I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Is Philip's manager also using this electric toothbrush from Anjia?

Liu Min, who was just about to turn and leave, stopped again.

She wasn't actually smitten; her curiosity was simply piqued.

The reason is simple: Philips is a major international brand that primarily manufactures home appliances, while Anjia is a local small business whose main business is housekeeping. So why is Philips, an executive at this major international brand, using Anjia's electric toothbrush instead of their own?

"The Philip you're talking about, is it the Philip who sells home appliances?"

Liu Min was a little suspicious that Anjia's people were using that fake marketing tactic on her: they found a manager of a counterfeit "Feilipu" brand, had him use their electric toothbrush, and then advertised that the manager of "Feilipu" was also using their electric toothbrush.

As long as you speak a little unclearly and your pronunciation isn't perfect, you can't even accuse them of false advertising—we said "Philip," and the manager of Philip does indeed use our electric toothbrush; you just misheard and misunderstood, thinking we said "Philip."

So Liu Min even opened a drawer in the bathroom, took out a hairdryer, and showed it the brand, saying, "Is this the Philips?"

The hairdryer in Liu Min's hand is a Philips.

She's still willing to buy some big brands, as long as she feels it's worth it. For example, this Philips hair dryer, although expensive, is essential for her hair; without it, she can't even dry her head properly. So, Liu Min finds this hair dryer very useful and feels it's a good deal.

Electric toothbrushes are different. If you don't have an electric toothbrush, you can use a traditional toothbrush just the same. Electric toothbrushes seem unnecessary, but they cost a lot of money, which Liu Min thinks is not worth it, so she is reluctant to buy one.

After glancing at the brand on the hairdryer in Liu Min's hand, Sister Fang nodded confidently, "Yes, it's this Philips."

Seeing Fang Jie's certainty, Liu Min believed that the other party wasn't playing that "Flippa" trick. However, she became even more curious and suspicious: "Philippa's manager doesn't use his own electric toothbrush, but yours? Really?"

Fang Jie looked around, as if she had made up her mind, then leaned forward and lowered her voice.

"Sis, we're not allowed to talk about this during company training, but I know you're a very honest person, so I'm telling you the truth. But you can't tell anyone else."

Fang Jie's suggestion really got Liu Min on edge.

She knew this move all too well. Her colleagues huddled around, heads bowed, eyes darting to the side, barely suppressing a laugh – nine times out of ten, they were about to say: So-and-so's husband was seen shopping at the supermarket with another woman; So-and-so's child got the worst grades on the exam again; So-and-so's daughter-in-law didn't even visit her in-laws for the New Year…

Liu Min didn't even need to think; her body reacted first—her waist unconsciously leaned forward, her chin lowered, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her expression automatically switched to that "Go ahead, I'm listening" look.

Their eyes lit up, they got excited—who wouldn't be excited to hear gossip?

At the same time, Liu Min also very skillfully promised: "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, I absolutely won't tell anyone."

Sister Fang glanced at the door again before slowly speaking:

"I heard that Philip's manager's surname is Gu. Manager Gu's family has always used our Anjia cleaning service. His wife really likes us, but to be honest, Manager Gu doesn't think much of us. Every time our people go there, he doesn't really pay attention to them. If he does see them occasionally, he'll say something like, 'Your window cleaning water is no good,' or something like that. Anyway, he doesn't think much of us."

"Once, one of our sisters went to his house to do cleaning. She hadn't been there long, she was honest and hardworking. But when she was wiping the bathroom sink, Manager Gu's Philips electric toothbrush was out of place, right next to the sink. She bumped it and knocked it down."

"It crashed onto the floor tiles with a thud, and the shell cracked."

Liu Min took a breath: "Then we have to pay compensation, right?"

:

"Yes, I heard that Manager Gu's toothbrush cost over 800 yuan! She only makes so much a month, she was so anxious she almost cried. She didn't dare to say anything, afraid of being complained about, so she secretly picked up the broken toothbrush and put it back on the table, trying to fool people for now."

"But the toothbrush was cracked; anyone could see it had been dropped. She was frantic, running around in circles, and what did she end up doing...?"

Fang Jie paused for a moment, then laughed at herself.

"She took out one of our Anjia electric toothbrushes, which the company had given her for trial use, from her bag, stuffed the broken Philip's into the bag, and put the Anjia one back on the table in its original place."

Liu Min was stunned: "This... will it work? The brands are all different."

"That's exactly what I meant!"

Sister Fang slapped her thigh. "Don't even mention the brand, they look completely different. One's a big, thick tube, the other's slender and slim—only a blind person wouldn't tell the difference. She knew they weren't alike. But do you know what she was thinking back then?"

"What were you thinking?"

"She said that she only had one thought at the time: they're all electric toothbrushes anyway. They all go into the mouth, you just plug them into the charging dock and they all turn. Manager Gu is so busy, he doesn't get home until late every day, he definitely doesn't have time to look closely. She could just adjust the angle, turn the Anjia sign away, not face outside, not let anyone see it, and maybe she could fool them."

Liu Min opened her mouth, her expression indescribable: "This...isn't this insulting to people's intelligence?"

Sister Fang laughed: "Isn't that insulting to people's intelligence? When we heard her talk about it later, the whole company burst out laughing. She was very aggrieved, saying, 'I put it in a very neat place, just like before, even the brush head was facing the same direction, how could he have noticed?'"

Liu Min was also amused and wanted to grab a handful of sunflower seeds to eat while listening: "What happened next? Did Manager Gu find out?"

"What did you find?" Sister Fang waved her hand. "According to Mrs. Gu, Manager Gu worked overtime that day and didn't get home until midnight. He was so sleepy when he washed up that he just picked up his toothbrush and brushed his teeth. After brushing, he muttered, 'Why is this toothbrush a bit too strong today?' He rinsed his mouth and went to sleep."

Liu Min almost laughed until tears streamed down her face: "You didn't even notice?"

"No. Mrs. Gu said he used it again the next morning when brushing his teeth. He has a habit of looking at his phone while brushing his teeth, so he doesn't even look at what the toothbrush looks like. He used it like that for two or three days, and then his wife noticed it first and asked him, 'Why is your toothbrush so rough?' Manager Gu was stunned and said, 'Haven't it always been like that?'"

"His wife said, 'Your Philips isn't that thick, it's thin!' Manager Gu then realized what was going on, held the toothbrush and looked at it for a long time, then called our people over to ask. Finally, the young lady couldn't withstand the pressure and told us herself, and only then did Manager Gu understand what was really going on."

Liu Min quickly asked, "Did Manager Gu get angry?"

Sister Fang shook her head: "No. My friend knew she couldn't hide it anymore and said she would definitely lose money, so she begged Manager Gu not to tell the company. But Manager Gu is really a good person. He knew that 800 yuan wasn't much to him, but it was a lot to us. In the end, he not only didn't tell the company, but he also didn't make my friend lose money, and he didn't buy her a new electric toothbrush. She's still using the one from Anjia. Mrs. Gu said he even said our toothbrush is pretty good..."

After listening with great interest, Liu Min remarked with some admiration, "Manager Gu is a good person; he's really kind."

She believed what Sister Fang said.

Often, people believe something simply because they choose to believe it.

For example, if Liu Min hears her friends say that a certain man is shopping at the supermarket with another woman and going to a hotel, she will immediately believe it because she is willing to believe it.

If you tell her that you need to investigate before you have the right to speak, she'll probably say, "What's there to investigate? I knew that man wasn't a good person, this is definitely true," or something like that.

The same is true now.

If you tell her that the truth is that Mr. Shen from Anjia gave Manager Gu a toothbrush, she will find the whole thing too boring and will be more willing to believe the "the cleaning company switched the baby" version.

:

"Who can argue with that?"

Just like the old ladies gossiping at the village news center, Sister Fang also stopped working and sighed with Liu Min, "We all say she's lucky to have met such a good customer as Manager Gu..."

As Liu Min chatted with Sister Fang, she glanced at the electric toothbrush in Sister Fang's hand and became somewhat tempted.

According to Sister Fang, Manager Gu's Philips toothbrush cost over 800 yuan, but Manager Gu couldn't quite tell the difference between An's toothbrush and his own 800-yuan toothbrush.

Doesn't this mean that the two are of similar quality? If Anjia's toothbrush is cheaper, say around 400, then buying Anjia's toothbrush is equivalent to spending around 400 to buy a Philips toothbrush that sells for over 800?

After thinking about it for a while and chatting for a bit, Liu Min took the initiative to bring up the price of Anjia's electric toothbrush.

"...By the way, how much does this toothbrush cost?"

Fang Jie was still chatting about "intelligence" and didn't want to stop, but since the sale of electric toothbrushes also affected her income, she still responded: "239, plus two free brush heads."

239?

Liu Min's heart stirred even more.

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She had originally thought that it was possible to buy a toothbrush that cost over 800 yuan for just over 400 yuan, but it turned out that it only cost 239 yuan, which was much cheaper than the cheapest electric toothbrush from Philips.

However, Liu Min has not yet made up her mind.

After all, even if it's cheaper than Philips, and cheaper than any electric toothbrush she knows, it's still over two hundred dollars.

Even if she's already tempted by a toothbrush that costs over 200 yuan, she still needs to think it over carefully.

But what Fang Jie said next was something she didn't expect.

"Moreover, during the Spring Festival, we have special offers for loyal customers like you. You can try it first and then buy it. If you want one, you can take one and use it for free for seven days. After seven days, if you like it, you can pay for it. If you don't like it, that's fine too. We can come back and take it away. You don't have to pay a penny."

"?"

"!"

Liu Min was shocked, and even thought that Sister Fang was talking nonsense.

She couldn't help but confirm again: "You mean, I can use it for free for seven days? If I don't like it, I can just return it to you without spending a penny?"

Sister Fang said, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

After confirming with Liu Min several times that this was exactly what it meant, her psychological defenses were completely broken down.

"Okay, then give me one, and I'll try it and see how it works."

Free use of an 0+ yuan toothbrush for seven days. If you don't take advantage of this deal, what kind of human would you be?

:

Of course, besides the mentality of "it's a fool not to take advantage of a cheap deal," the preliminary work for settling down is also essential:

If it were a stranger, or someone who hadn't left a reliable impression on her, then no matter what the other person said, Liu Min would still be suspicious, worried that the other person might be all talk and no action, but in reality, if it took seven days and she wanted to back out, the other person would find all sorts of excuses to refuse.

It was precisely because Liu Min had used Anjia Housekeeping's services many times that she had always had a "reliable" impression of them and had a very good feeling about them, that she believed Anjia would really keep its promise to offer a full refund if she was not satisfied after seven days.

Therefore, this seemingly simple "free trial" that was agreed upon in a single conversation was actually the result of several months of groundwork.

"Okay, then I'll save one for you, sis."

Fang Jie was quite happy to have sold one toothbrush—even though it was just a free trial and the customer hadn't decided to buy it yet, the company was very generous. They had specifically mentioned in training that free trials were company policy, and return costs were borne by the company, not them. As long as they got the customer to accept the free trial and keep the toothbrush to try it out, they considered it a successful sale and would still receive their commission!

Of course, there is a premise here: this "free trial and commission for successful sales" model is only for registered customer families of Anjia Household Services.

This doesn't mean that Ms. Fang and her colleagues can't promote this electric toothbrush to customers outside of Anjia.

Fang Jie and her colleagues can still promote Anjia's electric toothbrush to their extended family and relatives. However, there's no free trial for those people; they only receive their commission after the customer makes a formal purchase.

Shen Kang made this rule to prevent some cleaning staff from taking advantage of the system by offering free trials of Anjia toothbrushes to a wide range of relatives and friends, with the promise of returns after seven days.

It's not to say that all these people will return the product after using it. There will definitely be some who initially came to take advantage of the deal, but actually wanted to buy it after using it.

However, compared to existing homeowners, this proportion is too low, resulting in high return costs and ultimately making it a losing proposition.

Therefore, this model of free trial and commission-based payment for free trial currently only applies to existing homebuyers. Others can still purchase, but they are not eligible for these two policies.

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