The two stores in Shanghai and Beijing can reach around 12,000.

The management team will add eight new members with annual salaries of one million.

This adjustment…

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

It lasted a long time.

Yu Donglai, who was sitting next to Jiang Beicheng, also applauded enthusiastically.

After enjoying the applause, Jiang Beicheng continued, "I've recently seen many of my colleagues in the service industry getting raises, and I think this is a wonderful phenomenon."

However, this is not a good thing for the vast majority of businesses and employees.

Because we saw the phrase "eager for quick success and instant benefits".

Their purpose in raising wages is to generate higher revenue, and they want to see results in the short term. I think it would be better not to raise wages at all.

The result will inevitably be a vicious cycle; this approach will neither save the business nor improve service levels or employee well-being.

You must remember, this pay raise is actually an act of atonement, a form of compensation, because you oppressed your lords too much in the past.

The scene was very quiet.

Even Zhang Wenzhong, chairman of Wumart Group, who was sitting on the stage, remained silent.

Jiangbei City hit the nail on the head.

The recent rectification in the supermarket industry is the most common, with wages being raised in various ways, but the starting point is to pursue short-term returns.

It's not something we're doing out of respect for our employees.

As a result, things might improve for a while after rectification, but they will revert to their original state within a few months.

They pursued the "form" but lacked the "soul" within it.

Jiang Beicheng's willingness to point out the essence of things in such a high-level dialogue is in line with his youthful spirit.

He continued, "In my view, raising salaries is a sign of respect for the team and its employees, and an affirmation of individual value."

In the past, many of our companies expanded blindly, pursuing market share, resulting in annual financial reports showing losses. This is not just a problem of product structure.

This is also a major issue in personnel management.

Let me take fourth- or fifth-tier cities as an example. If a waiter's basic salary is less than 4,000 yuan, your store is not competitive in the market and you can close it down directly.

Even if you are profitable, it is still squeezed out of your employees. A lot of problems will arise in subsequent management and operation, and the final result may be losing money and closing down.

Beicheng Hotel currently has four branches open, with two more opening by the end of the year. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the annual net profit of our six branches is comparable to that of Donglai's Pang Donglai restaurant.

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

Before Jiangbei City mentioned this, everyone thought that Zhang Yong's Xinrongji was the most successful high-end restaurant chain in making money, with annual revenue exceeding one billion yuan.

However, Xin Rong Ji, including its sub-brands, has dozens of subsidiaries.

There are only six Beicheng Hotels.

This profit is terrifying.

Jiang Beicheng said: "The future of the service industry will definitely be about brand value, rather than the traditional approach of seizing market share."

Trying to exploit the lower-tier market won't generate high profits; it will only worsen the industry ecosystem and further exploit employees.

There was applause.

Everyone began to focus their attention on the young CEO of Jiangbei City.

The host continued the conversation about Jiang Beicheng: "Mr. Jiang mentioned the lower-tier market. I would like to ask Mr. Jiang, what are your thoughts on the lower-tier market in the catering industry? Does Beicheng Restaurant have any plans to create a new brand and enter the lower-tier market?"

Jiang Beicheng replied directly, "No."

The catering industry currently has the lowest survival rate and the shortest average lifespan among all industries.

The situation in lower-tier markets is currently very bad; it can only be described as chaotic and disorganized.

Food delivery services are squeezing the lower-tier market, and restaurant chains are waging a price war through group buying. How are individual businesses supposed to survive?
How could an industry so closely intertwined with people's daily lives give rise to companies with revenues in the hundreds of billions and profits in the tens of billions? One can only imagine the blood and tears behind that success.

The host stared at Jiangbei City in shock.

The scene was completely silent; no one dared to applaud.

Jiangbei City used this topic to discuss the food delivery industry and criticized several internet giants.

This has gone beyond the scope of this topic.

"Young people really dare to speak their minds!"

Aren't you afraid of offending major internet companies?

"This isn't the first time President Jiang has clashed head-on with Meituan."

"I remember the conflict between Beicheng Hotel and the Black Pearl Awards committee, which put Meituan in the spotlight and reportedly even alarmed Wang Xing."

"President Jiang is really tough!"

(End of this chapter)