An electronic scale has 7 levels, and items of the same weight will show different weights at different levels. The Jibei Industrial & Commercial Office jointly with quality supervision departments conducted a surprise inspection on measuring instruments in the Xiwu Market, finding that merchants use new tricks to short-weight using electronic scales.
Placing a standard 1000-gram weight on the electronic scale should result in a reading of 1000 grams. However, after entering a password and sequentially pressing another 6 "level" keys, the electronic scale would respectively display 1005, 1050, 1100, 1150, 1200, 1250, 1300 grams. This means that consumers buying 1 kilogram of goods might have to pay up to 30% more.
January 2012: Small vendors at the train station extort tourists.
February 2012: Electronic scales short-weight.
On February 7th, People's Daily Online reported that the high-price overcharging incident in Sanya, Hainan had not yet subsided when another "astronomical price menu" incident was exposed in Gulangyu, Xiamen, Fujian. This undoubtedly added much unpleasantness to holiday travels. How to enhance a city's soft power seems to have become a tough question for major tourist cities. The reporter reviewed tourism incidents since the beginning of 2012 in Xiamen, including large restaurants issuing "astronomical price menus," small vendors at the train station extorting tourists, and electronic scales short-weighting, urging all merchants to take heed and operate honestly.
February 2012: Large restaurants issue "astronomical price menus."
A tourist once posted online that he was stopped by several vendors who wouldn't let him leave because he refused to buy their candy twists. Originally, Mr. Wang and his wife passed by the train station where they saw the colorful candy twists on a small stall, asked about the price, and were told it was only 5 yuan.
In this surprise inspection, a total of 32 electronic scales were inspected, and 2 problematic scales were found. The industrial and commercial department reminds consumers to walk a few more steps if possible and re-weigh their purchases on nearby fair scales to avoid significant losses.
Mr. Ding from Suzhou and 7 others spent 9560 yuan on a meal during the Spring Festival at a seafood restaurant on the south side of the island road. Mr. Ding and others described their experience of being overcharged at this large restaurant. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, they ordered five dishes and one soup, which included only three types of seafood. One dish was even "complimentary from the store." In the end, they were charged an astronomical price of 9560 yuan. Mr. Ding has complained to Xiamen's industrial and commercial complaint hotline 12315, and the store refunded 3500 yuan in cash to Mr. Ding. Currently, the store has ceased operations for rectification.
Seeing that Mr. Wang intended to buy, the vendor casually cut off a piece with a knife, didn’t even weigh it, and directly demanded 77 yuan. This price shocked Mr. Wang—it was too expensive! Siming patrol officer Fan Zhigang arrived on the scene to mediate, and eventually, Mr. Wang bought a small piece for 50 yuan.