Note 7余波不斷，三星被指區(qū)別對(duì)待中國(guó)消費(fèi)者

TIANJIN, China — Zhang Sitong was saving a friend’s phone number on his Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone when it started to vibrate and smoke. He threw it on the ground and told his friend to start filming.

中國(guó)天津——張思童正要把朋友的電話號(hào)碼存到自己的三星Galaxy Note 7智能手機(jī)上去，突然手機(jī)開(kāi)始震動(dòng)，后冒煙。他把手機(jī)扔到地上，并讓朋友進(jìn)行拍攝。

Two employees from Samsung Electronics showed up at his house later that day, he said, offering a new Note 7 and about $900 in compensation on the condition that he keep the video private. Mr. Zhang angrily refused. Only weeks before, even as Samsung recalled more than two million Note 7s in the United States and elsewhere, the company had reassured him and other Chinese customers that the phone was safe.

張思童說(shuō)，三星電子的兩名員工在當(dāng)天晚些時(shí)候出現(xiàn)在他的住所，要給他一部新的Note 7手機(jī)，以及約合6000元人民幣(約900美元)的賠償，條件是他不公開(kāi)視頻。張思童憤怒地拒絕了。就在幾周前，雖然三星已在美國(guó)和其他地方宣布召回逾200萬(wàn)部Note 7手機(jī)，公司卻仍在向張思童和其他中國(guó)客戶保證，國(guó)行版的手機(jī)是安全的。

“They said there was no problem with the phones in China. That’s why I bought a Samsung,” said Mr. Zhang, a 23-year-old former firefighter. “This is an issue of deception. They are cheating Chinese consumers.”

“他們說(shuō)，中國(guó)出售的手機(jī)沒(méi)有問(wèn)題。這是我為什么買了三星的原因，”23歲的張思童說(shuō)，他曾經(jīng)當(dāng)過(guò)消防兵。“這是一個(gè)欺騙的問(wèn)題。他們?cè)谄垓_中國(guó)消費(fèi)者。”

Samsung, already reeling from its embarrassing and expensive decision last week to kill the Note 7, has a particularly vexing problem in China. On Tuesday, China’s powerful state-run broadcaster, China Central Television, or CCTV, criticized the way Samsung tested its phones and asked whether its claims that the phones were safe and reliable were “fabricated falsehoods.”

三星上周做出了令其尷尬且損失重大的決定，停止生產(chǎn)Note 7，這已經(jīng)讓公司受到重挫，而公司在中國(guó)則面臨著尤其令人煩惱的問(wèn)題。周二，中國(guó)強(qiáng)大的官方媒體中央電視臺(tái)批評(píng)了三星檢測(cè)手機(jī)的方法，并責(zé)問(wèn)公司，聲稱手機(jī)安全可靠是不是“虛假捏造”。

“If Samsung continues to violate the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese consumers and continues to refuse to make public the samples used in its testing process as well as the process itself, who would be able to help Chinese consumers find the truth?” the CCTV report said.

央視報(bào)道問(wèn)道，“如果三星繼續(xù)侵害中國(guó)消費(fèi)者的合法權(quán)益，繼續(xù)拒絕向中國(guó)消費(fèi)者公開(kāi)其檢測(cè)過(guò)程和樣品，誰(shuí)又能幫助中國(guó)消費(fèi)者找到真相呢?”

The South Korean company is paying a price for treating China differently. Samsung initially said the Chinese version of the Note 7 had a different battery and was safe. But last week, after reports in China of phones catching fire, it finally recalled the Note 7 there before it scrapped the phone globally.

這家韓國(guó)公司正在為區(qū)別對(duì)待中國(guó)市場(chǎng)付出代價(jià)。三星最初曾說(shuō)，國(guó)行版Note 7用不同的電池，是安全的。但上周，在中國(guó)出現(xiàn)了手機(jī)著火的報(bào)道之后，三星終于決定召回中國(guó)市場(chǎng)上的Note 7，并在那以后宣布，在全球報(bào)廢這款手機(jī)。

“The brand has been damaged already,” said Di Jin, research manager in China for IDC, a technology research firm. “It will be really hard for Samsung to regain its market share in the near future.”

“公司品牌已經(jīng)受到損害，”技術(shù)研究公司IDC的中國(guó)研究經(jīng)理金迪說(shuō)。“三星將很難在不久的將來(lái)恢復(fù)其市場(chǎng)份額。”

In a statement, Samsung said it “would like to apologize for any misunderstandings this may have caused the Chinese consumers due to an unclear communication in the process.” It said its quality control was the same in all countries. “To Samsung, China is one of the most important markets and a crucial destination for foreign investment,” it said. “Samsung never holds a double standard against them.”

三星在一份聲明中表示，“由于我們沒(méi)有對(duì)產(chǎn)品安全性進(jìn)行細(xì)致的說(shuō)明給大家?guī)?lái)的不解，我們向廣大消費(fèi)者表達(dá)真誠(chéng)的歉意。”聲明說(shuō)，三星的質(zhì)量控制在所有的國(guó)家都一樣。“三星電子非常重視中國(guó)市場(chǎng)，從未且永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)對(duì)中國(guó)采用雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，”聲明說(shuō)。

Samsung was once the top phone maker in China, which is now the world’s largest smartphone market. It enjoyed a reputation for quality in a country weary of cheap products, as well as the benefit of a Korean name in a country that adores Korean pop music and culture.

三星一度是中國(guó)市場(chǎng)上最大的手機(jī)制造商，中國(guó)目前有世界上最大的智能手機(jī)市場(chǎng)。在一個(gè)厭倦了廉價(jià)產(chǎn)品的國(guó)家，三星享有高質(zhì)量的聲譽(yù)。韓國(guó)流行音樂(lè)和文化也在中國(guó)深受歡迎，讓這個(gè)韓國(guó)名字的公司受益。

But Samsung has become the latest global brand to get hit by rising Chinese rivals that compete on quality as well as price. Samsung has lost market share in China to Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, Oppo Electronics and other local companies making competitive gadgets with advanced features. The South Korean company’s market share dropped to less than 7 percent in the second quarter of this year from nearly 19 percent in 2013, according to IDC.

但是，三星已經(jīng)成為在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)受到挑戰(zhàn)的最新全球品牌，其中國(guó)對(duì)手在質(zhì)量和價(jià)格上都有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。三星在中國(guó)的市場(chǎng)份額已受到華為、小米，以及廣東歐珀移動(dòng)通信有限公司(Oppo Electronics)等本地公司的侵蝕，這些公司都制造具有先進(jìn)功能的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)產(chǎn)品。據(jù)IDC統(tǒng)計(jì)，三星在中國(guó)的市場(chǎng)份額從2013年的近19%下降到今年第二季度的不到7%。

The treatment of Chinese consumers by foreign firms is an issue that resonates in a country where nationalistic sentiment runs deep. The state news media has vilified foreign brands such as McDonald’s, KFC, Apple and Starbucks for what they perceive as unequal treatment of Chinese customers.

中國(guó)人的民族主義情緒很高，外國(guó)公司對(duì)待中國(guó)消費(fèi)者的問(wèn)題在這里能產(chǎn)生深厚的共鳴。官方新聞媒體曾斥責(zé)過(guò)諸如麥當(dāng)勞、肯德基、蘋果和星巴克等外國(guó)公司，認(rèn)為它們對(duì)中國(guó)客戶有不平等的待遇。

“Foreign companies who appear to employ any less favorable policy for the China market can quickly find themselves waist-deep in a P.R. quagmire,” said Mark Natkin, the managing director of Marbridge Consulting, an advisory firm based in Beijing.

“看似對(duì)中國(guó)市場(chǎng)采取了任何不太優(yōu)惠政策的外國(guó)公司，都很快會(huì)陷入一種公關(guān)困境，”總部設(shè)在北京的邁博瑞咨詢有限公司(Marbridge Consulting)的執(zhí)行董事馬克·納特金(Mark Natkin)說(shuō)。

“Those who have navigated the Chinese market most successfully are the companies that have understood they can’t win every battle,” he said, “and that sometimes, to maintain a happy relationship, it’s better just to say: ‘I’m sorry. I love you.’ ”

“處理中國(guó)市場(chǎng)問(wèn)題最成功的公司，是那些明白它們不可能贏得每場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)斗的公司，”他說(shuō)。“有時(shí)，為了維持一種愉快的關(guān)系，最好只是說(shuō)‘對(duì)不起。我愛(ài)你。’”

The official news media in China has become increasingly critical of both foreign and domestic companies as China’s consumer culture has grown. The push culminates each year in March, when CCTV takes on companies for their practices as part of Consumer Rights Day in a prime-time special complete with song-and-dance routines.

隨著中國(guó)消費(fèi)文化的發(fā)展，中國(guó)的官方新聞媒體對(duì)國(guó)內(nèi)外的公司也有越來(lái)越多的批評(píng)。批評(píng)聲在每年3月達(dá)到高潮，在每個(gè)消費(fèi)者權(quán)益日，中央電視臺(tái)都會(huì)在黃金時(shí)段播放批評(píng)公司做法的特別報(bào)道，還伴有歌曲和舞蹈。

Foreign brands have a mixed track record dealing with attacks from the official Chinese news media. Apple apologized after CCTV criticized its warranty policies but went on to enjoy strong sales in the following years. Starbucks continues to move lattes there at a brisk pace despite CCTV’s criticism of its pricing three years ago. But KFC’s parent, Yum Brands, took a hit after CCTV scrutinized its suppliers.

外國(guó)品牌在應(yīng)對(duì)來(lái)自中國(guó)官方新聞媒體的攻擊上做法各異。蘋果在央視批評(píng)其中國(guó)保修政策之后馬上道歉，從而在接下來(lái)的幾年里繼續(xù)在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)享有強(qiáng)勁的銷售。星巴克的拿鐵生意在中國(guó)依然紅火，盡管央視三年前曾批評(píng)其咖啡售價(jià)過(guò)高。央視對(duì)肯德基的母公司百勝(Yum Brands)的供應(yīng)商做了調(diào)查報(bào)道后，百勝的中國(guó)業(yè)務(wù)受到了打擊。

Mr. Zhang, a salesman in the city of Fushun, in northeastern China, was a Samsung loyalist. He has owned four smartphones made by the company, in part because of the pen-type stylus that comes with its Note models.

張思童是中國(guó)東北地區(qū)撫順市的一名推銷員，他曾是三星的忠實(shí)用戶。他擁有四款三星生產(chǎn)的智能手機(jī)，部分原因是他喜歡三星Note手機(jī)的手寫筆。

After he rejected the offer from Samsung, Mr. Zhang quit his job and hit the road. He joined up with Hui Renjie, another man who said his Note 7 had also blown up, to visit laboratories to figure out the problem with their phones. The trip and the testing were paid for by CCTV, which featured the two in Tuesday’s report.

張思童拒絕了三星的賠償之后，辭去了工作，走上了尋找真相的道路。他與一位回先生一起，為了弄清他們手機(jī)的問(wèn)題，去了幾家檢測(cè)機(jī)構(gòu)，回先生說(shuō)自己的Note 7也爆炸了。他們的旅行和檢測(cè)費(fèi)是央視支付的，央視周二的報(bào)道主要是關(guān)于他們的。

In the report, CCTV said an independent lab could not determine the cause of the fire that consumed Mr. Zhang’s phone. It said an external heat source was not responsible for the fire that destroyed Mr. Hui’s phone.

央視在報(bào)道中說(shuō)，獨(dú)立實(shí)驗(yàn)室無(wú)法推定張思童手機(jī)的起火原因，因?yàn)槭謾C(jī)毀壞嚴(yán)重。報(bào)道還說(shuō)，外部熱源不是回先生手機(jī)著火的原因。

Mr. Hui said Samsung had declined his repeated requests to conduct an investigation into the cause of his phone catching on fire in his presence and had ignored his calls.

回先生說(shuō)，三星多次拒絕當(dāng)著他的面檢測(cè)手機(jī)著火原因的要求，也不回他打過(guò)去的電話。

According to Mr. Hui, a representative from the e-commerce site JD.com, where he had bought his phone, told him that Samsung had offered to compensate him for his burned phone and laptop, which he had ruined after throwing his phone on it. Mr. Hui, in response, said, “I told JD to pass this message to Samsung: ‘Go to hell.’ ”

回先生說(shuō)，他的手機(jī)是從電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站京東買來(lái)的，京東的一名代表告訴他，三星已表示要賠償他燒壞的手機(jī)和筆記本電腦，電腦受損是因?yàn)槭謾C(jī)掉落其上。對(duì)此，回先生說(shuō)：“我讓京東轉(zhuǎn)告三星：‘見(jiàn)鬼去吧。’”