Monday, October 7, 2019

You Can Pay People In China To Give You Compliments, Keep You Company and More. A Real Story.


I have always admired people who have the entrepreneurial spirit. These are creative individuals who will discover a need in society and figure ways to provide the goods or services necessary to meet that need. Chinese entrepreneurs have seen a need in situations I would not consider a business opportunity. In China, there is a company you can pay to give you compliments. They also offer a way to vent your rage at a fictional character. If that isn't enough, you can pay to have someone try a restaurant and tell you what the food is like there. I do wonder if you have the money to pay for these services, why you would want to pay for these services? I suppose I'm putting my ignorance of Chinese culture on display.

Here are some excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

We all have rough days. If you’re in the need for a regular pick-me-up, you can actually pay people to make you feel better by showering you with compliments. And it’s available at the click of a button on Taobao.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, which also owns Taobao.)

A praising session of five minutes costs about US$7.50, a trifling amount for a daily self-confidence boost. The purchase allows you to join a so-called praising group on WeChat or QQ. There, people will do their best to give you over-the-top compliments and inspire you with cheesy messages.


I imagine this would appeal to people who have paid a lot of money to do their hair or purchase new clothes, shoes as well as do their nails. Why would they want to take the chance of not getting a compliment after making such an investment? Who wants honesty when you can guarantee your ego gets fed for only $7.50? I imagine there are probably people who don't take good care of themselves and then pay to have five minutes of compliments.

Imagine a rather unkempt person who is tired of being scorned in public because of their lack of attention to hygiene paying for such a service.

“I paid my money and I want a compliment.”
“The nausea I felt upon first seeing you is now completely gone.”
“Keep going, I want to feel like I've been complimented.”
“It's obvious you are a person who is not afraid to go against the social norm for hygiene. You are a leader.”
“Okay, some more.”
“You are someone who makes others happy when they realize they're not you.”
“You can do better.”
“The more people see you, the more they appreciate speaking with you over the internet. Seeing you in person would be overwhelming for most people even Hazmat teams.”
“I still got some time left so keep it going.”
“I can't do this, I'm giving you your money back. You've broken me. I quit this job.”
“Geeeze, the third person this week. Guess I'll just talk to another replacement.”


Similar to praising groups, another type of group available on Taobao will help you vent your anger in a very special way. Scolding groups let you vent your frustrations by lashing out at fictional characters...users can pay a small one-time membership fee (US$0.15) on Taobao to hurl abuse at these characters in chat groups along with other fans of the show.

This may be somewhat mentally healthy. If you are the type of person who enjoys venting your frustrations on people this could work. Many times when these people lash out at others, they often experience violence, social chastisement, as well as family members forgetting to tell them about the next family gathering. This way they could simply vent on a fictional character in a chat group.

“I hate that McSanders. He is a real jerk and idiot.”
“I think McSanders has an IQ with a decimal point in the front.”
“He so ugly McSanders makes blind children cry.”
“He's so stupid when the weather forecaster said it was chilly outside, he grabbed a bowl.
“I feel better. I'm so glad I paid money to insult a fictional character.”
“You're in the wrong chat room, this is the McSanders family chat room.”
“Oops.”


The service is offered on second-hand platform Xianyu, which also belongs to Alibaba, China News Service reported. The vendors will take pictures and videos of the food that you so generously decided to pay them to eat. Sellers offer many details to give you an idea of what you’re missing out on.

I know I'm a person with no athletic talent, mechanical mind or ability with science. I do know that I can eat food and talk about it with the best of them. Having a job where people pay you to eat and tell them about it would be so great. I believe I would be a natural.

“You know the food you paid for me to eat at this four-star restaurant is great. I also enjoyed all of the bottles of wine you paid for me to drink. This, of course, can't begin to describe how great the dessert was you paid for me to eat.'
“I have one question.”
“What?”
“I know gaining weight is an occupational hazard but would you consider paying for my diet? I'll tell you all about it in a video for the right price.”
“Let me think about it.”

Below is a link to the story.


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