Reality of Chinese Business

Here is an excerpt from mylaowai on the reality of doing business in China….
from here:
“Ask a Chinese to do one thing, and there is a reasonable chance that they will do it. Probably incompletely and poorly, but they will do it. Ask them to do more than one thing, and they will do just one of those things, and very badly indeed. Today, for instance, I asked my PA to get some prices and details on something. The conversation proceeded thusly:
Me: “Please get me full prices and details on XXX from such-and-such a supplier.”
PA: [makes phone call to supplier] “They have two types.”
Me: “What are the two types?”
PA: [makes phone call to supplier] “The two types are [a] and [b].”
Me: “What do they cost?”
PA: [makes phone call to supplier] “They cost [$] and [$].”
Me: “Which price is for which model?”
PA: [makes phone call to supplier] “They cost [$a] and [$b].”
Me: “So, those are the prices? Anything else I should know?”
PA: “Yes, that’s everything.”
Me: “Do those prices include the printing?”
continued here http://mylaowai.com/2011/11/24/one-thing-at-a-time/