The multiple safeguards put in place earlier began to take effect!

When the Sloth Apartment project was first established, Pei Qian had racked his brains thinking about how to discourage tenants and keep the Sloth Apartment units vacant for as long as possible.

Simply putting those inhospitable rules on the Tenda Life APP was not secure enough.

Although this approach would certainly discourage some people, there would inevitably still be a portion of people who, harboring wishful thinking, would come to see the actual condition of the apartments in person. This was unavoidable.

Each building had its dedicated manager, and these managers could also be seen as salespeople, as they had to introduce the features of the building to customers who came to view it.

What if these managers had particularly strong sales abilities, with especially clever sales tactics, and managed to convince customers to decide on the spot to move in?

This wasn’t impossible!

Most of the people who applied for the manager position, including Song Kai, had previous experience working at other rental companies. These rental agency companies were very skilled at turning people into marketing machines who could tell blatant lies with a straight face.

Not only that, but because Sloth Apartments had extremely high decoration standards and was personally designed by Liang Qingfan, it gave people a visually impactful first impression.

Middle-aged people who preferred a luxurious style might not be impressed, but for young people, the impact was particularly significant.

What Pei Qian feared most was that customers would come to view the apartments, see the interior exactly as shown in the promotional video, get persuaded by the manager, and make an impulsive decision to sign the contract on the spot.

To solve this problem, training the managers was an important link.

So, Pei Qian had already instructed Song Kai long ago: if anyone came to view the apartments, never use any marketing tactics, and when introducing the apartments, never be subjective, praising how good the apartment was in any way.

When customers arrive, first introduce them to the hard rules of Sloth Apartments, such as not being able to move any furniture in the apartment, not being allowed to purchase furniture to increase storage space, must rent the entire unit for the long term, and so on.

If managers couldn’t use any marketing tactics, they would naturally be more likely to discourage customers.

Moreover, Pei Qian had also specifically emphasized that managers should never reveal that he lived in this building, or even convey the signal that “Mr. Pei is also living in Sloth Apartments.”

He didn’t want to repeat the mistake he had accidentally made by endorsing Slackin’ Takeout.

So, although some people followed the address on the Tenda Life APP to come view the apartments this morning, no one had decided to move in.

Pei Qian was slightly relieved.

But he didn’t know the situation with the other three buildings.

The building where Pei Qian lived had one household per elevator, with large single-floor units. The rent was originally very high, so it was normal that ordinary people couldn’t afford it. But for the other three buildings, because each apartment wasn’t very large, the rent was still within the acceptable range for ordinary people.

He needed to pay a bit more attention to the online trends.

Yesterday, the video went viral, but at that time, what netizens saw was just a beautiful illusion. Today, after netizens saw the actual apartments, whether they could maintain yesterday’s enthusiasm would determine the future fate of Sloth Apartments.

Pei Qian arrived at Slackin’ Internet Café, eating while scrolling through his phone, checking everyone’s comments about Sloth Apartments.

…

In some local forums and groups in Jingzhou, quite a few people were already discussing “Sloth Apartments,” this new industry under Tenda Life.

Previously, Sloth Apartments had only hung a simple page on the Tenda Life APP, with only hard rules and no promotional video. Plus, the Tenda Life APP had just been revamped not long ago, so it hadn’t attracted much attention.

But after this video was updated, the attention for this project immediately increased!

Because so far, all of Tenda’s industries, including Slackin’ Internet Café, Slackin’ Takeout, Headwind Logistics, Tuoguan Fitness, and more, had all received quite positive reviews.

And renting apartments had always been a major pain point for young people.

Small agencies and sublessors were everywhere. Renting from these people, getting scammed was a high probability event; not getting scammed would be abnormal.

Experienced people said that when renting, you should find large agency companies, but large agency companies were also full of tricks and would similarly try to deceive you without negotiation, just not as severely.

The so-called large agencies, compared to small agencies and sublessors, were just a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Young people who had just started working, if they looked for apartments on their own, would most likely be deceived.

Many people who had been working for two or three years and found satisfactory apartments, but that was only because they had been deceived multiple times, gained experience, and learned to spend a lot of time and energy to identify those scams. Finding a good apartment was basically like finding a bargain.

Now, hearing that Tenda was going to do apartments, many young people in Jingzhou were naturally overjoyed!

Not to mention anything else, at least Tenda was absolutely trustworthy and definitely wouldn’t be full of tricks like other agency companies, where before signing the contract you’re the boss, after signing the contract they’re the boss; before signing the contract they make promises and guarantees, after signing the contract they can’t even remember who you are.

Moreover, this promotional video was made so well, with Chen Lei singing the theme song in it, and the whole room looking warm, comfortable, and simple… it made many young people feel itchy with desire.

However, after viewing the apartments in person and listening to the manager’s detailed introduction, many people backed out.

Online public opinion was no longer unanimously praising, but began to discuss heatedly.

“I went to see the apartments today. The apartment is indeed the same as shown in the promotional video, without any changes, but the price is really scary! Compared to fully-furnished apartments in the same location, the rent is at least 30% higher! Is this still the Tenda known for good quality at low prices?”

“But the apartments here are decorated well.”

“Look, I said, compared to fully-furnished apartments, it’s 30% higher! Compared to poorly decorated apartments, it’s even 50% higher!”

“To summarize, currently Sloth Apartments has a total of four units: one large single-floor unit in Urban Dawn area, don’t even mention this one, ordinary people can’t afford it, and the layout is very odd; one commercial-residential loft in Shundong Garden, divided into two floors, but commercial-residential, you all understand; the other two are like the one in the promotional video, but the location is very remote. The 180-degree panoramic living room is stunning at first sight, but after actually seeing it, you’d worry if it’s too impractical.”

“All apartments have very high decoration standards, and the prices are all on the high side.”

“Let me be fair. I went to see the apartments. The decoration standard of Sloth Apartments is too high. Many people who have bought their own houses might not be willing to spend so much money on decoration! But this point isn’t particularly obvious. For example, the furniture and appliances seem to be a bit more high-end than the ‘peace of mind apartments’ launched by ‘Homely’ agency, but it doesn’t feel that much more high-end.”

“Yes, overall it has a higher decoration standard than Homely’s peace of mind apartments, but this decoration style is too minimalist, it could even be called shabby. The advantage in terms of decoration isn’t obvious.”

“Why aren’t you all mentioning the strict rules of Sloth Apartments? Can’t buy furniture, can’t change the layout inside, must rent long-term, must rent the entire unit, and the price is so high, how many people are willing to rent? Even if willing to rent, with so little storage space, there’s no place to put things. Do they expect us to throw away all our miscellaneous items?”

“Based on my many years of renting experience, this Sloth Apartment model is completely a face project, too impractical! Expensive and inconvenient, only suitable for artsy youth to take photos in and show off.”

“Indeed, currently it seems that if not for the aesthetics, renting this would be asking for trouble. I’d rather choose Homely Group’s peace of mind apartments. Although not decorated as beautifully, it’s also a big brand that can be trusted, also fully furnished, cheaper, and I can arrange the furnishings in the room as I please.”

“I think since it’s a Tenda industry, it must be trustworthy. Perhaps there’s some deep meaning behind these rules, and you’ll discover it after moving in?”

“Then welcome, brave souls, to be guinea pigs.”

“I’ve wanted to complain for a long time. Aren’t all of Tenda’s other industries focused on style over practicality? That food box from Slackin’ Takeout, just adding a box makes it so much more expensive than the regular version. Tuoguan Fitness directly bundled with fitness meals, charged per session, calculating it all, it’s almost twice as expensive as other gyms!”

“I agree with the above. I also don’t know why many people always call Tenda good quality at low prices. I can accept good quality, but where is the price low? Do any of the items on the Tenda Life APP have truly low prices? Aren’t they all just paying for style? For things like takeout, it’s fine if it’s a bit more expensive, no big deal. But renting an apartment takes up a third of most people’s salaries. With an additional 30% increase, who would be willing?”

“Indeed, the primary attribute of a house is for living. Style can’t be eaten as food.”

“I think Tenda has become arrogant this time, overemphasizing the showing-off attribute, ignoring the actual living needs, going against the market trend.”

“So, isn’t Homely’s peace of mind apartment good? Also fully furnished, also has a manager, the price is 30% lower than Sloth Apartments. Think about it, if the monthly rent is 1,500, in a year you would save 6,000 yuan, that’s a mobile phone right there!”

“I also think Homely’s apartments are more cost-effective. As for Sloth Apartments… just wait. Believe that Tenda will soon discover that this thing doesn’t meet everyone’s needs, and will lower the rent or change the rules when they can’t rent it out.”

…

After eating, Pei Qian was drinking coffee and scrolling through everyone’s comments about Sloth Apartments, feeling quite relieved.

Hmm, my safety measures have worked!

What are the netizens saying? Wait a while, and they’ll lower the rent or change the rules when they can’t rent it out?

Young man, you’re thinking too much!

Mr. Pei specializes in treating wait-and-see parties!

If the apartments can’t be rented out, Mr. Pei would be too happy, how could he possibly lower the price? Absolutely impossible!

Pei Qian felt much more at ease. This time, the script was finally going according to his expectations.

Strictly speaking, the rental price of Sloth Apartments wasn’t so high that the working class couldn’t afford it.

But what ultimately influences consumers’ decisions is often not the absolute price, but the relative price compared to competitors.