A while back, my factory began producing fully-upholstered sofas, in addition to leather covers. At the time, we didn't have any woodworking tools or machines, so we sourced the sofa frames from a local supplier that was recommended to our Purchasing Manager by a "friend". In addition, part of the product development process was an audit of the frame factory to be done by our customer, Marks & Spencer. So, a week before M&S came to Thailand, I decided to inspect the factory myself and make sure it was presentable. Lucky I did.
The place was, basically, four posts in the ground with a tin corrugated roof all held together by years and years and layers and layers of spiderwebs. In 15 years of operation, it had never been properly cleaned. The dust, collecting in the cobwebs, was so thick it looked like hundreds of tiny tapestries, hanging from the ceiling. When I reported back to my boss, I told him it looked like Spiderman had used the inside of the factory for target practice, and we would definitely have a problem with our upcoming audit.
The working conditions weren't much better. Patterns, scrap wood, staples, saw blades, and saw dust covered the floor. Lighting came from 2 or 3 bulbs and a few splinters of sunlight that peaked through the cracks in the walls. I suppose the lighting in the front of the factory was okay because their was no wall.
Needless to say, it was completely unacceptable, and with M&S arriving in just a few days, I was faced with a potentially deal-breaking problem. To get through the audit, I went out and found a furniture factory that met the M&S standards for cleanliness and safety. On the day of the audit, I sent some of our frames and a team of workers from the "Spidey" factory to be reviewed at this "more presentable" furniture factory. In the end, it all worked out - just don't tell anybody.
One day I asked the owner if he ever planned to clean the cobwebs. Absolutely no intention, he told me, and explained that anybody who visits his factory can see for themselves that he runs a successful operation. He has 15 years of spiderwebs and dust to prove it - meaning he's been around a while. Sounds silly, but when it comes to getting a factory job done right, do you look for the guy with the sharpest suit, or the guy with calloused hands, gray hair, and wrinkles? So, with or without M&S's seal of approval, he still has our business, as well as a happy home for Spiderman.
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