Rant here

[Haley]

I decided not to post this to the thread that inspired it, but for the love of MS people.

In general I do not like the idea of stwardship the way it seems to be used by some people to justify locking other people out of information. It is bogus and counterproductive and elitist in the worst way.

But I think there is a fundamental attitude some people have that causes harm to our hobby.

It is the greedy grabbers.
The people that ignore T&C (and tell other people to w/o mentioning that what they are doing is against the terms.
It is the assumption that something has a limited life, so why not drive it into the ground. So what if my actions cause this to accelerate.
It is the people who eat the marshmallow.

It is a fundimential failure to step back and try to learn about something before you decide it will be gone by next March.

Why might a product that seems unprofitable be offered?
What does market share mean in terms of profit?
How do prepaid cards make money?

Below is the post I pulled. I redacted the quote as it is not my intention to call out an individual or group of individuals.


More damage is done by the hit it hard, get in while you can and abuse the crap out of it attitude than leaking a CU name.

Buxx is 12 years old guys. Or is it even older? At least 12, anyhow.

Right now the prepaid industry is in an epic struggle for market share. It is the fastest growth segment with 35% year over year growth. Lack of profitability is not an indication that a product will die soon, it indicates an attempt to gain market share.

If this follows the Buxx path then there will be periods of review where people get shut down. Years from now some CU's will convert it to load only with internal accounts. Hint: first the CU needs a CC that is not just a white label card but truly their product/profits.


I'm not sure a conversation like this lends itself to a text based conversation. I really just needed to get it off my chest.

Anything anyone wants to rant about?

 

[MarkD]

Excellent topic.

Last night I stumbled upon something new which *could* be a big deal. It's very early in the process and it could completely fall apart, but at some point I'll have to decide do I share it with the masses or just with a few select individuals. (I absolutely will share - at what level I do not know)

The biggest reason that I would NOT share it with the masses is because of the greedy grabbers. I'm pretty conservative by nature so when I see $40k, $60k, or more a month in one MS venue it makes me cringe when I'm doing my standard pathetic $10k per month spread amongst multiple avenues. I'm not sure at what point I define greedy though.

I'll admit I've been wrong in the past (example: Google Wallet still going strong) when I thought that once a secret was out it will die a quick death because of the GG.

I do think there should be some 'honor among thieves' though and Haley was right on in calling them out.

 

[Matt]

If the rant is going to get involved in MS and Level 2 topics it should be in the specially designated Level 2 rant section. Let me know if you want it moved.

 

[TheBOSman]

I'm not sure at what point I define greedy though.

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin

As right as Carlin is in how people think (as he usually is), it is something I hope we can avoid here. There are too many people on FT who think anyone doing less than them is a useless newbie, and anyone doing more than them is a heavy hitting, deal killing, MS bloated maniac. It is a thought process I would love to never see here.

 

[Jamie]

Wow, there's a specially designated level 2 rant section!? That must be for the serious rants!! Lol.

 

[MarkD]

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin

As right as Carlin is in how people think (as he usually is), it is something I hope we can avoid here. There are too many people on FT who think anyone doing less than them is a useless newbie, and anyone doing more than them is a heavy hitting, deal killing, MS bloated maniac. It is a thought process I would love to never see here.

I'm afraid that is human nature. There's not much we can do to change that other than preach tolerance. On the other hand, let's preach some moderation too. Love that quote BTW...

 

[TheBOSman]

I'm afraid that is human nature. There's not much we can do to change that other than preach tolerance. On the other hand, let's preach some moderation too. Love that quote BTW...

If you want a real rant, how about me ranting against myself for not seeing Carlin in person while he was alive .

But yes I agree. It is just a hope that I have for Saverocity, that we can leave most of that part of human nature out of our interactions here .

 

[smittytabb]

Nice discussion. I have often pondered these issues too. Most things worth having take some time in life and are not necessarily snatched up quickly. I try to find a balance between caution and risk and in almost everything I do, not just MS. This is true of my travel choices, and most of my life choices. If you are too cautious you miss out on so many things, but if you rush in too fast and furious, you could ruin it and not just for you, but for so many others. I had a discussion about these very things today with one of my adult sons who was struggling with how the actions of one person had impacted so many others, even people that person did not know. We are more interconnected than we realize sometimes and we need to remember that. What I do could impact you and vice versa. If you don't think so, you might not be thinking big enough or really recognizing the patterns. Take time to think and time to thoughtfully consider your choices.

 

[loves2fly]

great topic Haley! you've made me step back, think & weigh carefully. I realize some would like to get more of a product now because they can. But should I jump on the bandwagon because it might go the way of usbuxx link? It is not for me to judge, I already have my hands full juggling different cards Seriously, is it greed to want several of one product because the opportunity might be closed at any time? Granting an opportunity is only available to a "few" right now, if these few stewards decide to apply for "more" just because they can, is that good stewardship? I don't intend to pass judgment on anyone whether they do or they don't collect more of a certain CC or prepaid. More power to anyone who can manage to juggle them; not because I'm unable to do it means it's wrong if others can successfully manage them.

I'm just thinking aloud and this is more a reminder to myself that I should make a stand on this issue.

 

[MickiSue]

I have been known to be judgy. And I agree with Haley; grabbing all you can because you can, IS greedy. And, really, doing 90 mph to get somewhere 50 miles away (as it were) means you fail to see anything along the way. Including, perhaps, the littered bodies you ran down.

10K/month gets you a biz class ticket every year, at just a mile per dollar. 20k/month gets you two. Neither of those takes into consideration the miles/points from multipliers, from apps or from portals.

For some people, MS is their livelihood, and they, ironically, while doing big numbers, are careful to spread things around. I don't assume that anyone is going too slow; they have their goals, I have mine. But I can practically see the drool falling from the mouths in some threads, as people anticipate the "riches" they are accruing.

I really think that is wrong, and wrong for all of us, the GGs especially, because they are failing to use a basic survival tool: don't run at the beast, and don't run away from it.

 

[Rick]

Stewardship. I have long loved the word. We could be on to something great in this Forum, or we could be fooling ourselves. I am hopeful, and glad to see this conversation develop.

 

[Matt]

Lowes. I want to rant about Lowes.

The SOBs cancelled my Fridge that was on Black Friday pricing, didn't tell me, partially refunded giftcards, but not fully, and refuse to escalate.

For the first time ever, I am ready to take something like this as far as possible, including legally. Their attitude was atrocious. I'm even more frustrated because I bought GCs so I'm somewhat stuck with them (great lesson there!) and they were just so faux polite. Saying sorry without listening is just a waste of time.

I've an online complaint in with them, and I'll see what they come back with for that before launching the I hate lowes campaign.

 

[MickiSue]

Lowes. I want to rant about Lowes.

The SOBs cancelled my Fridge that was on Black Friday pricing, didn't tell me, partially refunded giftcards, but not fully, and refuse to escalate.

For the first time ever, I am ready to take something like this as far as possible, including legally. Their attitude was atrocious. I'm even more frustrated because I bought GCs so I'm somewhat stuck with them (great lesson there!) and they were just so faux polite. Saying sorry without listening is just a waste of time.

I've an online complaint in with them, and I'll see what they come back with for that before launching the I hate lowes campaign.

I feel for you, Matt.

If there is one sentence from a CSR that I hate with the heat of a thousand suns, it's "I'm sorry for your inconvenience." No, you are not sorry. And it's not inconvenience, it's costing me money, or my precious time, or both.

When I hear that, my standard response is, "I don't want your apology. I want the issue to be resolved to my satisfaction.

 

[Matt]

When I hear that, my standard response is, "I don't want your apology. I want the issue to be resolved to my satisfaction.

I said exactly that, and they started wrapping up the call, refused to escalate.

 

[MickiSue]

That's where sounding like a sweet old lady helps. But, GRRRRR, on your behalf.

 

[Matt]

That's where sounding like a sweet old lady helps. But, GRRRRR, on your behalf.

Oh yeah, I'm an arse of a customer. I was just reading their terms and they have arbitration in NC, if I don't receive something agreeable I'll take that step. Will be a good blog series if nothing else

 

[MickiSue]

What they don't realize, to my benefit, is that the sweet old lady can curse in multiple languages, and probably understands their CS rules better than they do.

I've gotten a suite out of a $39/night hotel room in Tahoe, because, when the room wasn't ready at check in time, I was patient until I wasn't.

 

[Haley]

Did they give a reason for the cancelation?

I hope you get a better answer, an apology is worthless (and indicates poor CSR training).

 

[Matt]

Did they give a reason for the cancelation?

I hope you get a better answer, an apology is worthless (and indicates poor CSR training).

The reason that corp gave is the store cancelled because they didn't have it in stock. However, the store has no appliances in stock, they are all shipped from a central warehouse....

The store manager just called me up and said he would fix it and has ordered a replacement, and will honor the pricing, which is great (if it happens!) news

 

[MickiSue]

Excellent, Matt!

 

[SomeRandomGuy]

There should be a level 2 rant section so that we could really push the rant envelope.

 

[Matt]

There should be a level 2 rant section so that we could really push the rant envelope.

There is. But it mainly focuses on bashing Flyertalk and gets a bit tedious.

 

[TheBOSman]

Though feel free to rant about non-Flyertalk things in it to mix it up!

 

[MickiSue]

I avoid ranting about FT by avoiding reading it.