Poverty- Where do we draw the line?

Today is Blog Action Day 2008 and the blogging world has united to take on poverty.  Click here for a compilation of Heartbreaking statistics on poverty.  As a mother of two kids under 5, seeing the statistics of the +10 million children under age five that are dying each year due to poverty is incomprehensible.

Here are three comments I’d like to add to the global discussion of Poverty;

1. The number of people existing on $10 or even $1 per day are always shocking.  Equally shocking is the number of people living beyond their means (especially in North America) that can’t seem to get by on $1,000+ per week.

2. In the context of the ongoing financial crisis, many people are feeling poor or poorer lately that don’t meet the standard definition.  Sadly, with job cuts and bank closures rates running neck and neck, many who were previously living comfortably face a dismal financial future.

3. Poverty exists in your own backyard.  Even here in the Netherlands, the government sets targets for the financial independence of women and recently announced great news that more than 40% women are financially independent.  Where did they draw the line?  10.030 euros!

I was determined to participate in this discussion, yet feel extremely guilty, as I rush through this post to jet off in a few hours to a Holiday in Crete…How do you reconcile your own role in the poverty gap?  Do you know people that thrive while living below the line?  What if we could all learn to not only survive but thrive with less?

Filed under Blogging, Social Issues, Women | Comment (1)

The Tranquility of Swimming in the Sea of Socialism

My conservative brother accuses me of being a “Liberal”.  He pronounces the word in a disgusted manner that can only be mastered through intensive training; consisting of prolonged exposure to Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly on Fox News.   He recently went a step further and blamed my continued residence in a socialist country (the Netherlands) for completely destroying my sensibilities.  If he was familiar with the French political system, he would be horrified to realize that my husband was raised a little to the left of the socialist party! Yes, my world view has definitely been altered since I moved away from the Midwest of the US, and broadened.

Now, as we wake up to find the US and global financial markets plunging deeper into crisis each morning,  I would like to point out a distinct difference in experiencing this financial crisis while living in the Netherlands.  Yes, my personal financial future is impacted;my savings and investment accounts are in US banks and my husband’s retirement fund dwindles each day along with the CAC 40 in Paris.  Our mortgage is held by one of the Dutch banks, which are also in trouble and soon likely to consolidate into few survivors.  Yet, we have not been checking our portfolios obsessively and instead have a surprising sense of calm.

While the chaos continues, the state of the global financial markets is followed closely and widely discussed here in the Netherlands, but there is not the same sense of panic.  This morning I watched yet another U.S. news broadcast online presenting a working couple with an empty refrigerator; saying that food had become a luxury and that they were unable to visit their children or elderly mother due to the road tolls and price of gas.  In contrast to the horrors of the situation in the U.S., I do not worry that my neighbors will lose their homes and end up on the street, or wonder if the old woman sitting next to me on the tram can afford food or medicine.  Here, students will not be denied higher education for financial reasons or go to school without food in their stomachs or lunch boxes, and people nearing retirement will still have a pension, regardless of the Dow Jones or Nasdaq.

No system is perfect.  I admit that often at times, I do complain about the side effects of socialism; the sense of entitlement and the lack of ambition that can result from social policies.  But there is something profoundly humane about ensuring that the basic needs of all people are met.  The tranquility of swimming in the sea of socialism is a refuge from the volatility of the storm.

Filed under Politics, Social Issues | Comment (0)

The Price of Nice?

The term “Customer Experience” is a current buzz word, but call it customer service, care, satisfaction, or even excellence; the sad truth is that all too often, “Customer Frustration” and “Customer Disappointment” are more accurate descriptions.

Yesterday was a particularly low point for me as a customer.  Trying to replace a lost/stolen mobile phone all week has become a nightmare with no end in sight.  I have endured a record breaking hold time, been hung up on by a customer service rep and was turned away from a store empty-handed and trembling.  Being cut off (ongoing, in case you try to reach me) from my business phone line of seven years is beyond an inconvenience, but only one person along the way (not in a customer interfacing role) has uttered an empathetic word.

Immediately following the incident at the telecom shop, I received a bizarre phone call from a business contact threatening legal action because he had underestimated the obvious risk of Word of Mouth Marketing, and left a few of the wrong (connected) people with a queasy feeling about his business practices.  Will threats help him build a reputation as being nice to do business with?

Amused by the call and feeling like I had nothing to lose, I attempted for the fourth time to make an appointment with an adviser of whom I am a long time client, but one week, one e-mail and three phone calls later, I have been told by three different people that only the one person can schedule an appointment and is too busy to come to the phone.  I have never received a call back.  The persistence required to simply make an appointment exceeds my level of stamina in such matters.

We are also trying to purchase an expensive piece of equipment for our office, so I called once more to request the overdue quote, but again the one who could help me was not available.  When you have to beg to buy something from a company, how good will the after sales support be?  With all the talk of the economic downturn, you would think companies big and small would make more of an effort to keep their existing customers.

At the end of the day, I came across Seth Godin’s timely blog post, asking the question;  How much extra for nice? He points out the huge gap between what people are willing to pay for nice (a lot) and what it would cost businesses to deliver it (almost nothing). I have to agree with Seth Godin that this is a huge business opportunity.  Today I would pay any price for nice!

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In a Recession, the Corporate Giants (like Verizon) Come out to Play, in a Cowardly Way!

On Sept. 4 Verizon (VZ) announced they would increase quarterly dividends by 7%.  Great news for shareholders, whom have already received $2.5 billion in dividend payments through the first half of 2008.  The following day, Verizon Wireless quietly informed their employees in St. Louis that they would close the call center on Nov. 7th, eliminating their 341 jobs.

The headlines on the same day revealed 84,000 jobs lost in the U.S.  What is another 341 jobs cut in the grand scheme and who will really notice?  Well, I, for one, did take notice.  All of the jobs cut belong to real people with real families.  Many of those people happen to be former colleagues of mine and some are among my closest friends.  In a recent post, I mentioned a friend that was fired from Citibank while imminently expecting twins.  Her husband is a manger at the Verizon St. Louis Call Center.

There was no mention on the Verizon Corporate website or the Verizon Wireless websites.  Obviously, to Verizon, firing people is not news, just business as usual.  In a statement to the St. Louis Business Journal,   Brenda Hill, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless said “Verizon hopes they apply for other internal positions,”.  She failed to mention that the internal positions are located in Lincoln Nebraska!

Under the cover of tough economic times, even the companies that are making HUGE profits can get away with lay offs, price hikes and many other unnecessary measures without criticism.  The “corporate cowards” wait for the right time to do their dirty work then blame it on the economy, while only making it worse.

Most of the 341 employees are stockholders as well, but I would bet they’d rather have their jobs than an extra 12 cents per share!

Filed under Corporate, Social Issues | Comment (0)