With these words, everyone on Shengrun Group’s side was stunned.
What was going on?
This wasn’t following the script they had prepared!
Nie Yunsheng had already mentally prepared himself after seeing Lü Mingliang’s business card, so his reaction was minimal.
The delivery man was a bit bewildered, unconsciously glancing to his left and right.
The two Vice Presidents were the most confused, even seeming at a loss about what to do, completely unable to understand why the complainant had suddenly become so confrontational.
This was being livestreamed, with viewers across the entire internet watching. The Vice President from Shengrun Group was trying to mediate with kind words, but the complainant had pulled this stunt?
It was similar to the scene when the delivery man knelt down—this would clearly give people an impression of being aggressive and unreasonable.
Had he gone mad?
Hadn’t he been criticized enough?
Moreover, after the two Vice Presidents from Shengrun Group recovered from their initial surprise, they not only felt bewildered but also angry that “he was refusing the olive branch.”
Who did he think he was? Our Chairman Nie had come personally to mediate—we’ve already given you plenty of face. Why couldn’t you just be sensible and take the easy way out, so everyone would be happy?
Instead, he was getting even more arrogant, refusing to show understanding?
What was this? Did he still want to denounce them during the livestream?
This was simply outrageous!
After a few seconds of silence at the scene, the tension immediately escalated.
But since Nie Yunsheng hadn’t spoken, the other two Vice Presidents couldn’t act rashly, nor did they dare to leave on their own initiative.
Lü Mingliang smiled slightly and took over the conversation: “Chairman Nie, everyone, please remain calm.”
“As this gentleman said, we’re indeed here today to try to solve the problem and eliminate the negative impact.”
“The reason for the slightly tense atmosphere is mainly because there have been some communication issues between the two parties, and many thoughts haven’t been fully conveyed to each other.”
“I think this is normal—truths become clear through debate! Now that Chairman Nie is here and both parties involved are present, let’s lay everything out on the table, clarify the causes and effects, and through full communication, the truth will naturally come to light.”
“The hundreds of thousands of viewers in the livestream can also serve as witnesses. Right now, public opinion is on your company’s side, and everyone is very sympathetic to the delivery man. Since Chairman Nie is already here, why not take some time to discuss this issue a bit in front of all the viewers?”
“Regarding the express delivery industry, I happen to have some modest insights to share with everyone.”
Obviously, if Nie Yunsheng had known earlier that this would be an online debate, especially with Headwind Logistics, he would never have come.
Whether he could win or not was beside the point—the key was that the risk was too great and absolutely not worth it!
If he hadn’t come, Lü Mingliang would have been genuinely troubled.
But now that Nie Yunsheng had already arrived, it wouldn’t be easy for him to leave.
The two Vice Presidents looked at Nie Yunsheng and saw that his face was somewhat gloomy, as if he might explode the next second. But quickly, his expression softened, and he even displayed a smile: “Of course, we came here to solve problems.”
“However, this matter is, after all, a dispute between a Shengrun Group customer and an employee. Director Lü is the head of Headwind Logistics—there’s no reason for you to get involved, is there?”
“Or does Headwind Logistics think we haven’t handled it properly? The delivery man has already knelt before the customer—does Director Lü think that’s not enough? If so, I truly feel disheartened for Headwind Logistics’ delivery personnel.”
This was a barbed comment, not only implying that Lü Mingliang, as the head of Headwind Logistics, was meddling in affairs that didn’t concern him, but also positioning Lü Mingliang as opposed to the delivery man.
Nie Yunsheng understood clearly that today, in front of so many eyes, whoever was left speechless would lose.
Whether this was a debate or a verbal battle, the loser would definitely suffer serious damage to their corporate image, causing significant harm to their company’s interests.
Looked at from another angle, this also meant that the winning side would gain a significant advantage.
If Shengrun Group could take this opportunity to deal with Lü Mingliang as well and tarnish Headwind Logistics’ reputation, then Shengrun Group would not only immediately resolve their own crisis but also turn it into an opportunity.
Since it was no longer possible to leave in this situation, the only option was to go on the offensive.
Lü Mingliang wasn’t flustered and didn’t respond to Nie Yunsheng’s remarks. If he really directed his criticism at the delivery man, he would have fallen into the trap. His target had always been Shengrun Group, and he absolutely couldn’t shift that focus no matter what happened.
So Lü Mingliang didn’t answer Nie Yunsheng’s question at all, but directly countered: “Chairman Nie, let me ask you a question: Our current society is a society governed by the rule of law, correct?”
This was a technique he had learned from the automatic argument machine: if the opponent throws out a trap-like question where any answer would put you in a passive position, the best method is to pose a question yourself, turning defense into offense, and forcing the opponent into your rhythm.
Nie Yunsheng was startled for a moment, then answered without thinking: “Of course.”
Lü Mingliang nodded: “Since we live in a society governed by the rule of law, we should uphold the spirit of the rule of law. The complainant’s first complaint was due to damaged goods. According to the contract between the consumer and the courier company, when the courier company causes damage to a package, the customer has the right to complain—there’s no problem with that, right?”
“The complainant’s second complaint was because Shengrun Express promised to compensate for the apples but didn’t provide the same variety of apples. Instead, they substituted other apples, failing to fulfill their promise. The customer complained a second time, asking for an explanation—that’s not a problem either, right?”
“The customer was merely exercising their rights granted by law—what’s wrong with that?”
Although Nie Yunsheng was somewhat unprepared, he quickly recovered: “Director Lü makes a valid point, but… beyond the law, there’s something called human empathy. Everyone makes mistakes, and delivery personnel making errors in their busy schedules is inevitable. He’s already knelt down and apologized, yet the customer still refuses to let it go—is that appropriate? The reason netizens reacted so strongly is because the customer is being unreasonable, showing no human empathy whatsoever.”
“Our company certainly doesn’t condone this kind of cyberbullying, but shouldn’t we show some understanding for the hard work of delivery personnel?”
Lü Mingliang said: “Understanding the hardships of delivery personnel is certainly not an issue, but when good customer service is compromised, who should be responsible for that?”
“Your Shengrun Group keeps saying that delivery personnel have it tough, that they earn meager wages and work hard, and that this complaint might subject him to a huge fine. But isn’t this situation created by your Shengrun Group?”
Nie Yunsheng’s face darkened: “We’ve already waived all penalties for the delivery man and provided him with comfort and subsidies.”
Lü Mingliang gave a mocking smile: “What about the other delivery personnel? This particular delivery man is fortunate because this incident happened to explode at this critical moment, becoming your shield for transferring conflicts. Of course, you had to make a show of it, offering both comfort and compensation.”
“But Shengrun Express has many other delivery personnel just like him, and I believe they’ve suffered no fewer grievances in their regular work. Where were you then, Chairman Nie?”
“Fining delivery personnel after they receive complaints—isn’t that the rule set by your Shengrun Express? You impose the fines, and you also waive them and offer comfort. May I ask, what’s the basis for your decision to fine or not fine? Is your operational basis founded on contracts and the spirit of law, or on your company’s interests?”
Lü Mingliang looked at the delivery man: “You wouldn’t say this is the first time you’ve encountered a situation like this, would you?”
The delivery man lowered his head and remained silent.
Obviously, this definitely wasn’t the first time!
He had been fined due to complaints countless times; it was just that this time it happened to escalate and caught the attention of Shengrun Group’s senior management.
So when Lü Mingliang asked this question, he didn’t dare to answer rashly.
Nie Yunsheng realized something was off.
What was going on? Wasn’t the delivery man supposed to be on his side? How had a few words from Lü Mingliang seemingly turned him around?
Nie Yunsheng hurriedly said: “Express delivery is an industry that connects people, and wherever there are people, friction is inevitable. We penalize delivery personnel based on customer complaints to be accountable to customers and to urge delivery personnel to work diligently. We comfort our delivery personnel to prevent demoralizing our employees and to guard against the impact of malicious complaints on the entire logistics system. These two aspects don’t contradict each other.”
Lü Mingliang smiled slightly: “Chairman Nie’s words are a bit obscure; let me help translate.”
“What you’re actually saying is that penalizing delivery personnel based on complaints is to appease customers’ anger, maintain the company’s reputation, and incidentally earn money from fines. After the situation escalates, comforting the delivery personnel, even morally coercing the complainant, is to increase the cost of customer complaints, forcing them to sympathize with delivery personnel and accept subpar service.”
“The delivery personnel get fined, the customers have to endure inferior service—they both lose, while only your company wins, and wins big.”
“I asked you whether the basis for your decisions to fine or not fine is founded on contracts and the spirit of law or on company interests, and you dare not answer.”
“So your statement actually defaults to the latter. You dare not say your basis is contracts and law because according to regulations, the customer’s complaint is entirely reasonable and legal, falling within the rules you’ve set.”
“You can only selectively mention partial facts, aspects that are favorable to you, as if the conflicting parties in this entire incident are only the customer and the delivery person. But the problem is, both the delivery person and the customer have contracts with your company—your company is the primary responsible party. So why throughout this entire process do you seem to be completely detached?”
“I’ve noticed that all companies trying to establish themselves as major platforms dream of not managing anything, collecting taxes while sitting idle, and having others bear the responsibilities.”
“No matter what type of platform company it is, the first thing they think of is designing rules that benefit themselves a hundredfold without any drawbacks, wanting to keep themselves completely clean. Every time there’s a complaint, they say they’ve already penalized the delivery person, but what people want to complain about is the platform itself! At this point, you’ll say, ‘We’re just a platform. The reason customers are dissatisfied is because the delivery person’s service wasn’t up to standard…'”
“Now you’ve kept yourselves completely clean. When public opinion sympathizes with customers, you kowtow to customers and pressure delivery personnel to death; when public opinion sympathizes with delivery personnel, you kowtow to them and pressure customers to death. You even deliberately guide public opinion in directions favorable to yourselves.”
“It’s always others who bear responsibility, never your fault.”
“Chairman Nie, is a listed company with a market value of tens of billions really incapable of doing anything other than severely penalizing delivery personnel?”
“Is it that you can’t do it, or that you don’t want to?”