Comments on: AIG’s exorbitant outing at the Regis was justified

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:30:14 +0000

Oh come on folks. I doesn’t MATTER if 400K is a drop in the bucket. It doesn’t MATTER that this outing is a great motivator for the salespeople. What DOES matter is that AIG is a failed company using taxpayer money to even STAY in business. Wake the heck up and smell the coffee. Things in America need to change and change fast. This bailout package is one great big hoax and a symptom of what is wrong with AMerica. A blank check to failed corporations who got into trouble in the first place based on greed. I say let them fail.

By: Dr. Slammy

Dr. Slammy — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:56:20 +0000

This, of course, is a potentially valid point. From a PR perspective it doesn’t seem to have worked out for them so well.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:31:09 +0000

Bob,

Now there, you’ll get agreement from me. Someone in AIG should have realized how things would look, and planned accordingly.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:00:38 +0000

Timing is the real issue. One thing I’ve learned is once your in trouble, don’t do anything to skyline yourself. If AIG was going to go ahead with this they needed to understand that people were watching and perception is reality. They should have seen the need to explain their position on this right up front, instead of haveing to play catch up with the press.

By: Ed Colavito

Ed Colavito — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:46:06 +0000

AIG = Ass is Grass!

By: Barry

Barry — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:36:47 +0000

I agree the $400K is a drop in the bucket. The employees and retirees who might have been counting on this money to help cover their pensions will have to look elsewhere, anyway, when AIG finally goes under (next day or so?). Might as well keep partying until the deck’s fully under water.

By: Ubertramp

Ubertramp — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:12:11 +0000

Bah. My uncle is creepy anyway.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:22:30 +0000

So it’s actually more like carrying on with grandma’s birthday party even though your uncle died last week.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:49:56 +0000

Morgan:

I understand why you might agree with Amy Pohler, but remember that AIG is a huge company. The insurance division has nothing to do with the division that brought the company down. These salespeople have been promised this perq all year long, and knew (by this time) that they’d won it — be earning it.

Here’s another way to look at it. Say that the average cost of these events is $500,000, and 100 of the top salespeople are invited. That’s $5,000 each. Most of these folks earn so much money that a $5,000 bonus “kicker” would hardly raise an eyebrow. So, if AIG is to meet its commitment, it will have to give out this money anyway, and it won’t be nearly as effective as the big to-do. In fact, they may have to give out more money in bonuses to make it at all meaningful.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:10:42 +0000

Amy Pohler said it best when they claimed it was planned for a long time:
it’s like carrying on with grandma’s birthday party even though she died last week!

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:40:40 +0000

It was still really bad timing.

By: jeff

jeff — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:47:31 +0000

JS:

Great post.

Jeff

By: Ann Ivins

Ann Ivins — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:45:32 +0000

Every single headline I can find calls this an “executive retreat,” even the stories released after AIG’s statement about the purpose and attendance of the event – a statement which could easily be checked out. Obama, McCain, and (for the love of God) the White House have all jumped on the bandwagon, calling AIG “despicable” and “irresponsible…” Irresponsible. Hmm.

Meanwhile, I doubt the employees of the St. Regis and its surrounding restaurants and bars are complaining about a hundred well-lubricated tippers showing up instead of cancelling…

By: Dr. Slammy

Dr. Slammy — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:41:41 +0000

Ditto here. In times like this it’s all too easy (and appropriate) to get really mad at the corporate honchos whose activities range from “inept” to “criminal.” This often gets us into “baby/bathwater” territory, and when that happens we can make bad situations worse.

The types of events you’re talking about – “President’s Club” events – are powerful engines for productivity. Salespeople are odd animals, and they’ll work like crazy to earn the right to attend them. The value in this, as you so accurately note, is lots of revenue, which means companies are more healthy, and if you can’t figure out what that means for workers and their families then you’re not smart enough to be reading a blog anyway.

Well said….