Investors easily snared by startup hype

THERE HAVE BEEN A GROWING NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS from people unable to get their cash deposits of 199 yuan ($28.66) refunded by domestic bicycle-sharing company Ofo. Gmw.cn comments:

In comparison to those who have failed to get their deposits returned by calling customer services or submitting a refund application online, one user successfully got a refund by writing an email to Ofo and pretending he was a foreigner. He got his refund hours later.

When being called by a media outlet, the company's public relations manager said he had just woken up from his noon sleep so he could not answer. Then he, fully awake or not, refused to answer any call.

Shared bicycles are a good innovation because they have brought convenience to people's daily lives. However, for months, Ofo has had insufficient funds to refund users their deposits.

The case of the pretended foreigner, if true, will deal a heavier blow to Ofo's image because it shows the company is fully able to deal with the complaints of users, but it just chooses to treat its customers in a bad way.

It is time for consumer rights protection organizations to do their job. By refusing to refund users' deposits, Ofo has seriously violated the rights of its users and it should receive penalties for that. Consumer rights associations at various levels should do their job before it is too late.

The case of Ofo also teaches the lesson that capital might so hype up an industry as to create bubbles. For example, data show that by the end of 2017, 77 enterprises had put 23 million shared bicycles into use, which number is really too big for the market. When investments leave, the problems are exposed. It is time for entrepreneurs, especially startups, to keep a cool head so as not to repeat the scandal of Ofo.