In Xiayi County of central China's Henan Province, a new profession which tests whether a watermelon is ripe has gained traction. These watermelon testers are able to tell whether a watermelon is ripe by looking at, touching it and knocking on the fruit, which brings them as much as 1,000 yuan ($145) per day.

The emergence of this new profession is a result of consumers' higher requirement for watermelons. In order to guarantee their quality, watermelons that are small or not sweet enough will not be allowed to enter the market. However, since a watermelon cannot be cut open in order to test its quality, the profession of watermelon tester came into being.

As consumption continues to upgrade, not only have commodities changed, but also consumers' awareness of quality. Whether it's a watermelon or a mobile phone, people's concern about quality is the same.

Similar professions have emerged in other fields. For instance, a hotel test sleeper provides suggestions to hotel operators on how to improve their services, while giving evaluations to customers for choosing a hotel.

Information asymmetry has been the root cause of consumer dissatisfaction. In order to avoid more ill-feelings, the tester's job should be more professional and a third-party evaluation system should be established as soon as possible.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Guangzhou Daily on July 5)