Gareth: I come from the UK
2019-08-05
Gareth Kong Rui
Program Manager of an electronics companyShanghai project manager of an internationally renowned electronics company
Has been in Shanghai for 3 and half years.
KLC: Hi Gareth, how are you? Thank you for accepting our interview. Could you please introduce yourself and your job?
Gareth: Hi, I come from London; I'm a program manager so I manage multiple projects that relate to specific areas.
KLC:Hello, Gareth, thank you very much for joining us today. Could you please briefly introduce you and your current work?
Gareth:Hello there. I am from London, England, and I am the project manager of our company in Shanghai. Mainly responsible for project work in a series of specific fields.
KLC: Could you please tell us more about that? What specific areas?
Gareth: Well, Mobile phones repair mostly and anything related to that. I have to manage or help people manage. So a program manager manages multiple projects for managing people who manage individual projects.
I have an area of the business that is specifically repair and service related so it's a service program actually.
KLC:Can you talk to us more? What are the specific areas?
Gareth:Well, it's mainly related to cell phone repair. But my work is a little bit distant from the company brand itself. It is related to product maintenance and is basically the same as the service embodied by any other company or smartphone company. I must manage, or help people accomplish these things. As a project manager, my task is to coordinate the work of each specific group.
KLC: How many teammates are there in your department?
Gareth: Only 2. I work with lots of people but the way they have the business built up, you work with a lot of people and you have to convince people to work on the things that you want them to work on. So a lot of what I do is kind of convincing people and influencing people to do the things I want them to do.
There is a whole division who is dedicated to the repair side so that's all they do, they do all the core center stuff, they manage shops, they develop all the processes, procedures and tools and all that stuff. So they are kind of separated from what I do so when I want them to kind of develop a process or a tool or whatever, I have to go and convince them to do it and I have to use their resources and their people and their everything to get things done.
KLC: How many people are there in your department?
Gareth: There are only two. Of course, the content of my work is directly related to many people. I need to persuade others to do what you need them to do for you-this is my main task. There are too many people related to maintenance, and their roles are different. Some people do the core components, and some people manage the shop... They represent different parts of our complete program, and my job is to put them Together, I want to be able to make full use of their resources, their people, and everything they have to make my work go smoothly.
KLC: Okay now I'm beginning to get it. So it's sort of a communication work?
Gareth: Yes, lots of communication.
KLC: OK, I know your work better now. So in fact your work is more of a kind of communication and coordination?
Gareth: Yes, you are right.
KLC: How long have you been in this company?
Gareth: 15 years.
KLC: How long have you been in this company?
Gareth: 15 years.
KLC: So was this company your first job?
Gareth: Yes pretty much. I had one job before but it was not a serious job. I was an assistant manager for a video rental shop. Did China ever have DVD rental shops?
KLC: So, is this the first and only company you work for?
Gareth:you can say so. I have had other work experience but it is not a formal kind of work. I used to be an assistant manager of a DVD rental company. Oh, by the way, are there any DVD rental shops in China?
KLC: Yes, but not anymore. Does it still exist in Western countries?
Gareth: No not anymore.
KLC: Yes, but it is almost gone now. What about in western countries? Is there a market for DVD rental?
Gareth: Oh it's gone.
KLC: The current Sino-US relations are a little tense. Does this have an impact on your company?
Gareth: Hum, yes they're definitely concerned because China is such an important part of the business. As well as they have a lot of customers here, there are big parts of business that are relying on the Chinese teams such as product development, manufacturing and all of that stuff. We employ loads of engineers here for figuring how to do stuff and developing projects including mostly hardware. So yes, it makes everything difficult; whether it's VISAs or even moving things back and forward like manufacturing. All that stuff is all made more complicated by the trade war.
KLC: There are some subtleties in current Sino-US relations. How does this affect Apple?
Gareth: The impact is beyond doubt. Because for us, the Chinese market is extremely important. We have many customers here, and a large part of our work relies on the Chinese team, such as product development, manufacturing and so on. We hire a lot of engineers here to study product development, especially the hardware. So I have to admit that the current situation makes the whole work difficult. Whether it is visa issues or import and export issues caused by manufactured products, these are all related to the current trade conflict.
KLC: Every cloud has a silver lining. Are there any positive impact coming out of the trade war?
Gareth: Specifically in my area it also tends to have a positive impact. A lot of what I had to deal with in the past was dealing with the demand and how many repairs we can do and optimizing customer experiences and making sure there's plenty of access for the customer to be able to come when they want, to get devices repaired very quickly so they don't have to be without a device or replace it with another device.
With the increased issues, that has a knock-on effect with I guess device sales, how frequently people will buy a new device or keep an older device and repair it. So that influences how many customers are coming looking for help or how many customers need a repair and in general the increased tension has reduced the number of repairs and services.
KLC: We often say that "fortune and misfortune depend on each other." Is it possible that this conflict will also have some positive effects?
Gareth: Personally, this trade conflict has had a certain "burden reduction" effect on my department. The problems we had to deal with before related to product maintenance requirements, and how to manage maintenance or improve customer experience, such as how to find a maintenance point more easily, or to find replacements. However, because of this trade conflict, this directly affected sales, and the number of customers in need of help was reduced, so that the work intensity of the entire department was much easier.
KLC: OK this was about your job. Now let's talk about more casual topics. You just completed you Advanced Open Water! Congratulations! You mentioned that you have been on diving vacations twice. Once in the Philippines and once in Thailand. Will you do it again ?
Gareth: Oh yes I like it a lot. I feel like floating in space, it's very relaxing. I might go again during the October holidays.
KLC: Okay, we have finished talking about your work, now let's talk about your daily life. You just completed your advanced open water diving certification? Congratulations! You mentioned that you have experienced a total of 2 dives, one in Thailand and one in the Philippines. Will you continue your diving activities?
Gareth: Oh sure, I like this very much. I feel as if I am floating in space, which is very relaxing. I might go again in October.
Diving in Thiland
Diving in Thailand
KLC: Where will you go this time?
Garerth: Some people say that Japan is very interesting because of wrecks and underwater mysterious cities.
KLC: Where are you going this time?
Someone told me that Japan is also a very good choice because of its famous underwater mysterious world. I think maybe I will go there this time.
KLC: Cool! Could you tell us what are your daily habits?
Gareth: I use a planning application and designed 20 minutes Chinese review every day.
KLC: Cool! Besides diving, do you have any other hobbies in your daily life? Except diving.
Gareth: Well, I use a planning app to plan my 20-minute Chinese learning every day!
KLC: Hahahaha sounds good. Besides Chinese, what else is on your to do list?
Gareth: Everyday I will do 10km bicycle, 20 minutes Yoga and practice my Guitar.
KLC: Hahahaha, that’s great, besides your favorite Chinese learning, what else would you use your app to help you plan?
Gareth:I will do 10 kilometers of cycling every day, 20 minutes of yoga practice, and my guitar.
KLC: Last time you mentioned you are volunteering to help blind people. Could you tell us more about this?
Gareth: Well, the idea is: some blind people like to do running and to exercise but obviously it can be quite dangerous for them so we learn to guide them to the right way to go and tell them what is coming, if there's something in the way or some noise that might be confusing, etc.
KLC: Last time you mentioned that you were participating in a volunteer activity to help blind people. Can you share this event?
Gareth:The starting point of this activity is this: Many blind people also hope to participate in outdoor activities such as running, but this is obviously not safe for them. So we will learn how to guide them, tell them the specific road conditions, and help them eliminate interference with external sounds.
KLC: So that means you need to experience how they are feeling, right?
Gareth: Exactly, that's how they teach you so that you can understand the types of things that can confuse you if you were blind. They have you wear a blindfold and have someone guide you so you can feel how frightening and confusing it can be.
KLC:I guess you need to actually experience what a blind person feels, right?
Gareth:Not bad. This is exactly what the organizers do. They allow you to feel and understand the things that trouble the blind. You will need to blindfold your eyes, and another volunteer will take you to walk, so you can see firsthand how helpless and nervous you are.
KLC: What is the most difficult part when you are blind?
Gareth: Well it is surprising how simple things suddenly become very disorienting. Even if it's just a noise. You can hear further away because you're focusing so hard on what you're hearing because you can't see. It seems like you can pick things out from further away. With your eyes open, you are able to see stuff and be more accurate in judging how far away are the things you are listening to. Whereas when you have a blindfold on and you hear something it sounds sort of louder and closer than it actually is so you end up quite confused. You have to have faith that your guide can explain everything to you and that they are going to pay attention and not make you run into things.
KLC:What do you think is the hardest part in this process?
Gareth:You will feel that even simple things will become so difficult. For example, sound. You can hear farther when you lose sight, because you have all your attention on it, and you will catch farther sounds. When you can see, you can see the things you can hear at the same time, and you can judge their distance more accurately; and when your eyes are blindfolded, you will feel that the sound is louder and the distance is closer. These Information will eventually confuse you. You must trust your guide, they will give you an accurate explanation, and will help you avoid hitting things on the road.
KLC: How long practice do you need every time? How many times training will you need to be ready to become a qualified volunteer?
Gareth: For me not very far, it's about running for 10 minutes in one direction. Probably for about a kilometer. You only have to practice a bit. I think 3 times and then you have to take a written test because there are very specific ways; you were talking about the steps and there is a very specific way you are supposed to approach the steps so that the person you are leading knows where are the steps and most importantly when the steps are finished so they are not trying to take an extra step and stumble or fall so you have to be guiding them and telling them at which step they are and how far away they are from the steps.
KLC:How far does it take to participate in this training? How many times can you become a qualified volunteer?
Gareth:It’s not very far to me. It’s about 10 minutes running in the same direction, maybe 1 km. As for the number of times, I think you can take a written test after 3 times, because there are really many special points. For example, steps. You will need to approach the steps in a special way so that the people you lead will understand where there are steps. The most important thing is when the steps will end so that they will not continue to walk when they should end and cause them to fall. So you have to tell them where they are on the stairs now and how long they can end.
KLC: Is there a specific body language?
Gareth: Well you have a rope which has two loops. One loop is smaller than the other so the persons who can see has the smaller loop around their wrist so they can hold on to the rope and the persons who can't see also have their hand tied to the other loop. The difference is in the size so it's very easy if the blind person wants to let go if you fall because you if it happens to you, you don't want him to fall as well.
Going on an actual proper run with blind people
Participate in running activities with blind people
KLC:Is there auxiliary body language?
Gareth:We will hold each other a rope with loops at both ends, one large and one small. Volunteers wear small rings, and blind people wear large ones. Such a designer wants to allow the blind person to escape quickly-for example, when you fall down, you definitely don't want him to be brought down by you.
WE MAKE LANGUAGES EASY!
