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correct. And I know of a whole lot more good than bad at USAA.
what a joke and something straight out of the marxist propaganda book. Provide some proof and don't copy and paste some BS blog.
anyways, if you want to debate capitalism vs communism I'll do it in the political forum or a battle blog if you would like.
For now, I'm defending USAA.
correct. And I know of a whole lot more good than bad at USAA.
There's no need for a battle blog, all you have to do is compare the average increase in pay of your average CEO in the last decade versus that of your typical corporate employee, like USAA...compare this years average gain in hedge funds, retirement accounts, and even fixed asset performance versus the average bonus of a Wall street broker....compare the bonuses that shady lenders and mortgage brokers will receive this year, last year, and all the years before for making loans that never should have been made in the first place, and will sooner or later, have to be bailed out with your and mine tax dollars...
You realize that BoB Davis has been lobbying to move corporate HQ to the Phoenix office for several years now.
The reason why USAA is considered now an EVIL corporation is because they hired Davis. You know where Davis came from? Citicorp. That would be the same Citicorp who lobbied and won the deregulation that has resulted in the current mortgage market crisis.
I have not worked there for a couple of years now but what was once a not for profit corporation to benefit military officers and their families was slowly twisted into a bottomline fanatical corporation that is disenfranchising member after member.
USAA has been good for San Antonio, there is no question about that but that was when men like McDermott were running the show. When the WW2 generation left the picture and a baby boomer was his replacement it has quickly gone into the toilet.
I remember just a few short years ago, the thought of USAA even thinking of abandoning its NW office would have seem disastrous for SA...now....not so much.....there's always another corporation, probably with better average pay and benefits, that would readily move into that zip-code sized corporate headquarters....
rumor started since the Phoenix branch was opened. It's not happening, and if you know otherwise please tell me which meeting Bob Davis stated such.
huh? So citicorp was at the middle of all that? I thought it had more to do with the demand for CMOs.The reason why USAA is considered now an EVIL corporation is because they hired Davis. You know where Davis came from? Citicorp. That would be the same Citicorp who lobbied and won the deregulation that has resulted in the current mortgage market crisis.
When was USAA non-profit?I have not worked there for a couple of years now but what was once a not for profit corporation to benefit military officers and their families was slowly twisted into a bottomline fanatical corporation that is disenfranchising member after member.
not at all. I have found USAA to be a very honest company and have many family and friends who have been treated more than fair there. Again, is everything perfect, no.USAA has been good for San Antonio, there is no question about that but that was when men like McDermott were running the show. When the WW2 generation left the picture and a baby boomer was his replacement it has quickly gone into the toilet.
...well, this thread has devolved into a micro-coism of what's most really wrong with corporate America... it's really about what's wrong with us, forget about how its wronged other people...for me and mine, it's done fine...
I worked for USAA for over two years. I sat in on management meetings and essentially it broke down to Phoenix was willing to give them a better tax break than San Antonio and thus the pressure to move. i dont exactly have transcripts available.
You are aware that Citicorp lobbied very had to have lending restrictions as well as reserve restirction repealed, i hope. These laws had been on the books since the 30s because a familiar situation involving financial ins utions of that time.huh? So citicorp was at the middle of all that? I thought it had more to do with the demand for CMOs.
Since its inception. Its quite obvious that you have no idea about what USAA is. It was started after WW1 because officers were having issues obtaining insurance due to an anti military sentiment. In essence they agreed to insure each other and became a mutual. Technically speaking the members own USAA and that is why at the end of every year they mail out dispersement checks. Thus it is nonprofit as there are no independent owners or shareholders.When was USAA non-profit?
USAA is still a mutual unfortunately under the leadership of Davis it is being run like profit motivated ins utions like State Farm and Allstate. Customer service has literally taken a back seat to sales. On employee evaluations it is more critical to have good sales numbers than a good customer service record.
Well thats funny because the number of complaints filed against and lost by USAA to the TIC is higher than it ihas been ever before. I also happen to know people that work in the claims department and I know for a fact that the systemic shenanigans that go on with them didnt go on 10 to 15 years ago. They lowball members as a matter of course.not at all. I have found USAA to be a very honest company and have many family and friends who have been treated more than fair there. Again, is everything perfect, no.
I have had USAA as my insurance now for 15 years. My family has had it for longer than that. I recently had to make a claim when i was rear ended in traffic a few months ago.
I can tell you it was a night and day difference from this time, since the last time i used them probably 6 years ago.
The customer service now is absolutely horrible. I had to make numerous calls to my adjuster, could never even get her on the phone...and when i did, she had no clue what was going on, thought the other driver was uninsured, i had to basically do her job for her...it was a nightmare...
I finally had to speak to a manager, and informed him that this service was horrendous...i had always praised USAA for their tremendous customer service, but it has taken a severe turn for the worse...
USAA was the very first bank I noticed that would charge their customers the full interest even if they payed the loan off early. I was shocked to see on numerous occasions my customers sending in double and triple payments only to find out that they split the extra monies between interest and principal vs. applying the extra amounts strictly to principal. So if you pay the loan off early you're simply paying the full amount off early not avoiding interest.
I don't think the discussion here is about whether USAA is an honest company, or is good or bad for San Antonio. The discussion is about the current management and its business plan. This is only relevant since January 2006.
Obviously, even in a capitalist system, companies can have inept or malevolent management.
Now, many of the comments about USAA are just typical for business. If one is the kind of person who is just looking to punch the clock on a 40-hour week without doing much of anything, such a person isn't going to last long at most companies that pay attention. A salaried employee who endlessly complains because sometimes he has to work an extra 5-10 hours a week isn't worth keeping around.
People who think management should listen to all their ideas and sulk when they don't don't last long. People who think submitting to authority is being a "yes man" don't last long. There is a lot of inertia and bureaucracy in a large company; you have to deal with it.
I'm aware of some, er, "contrasts" between the typical employee in San Antonio versus Houston or Dallas. San Antonians on average are less motivated, less productive, with a greater sense of en lement than in the two larger Texas cities. Work is just not taken as seriously there. This is part of the reason they are paid less.
However, some of the things USAA is doing I've seen before in other industries. I've seen companies that figure an engineer fresh out of college is just as good as one with 30 years' experience, so they lay off all their senior technical people. Sure, they save on health care for a few years, but before long the loss of experience and know-how is so immense that their technology falls behind their compe ors', they can't execute projects to save their life, the condition of their assets declines, and they end up selling the business because they can't make the business profitable anymore. This happened to our largest compe or.
I've seen companies that treat their people like garbage, and get away with it for a few years as long as the job market is soft, but then as soon as people are in demand, their workforce collapses.
I've seen companies outsource technical jobs to India, only to learn that some guy half a world away can do basic technical work, but as soon as there is a problem that requires putting eyes on it, or requires some complex managerial skills, the whole scheme collapses.
I take a very low view of the teachings of American MBA schools. They teach short-term slash-and-burn thinking, which, bad as it is for public companies despite the short-term investor benefit, is absolutely insane for a private non-profit like USAA.
Davis' management ideas are starting to have a noticeable effect on USAA's customer service. Take that away from USAA, and all they have to compete on is price. And they are not exactly the price leader in the industry.
So, not all this is about leftie pinkos railing on big, bad capitalism with an agenda of preference for the state running things. This is about some inklings of concern for a major employer in San Antonio perhaps being run into the ground by bad management.
Paging Buddy Holly!
I'm not even sure I want to know where you pulled this from.I'm aware of some, er, "contrasts" between the typical employee in San Antonio versus Houston or Dallas. San Antonians on average are less motivated, less productive, with a greater sense of en lement than in the two larger Texas cities. Work is just not taken as seriously there. This is part of the reason they are paid less.
As a 20-year employee of a tech company (who started out as an employee of a small firm that was bought out by a larger one only to be bought out again a few years later) Extra Stout's observations are spot on. We are right in the middle of the "reduce costs by reducing employees, especially the old farts, reducing benefits, sending jobs overseas and getting rid of all that retirement crap" phase. The bottom line looks great right now, but now that we have sent just about everything offshore that can be sent there and found all the easy money, what's next? No doubt it will be getting rid of the medical benefits b/c that's about all that's left. Joy.
BTW the "old fart" line seems to be about 45 which means I'm on the wrong side of it. And yeah, I know the younger folks don't have too much sympathy, and I understand it because I was there 20 years ago. Thank goodness I did start saving for my own retirement back then because the paradigm was totally different in 1980 than it is today and lots of people did not. We won't be rich or well off but we shouldn't have to worry about when the next social security check, if any, comes in. If you're not saving for your retirement, do it because there isn't going to be any sugar daddy bailing you out when your time comes.
PM sent.
What a small world! I work at West, too, but in a staff position, so thank God I don't have to hit goals and make dials. Knowing the project you work on, I'm pretty sure we've ridden the elevator together at one time or another
There are a lot of businesses that operate in multiple Texas cities, you know, and people talk. It is the conventional wisdom about your fair city. You can spin it as "San Antonians enjoy life more" if you like.I'm not even sure I want to know where you pulled this from.
Nah, it's no big secret how much you dislike everything San Antonio and it's residents so I wouldn't even waste my time. I'm just surprised you left "because they are all fat" out of that brilliant generalization.
We're all fat because we enjoy life so much!Nah, it's no big secret how much you dislike everything San Antonio and it's residents so I wouldn't even waste my time. I'm just surprised you left "because they are all fat" out of that brilliant generalization.
I actually like San Antonians. They are much friendlier than people in Houston or Dallas. They are not obsessed as much with status. They are less phony than people in Dallas, especially. They are much more laid back and prefer to live life at a slower pace.Nah, it's no big secret how much you dislike everything San Antonio and it's residents so I wouldn't even waste my time. I'm just surprised you left "because they are all fat" out of that brilliant generalization.
That slower pace, on the other hand, also applies to the workplace.
If one were to point this out to, say, a Spaniard, he would just sneer and reply, "Well, unlike you Americans, we work to live; we do not live to work." A San Antonian replies, "WAAHHH!!! YOU HATE ME!!!"
Another thing I've noticed about San Antonians is that they have a huge insecurity complex about the city, so just about any criticism about any aspect of the city or its people is guaranteed to be viewed as "hatred."
With regard to the obesity and diabetes problems, I guess objective reality just dislikes everything San Antonio and its residents. But it's not as if Houston and Dallas are rivaling Denver for fitness, you know.
I guess it is much easier to pretend problems don't exist and just shoot the messenger, than it is to deal with them honestly and consider how to solve them. Maybe USAA's current management culture fits in with the city more than I thought.
These all sound like surefire methods for making Democrats.However, some of the things USAA is doing I've seen before in other industries. I've seen companies that figure an engineer fresh out of college is just as good as one with 30 years' experience, so they lay off all their senior technical people. Sure, they save on health care for a few years, but before long the loss of experience and know-how is so immense that their technology falls behind their compe ors', they can't execute projects to save their life, the condition of their assets declines, and they end up selling the business because they can't make the business profitable anymore. This happened to our largest compe or.
I've seen companies that treat their people like garbage, and get away with it for a few years as long as the job market is soft, but then as soon as people are in demand, their workforce collapses.
I've seen companies outsource technical jobs to India, only to learn that some guy half a world away can do basic technical work, but as soon as there is a problem that requires putting eyes on it, or requires some complex managerial skills, the whole scheme collapses.
I take a very low view of the teachings of American MBA schools. They teach short-term slash-and-burn thinking, which, bad as it is for public companies despite the short-term investor benefit, is absolutely insane for a private non-profit like USAA.
Per capita income in San Antonio has nothing to do with work ethic but rather the lack of industry and a veritable brain drain that has been going on for decades now.
Places like the brewery and the shoe factory closed and Tobin, Intl were bought out by firms in other cities and transported. In short there is no industry here beyond USAA and now Toyota. Essentially, if you want to make a stable living in most fields then you need to move to another city with most math and science degrees.
For example once i complete my engineering degree it is a veritable certainty that I will be moving to Houston or Dallas to find decent employment.
veritable ftw.
Nah...that's just Buddy Holly
should be in the corporate minutes.
The thirst for CMOs is what created all the liquidity. No more thirst, no more liquidity.You are aware that Citicorp lobbied very had to have lending restrictions as well as reserve restirction repealed, i hope. These laws had been on the books since the 30s because a familiar situation involving financial ins utions of that time.
[quote]Since its inception. Its quite obvious that you have no idea about what USAA is. It was started after WW1 because officers were having issues obtaining insurance due to an anti military sentiment. In essence they agreed to insure each other and became a mutual. Technically speaking the members own USAA and that is why at the end of every year they mail out dispersement checks. Thus it is nonprofit as there are no independent owners or shareholders.
USAA is still a mutual unfortunately under the leadership of Davis it is being run like profit motivated ins utions like State Farm and Allstate. Customer service has literally taken a back seat to sales. On employee evaluations it is more critical to have good sales numbers than a good customer service record.[quote]
Your understanding of a mutually owned insurance company and a 501(c) are way off. USAA is a FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION!
proof? Nevertheless, I'm not arguing that they are not as good as they once were.Well thats funny because the number of complaints filed against and lost by USAA to the TIC is higher than it ihas been ever before. I also happen to know people that work in the claims department and I know for a fact that the systemic shenanigans that go on with them didnt go on 10 to 15 years ago. They lowball members as a matter of course.
I'm not a fan of Bob Davis.
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