Broken Culture Led to a $1,220 Glass Whiteboard at WeWork

The Smallest of Things Often Reveals the Biggest of Problems

Photo by Startaê Team on Unsplash

Most people wouldn’t have thought that a large glass whiteboard would cost about US$1,220—until you lean back and crack it in the WeWork Thailand meeting room. JP Zhang, the founder of SoftwareHow, hurriedly informed the community manager, who assured him that this will be solved swiftly. To Zhang, cooperating with WeWork to compensate and move on sounded like a good idea.

Not for WeWork, who only sent an invoice after a month.

One simple item description noted in this invoice—it actually contained more things within

The cost of the whiteboard left Zhang and his friends flabbergasted: why did it cost so much? What does the cost entail? Does it also include transportation and removal?

It was clear that there were hidden costs and they were not going to let this slide. Fortunately, the vendor had their contact number and logo stamped at a corner of the whiteboard. They promptly called them afterward.

The actual cost? It was about US$675.

At this point, Zhang knew that the invoice could not be trusted. The conversation was also shifted to the…