Number of words: 59
Keeping order amid Taobao’s virtual alleyways are Alibaba’s client service managers, the xiaoer. Thousands of xiaoer mediate any disputes that arise between customers and merchants. These referees, young employees averaging twenty-seven years old, work long hours, often sending messages to vendors late at night.
Excerpted from page 6 of ‘Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma built’ by Duncan Clark