These days, customers who visit teahouses are not necessarily there because they are thirsty, and Yang, who once occupied a high-level position in a four-star hotel, attaches great importance to the needs of his clients and stresses quality service.

He constantly reminds his staff that it is customers who pay their salaries, not the boss, and when a group of guests enters, his employees have been trained to recognize which of them is the guest of honor.

In Yang's mind, Starbucks is not a competitor. "Tea and coffee are not the same," he said. But one thing that Wu Fu and Starbucks do share is a commitment to know their customers.

In a Starbucks, cashiers must type in a client's sex and age before the cash register will open. Likewise, Wu Fu established a client database in 2005, and an analysis of the data has shown that 80 percent of the teahouse's customers are males over 30. "What they require is a pleasant atmosphere to talk business and meet with friends."

And Yang believes wholeheartedly in the Western standardized management system. Starbucks' success in China, he feels, rests with its advanced management.

"China has the highest standards with regard to tea production," Yang said, and he has added his own standard for tea selection and management. "Wu Fu has experienced specialists in the main producing areas to choose the best teas," he said, adding that all franchises are required to purchase tea from the home office, thereby avoiding the tempation some may face to use substandard tea in an effort to cut costs.

As expected, Wu Fu's good reputation has attracted numerous franchise applications over the past few years, and at first, Yang almost always gave the nod. Later, however, he came to realize that some franchises were not operating up to his exacting requirements. "They would imitate the design and decoration of the home shop, and purchase high-quality tea, but then would fail to adopt the company's culture and management."

As a result, Yang decided to slow down his expansion, and to focus on training instead. Each year now, at least two courses are held especially for Wu Fu's 13 franchises nationwide.

In addition, having received expressions of interest from Australia and Britain in the past two years, Wu Fu has now established a timetable to open its first two overseas branches soon. So whether it's to be coffee or tea, it looks like the future belongs to the franchisee.

(Chinaculture.org July 16, 2008)