Vol. 1 - Ch. 20 - I have the confidence to cut off all the side branches

At Jae-Yoon's question, Ho-Jun’s elder brother, Min Kyung-Jun, flopped down on the sofa and crossed his legs.He met tens, hundreds of people in a day, so it was clear to him that a person could not change this drastically overnight. He was certain. He could not predict what had happened, but it was clear that there had been a change in the state of mind of the brother in front of him.

Seeing the last born—who was usually so gentle and sulky—showing this kind of appearance made him extremely delighted. In the conversation with Tae-Jun, and in the conversation with his wife, Hong Ji-Hye, as well. Seeing him act like a different person made him inevitably become interested.

He thought that even if they had different mothers, he could not deny that they had the bloodline of their father. Starting from his appearance, he strongly emitted the scent of the Mins. If that was the case, this kind of appearance from Min Ho-Jun might not be so surprising.

“Expectation...wariness.... Which one are you feeling?”

“Well, both? Ho-Jun…”

“There are only two things that my brother would call me to his study and lower his voice for.”

Ho-Jun, in Min Kyung-Jun’s eyes, used to be the one who would answer everything with ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘I’ll think about it’, ‘well’, ‘I’m not really…’, ‘did I?’. It was so much fun to hear his brother talk as if he had prepared a script, so Min Kyung-Jun decided to listen.

“If it’s about company affairs, I’m not in the mood yet. Nah, even more than that, is doing a broadcast once really that surprising? If it was going to be like that, you shouldn’t have sat me here. What? Got all cautious because things didn’t flow as you expected?”

Jae-Yoon met Kyung-Jun’s eyes again.

“Let’s say that’s true. Go on.”

“If it’s about It’s Food, I’m all ears. As a CEO to another CEO, we can have that talk, can’t we?”

“You know what I did, right?”

“Which one? Telling not to take on It’s Food’s bad stock? Come on, bro... I mean, Mr. CEO, that’s a bit too obvious. Home shopping gets stuck with all the trouble, and It’s Food gets away without any loss, just offloading their excess? Covering up for your own family? Sure, that’s fine. But then, shouldn’t you throw something tempting our way too?”

As Min Kyung-Jun rolled up his sleeves, the large chair slowly moved left and right.

“So, what do you actually want? Why poke the General Team?”

“Is it really worth the CEO raising his voice to scold the team leader like that? What a shame…”

Min Kyung-Jun fixed the chair. “Ho-Jun, do you not know whose son Park Choong-In is?” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Well, he must be the son of a great man.”

“Park Choong-In is Director Park Geon-Joong’s son. Ho-Jun, we…”

“Brother.” Jae-Yoon cut him off and smoothly picked up, “So what? I am the son of Chairman Min Beom-Cheol. What is there to care about?”

“Whoa, oh my. Look at this kid. Hahaha!”

Min Kyung-Jun burst into laughter so suddenly, and Jae-Yoon’s face twitched for a moment at the loud volume. Kyung-Jun did not expect to hear his father’s title from his younger brother at such a sudden timing. Aside from the surprise, he was now curious about what he would say next.

“Right, we’re both Chairman Min Beom-Cheol’s proud sons. So, you’re not afraid?”

“You seem to be intimidated by the Parks? I really don’t get it, that’s why I’m saying this. Why so anxious to check what’s on someone else’s dining table?”

Jae-Yoon did not intend to directly snipe at Park Choong-In. What he thought was most necessary for the structural improvement of It’s Home Shopping was the relationship with It’s Food, and as he followed the tail, Park Choong-In, who was presumed to be the body, got caught up. The head would be Min Kyung-Jun or Executive Director Park.

Whether the trio played rock-paper-scissors or danced the hula, it was outside Jae-Yoon’s interest. However, if that interfered with the growth of It’s Home Shopping, he could no longer look at it with blurry eyes.

At Jae-Yoon’s attitude, Ho-Jun’s elder brother Min Kyung-Jun stroked his chin. Then, as if making up his mind, he asked, “Ho-Jun, let me ask you one thing. Are you confident?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have started otherwise.”

“What confidence? Confidence to make It’s Home Shopping number one? Or let’s see...confidence that you can keep your head above water? That’s why you’re acting so smug, thinking you figured me out?”

“I have the confidence to cut off all the side branches.”

Pruning. An essential process in management. It was essential to have the determination to boldly cut off useless branches in order to bear solid fruit. But first, one needed the eye to accurately distinguish which was which. Which were the side ones, and which were the main ones.

Min Kyung-Jun could not be sure if his younger brother, Ho-Jun, had that insight yet.

Not yet. He also harbored some inner unease. If this buddy really had such insight, there’d be no need for petty market games.

“You have to cut cleanly if you want to prune. If you’re thinking of uprooting messily, stop here.”

“Brother, please give me a sharp and sturdy scissor. It seems like it will cut nicely, snip snip.”

Jae-Yoon tapped his index and middle fingers slightly and shook them. He did not forget to flash a confident smile.

“As the CEO of It’s Food, you have to stir up your employees a bit, right? I’m not going to accept sloppy proposals anymore. Be serious. It’s getting late. The unwelcome guests will take their leave now.”

Min Kyung-Jun watched Jae-Yoon’s retreating figure and smirked. He never thought he would be able to use his brother, Min Ho-Jun, like this.

‘If I play my cards right, I might be able to kill two birds with one stone.’

A strange sense of anticipation bloomed within him.

As Jae-Yoon’s car left the garage, Hong Ji-Hye ran up to her husband, Min Kyung-Jun, and asked with an affectionate voice, “You two seemed like friendly brothers. What did our CEO talk about with the young master?”

“Did you not catch anything odd about Ho-Jun?”

“Hmm, I think he kinda has young-you vibes?”

“That’s quite a compliment coming from you.”

“But, I’m looking forward to it.”

“What are you talking about? Looking forward to what?”

“What? Are you playing clueless? If he’s turning into a mini-you, that’s reason enough. Ah! But there is one thing he shouldn’t become like you… Trusting people too much?”

With a cheeky wink to Min Kyung-Jun, Hong Ji-Hye floated out of the study, light on her feet as if she thought she had just high-fived Jae-Yoon.

**

Monday morning.

“Yes. Please come in.”

The clock by the door in the CEO’s office had just passed 8:50 a.m.

Section Chief Jo Min-Hyeok of the Customer Satisfaction Division bowed his head as he came in. His gesture was polite, but his expression was somehow awkward. Jae-Yoon did not think much of it.

It was the busiest day of the week, Monday, so it was little wonder that he would not be happy to have the CEO request a meeting at 9 a.m.

Section Chief Jo tried his best to smile. This was his first time meeting with the CEO alone. He had even pulled out his best suit for it.

“Sir, I heard you requested a meeting.”

“I’m sorry to drag you in on a Monday morning. I know you had to come in earlier than usual because of me. I have something urgent to ask you. Please have a seat.”

Section Chief Jo of the Customer Satisfaction Division sat down with a slightly relieved expression. He opened his diary and waited for the CEO’s next words.

“Mr. Jo, I’m curious about the return policy for home appliances. I understand that we basically follow the Consumer Protection Act.”

“That’s correct. For e-commerce, you can cancel your order within seven days. However, It’s Home Shopping allows customers to cancel their orders anytime within fifteen days for their convenience.”

“Does that apply even in cases of simple change of mind?”

“Yes. Regardless of color or size, if it’s not to your liking, free returns. No questions asked. However, we have slightly different regulations for food products.”

Home shopping’s free return service was a long-standing policy. If you did not like it, you could return it for free anytime within fifteen days. Since it was a free return, the company would naturally cover the shipping costs.

As a result, the return rate was also high. It was a characteristic of a channel where you couldn’t see the product before you bought it. The average return rate for companies was around 15%. The channel with the highest return rate had over 20%. That meant 1 out of 5 products was returned. This return rate was mainly seen in products that were prone to impulse purchases, such as clothing and cosmetics.

“For home appliances, what is the extent of the simple returns category?”

“Returns are only possible for unused products. We do allow returns for products where the box has been opened.”

“So if the power is plugged in even once, it’s considered a used product?”

“Precisely. That’s the standard for any item. It’s our policy not to accept returns for used products. There are occasional exceptions for demanding customers…”

Section Chief Jo looked at Jae-Yoon.

He must be worried about the MilkBot that was broadcast yesterday, asking questions like this. Is he trying to prepare for returns from customers who made impulse purchases, considering the price was close to 1 million won?

Section Chief Jo continued, choosing his words carefully,

“In the case of the MilkBot, the return rate is expected to be low because it’s a relatively expensive product. In fact, we’ve checked, and it has a cancellation rate similar to other products. In fact, the higher the unit price of a product, the lower the return rate. This is because people tend to buy more carefully...”

That was not what Jae-Yoon was curious about, but he could not find the right moment to interrupt Section Chief Jo, who was doing his best to explain.

“I’ll let you know right away if there are any special circumstances. As you know, home appliances are products that often have return disputes depending on whether they’ve been used or not...”

Jae-Yoon understood Jo Min-Hyeok’s feelings. He had called him in first thing in the morning and asked about the return policy. Of course, he would have thought it was about the MilkBot. But the MilkBot’s returns were not something to worry about right now. However...

“Wait a minute, Mr. Jo.”

“Yes, Mr. Min?”

“What about the cancellation rate for Home Run? Did you happen to check that this morning?”

“Ah, let me check. I brought the data.”

Jo Min-Hyeok sighed in relief and flipped through the data.

He had checked the number of units sold over the weekend and the return rate. He was just surprised that the CEO asked about the cancellation rate for Home Run, not MilkBot. He quickly scanned the data, which he had not had a chance to check yet.

“The number of units sold during the Home Run broadcast was approximately 19,000, and the number of cancellations after the sale was... Huh?”

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had seen it wrong. Jo Min-Hyeok had been working at It’s Home Shopping for almost twenty years, starting as a lower-level CS agent, but this was the first time he had seen such an outrageous result.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah... The number of cancellations over the weekend is approximately 4,000. I think I might have pulled the wrong data. I apologize. The Excel format is messed up. It shouldn’t be like this.” Section Chief Jo scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

A cancellation rate of over 20%. And these were cancellations before the products were even delivered, not returns. Jae-Yoon said to Section Chief Jo in a determined voice, “Mr. Jo, it’ll be a hectic afternoon for you.”

“... Yes?”

“Let me just confirm the main points. Home Run. We’re going to be flooded with inquiries about returns after use. How will you handle those cases?”

“According to the manual, we’re supposed to inform customers that used products cannot be returned. In reality, such cases are not very common."

Jae-Yoon tapped his index finger on the table. He had been monitoring the community bulletin board all weekend. He had to stay up all night checking the comments because Oh Eun-Sun kept sending him links.

As Jae-Yoon had expected, the community bulletin board had been on fire, with Home Run being the main topic. In that case, he knew had to prepare in advance. He judged that things could get more troublesome than he had expected.

“For Home Run, please immediately refund all simple returns, with no exceptions. Please inform department heads immediately.”

“Sir? That’s unprecedented. Refunds for used products haven’t happened before. It’s not common, and…”

“It’s going to become a common occurrence starting today. We don’t have time to argue about this. Are you going to hold the Monday meeting right now? Please pass this on to the heads and team leaders of each department immediately. I’m making this decision as the CEO, so please make sure to take note of this.”

Jae-Yoon checked his watch. It was past 9:10 a.m. Around this time, there would be customers receiving their deliveries and checking the products...

Section Chief Jo was puzzled. For him, it was strange to see the CEO so concerned about the Home Run, which was not even a product he had launched himself. But at the same time, he felt a strange sense of foreboding that told him it would be wrong to leave work today.

As he greeted Jae-Yoon and got up from his seat, Section Chief Jo’s cell phone vibrated.

“I’ll take care of it right away. Thank you for your hard work.”

Section Chief Jo’s voice could be heard faintly as he answered the phone while opening the door and leaving, but it soon grew louder and filled the CEO’s office.

“Oh, it’s not normally allowed, but since it’s the CEO’s instructions, we’ll process the returns as requested. It’s easier for us anyway. What? Another thousand cancellations? Oh. This is crazy. Got it. I’ll go down right now.”

Jae-Yoon’s uneasy premonition was right on the mark.