Wells Fargo - Digital Chum

Wells Fargo CEO doesn’t get it

February 11, 2009 by Dan

Yesterday, CNN’s Campbell Brown took Wells Fargo to task, not for canceling their lavish Vegas shindig, but for taking out two full-page ads in newspapers as a “thank you” to employees and to blame the media for the cancellation of their extravagant employee recognition festivities.

In the ads, Wells Fargo’s CEO announced all of its big employee events for the year have now been canceled. He then blamed the media and said that our one-sided reporting on this subject makes every employee recognition event sound like a boondoggle. And that ultimately, our misleading reports have hurt Wells Fargo employees who deserve a pat on the back, and hurt the tourism industry since they aren’t taking these trips anymore.

I echo Campbell Brown’s reply of “Give me a break.” Wells Fargo shouldn’t be whining and complaining that the big, mean media is trashing them for a flagrant waste of taxpayer money. They should be thanking the media for setting them straight and reminding them that, without that taxpayer bailout money, they wouldn’t have jobs to appreciate in the first place.

She continues.

And do you really think the best use of your money right now is to buy full page newspapers ads trashing the media, disguising the ads as thank you notes to your employees?

You want to thank your workers, try e-mail. Put the letter on your Web site instead. It won’t cost a dime.

Exactly. If they really were just concerned about thanking their employees, that’s what they would have done… used email or their website. Taking out full-page ads just shows that what they’re interested in is playing the victim. They want to portray themselves as “poor Wells Fargo” because they can’t properly thank their employees. They’re pouting because they can’t throw their big, extravagant, 12-day party this year because of that damned media. Then they have the gall to say that they “hope Americans will understand when a company tries to do the right thing by honoring its employees.”

Yes. I think Americans will understand when a company honors its employees. But I don’t think Americans will understand, or more importantly sympathize with, a company who takes taxpayer bailout money and then wants to spend it in irresponsible, unproductive, and outlandish ways. Once that bailout money is paid back in full with interest, they can do whatever they want with their income.

To add insult to injury, the Wells Fargo CEO evidently has warned of possible job cuts this year.

If they’re strapped for cash and need to lay people off, spending bailout money on parties is even more reprehensible.

I think it’s time for their CEO to step down… with no parachute.

Wells Fargo Cancels

February 6, 2009 by Dan

It seems that Wells Fargo canceled it’s all-expense-paid employee extravaganza in Vegas very shortly after the Associated Press article hit the news.

The company initially defended the trip after The Associated Press reported it had booked 12 nights beginning Friday at the Wynn Las Vegas and the Encore Las Vegas. But within hours, investigators and lawmakers on Capitol Hill had scorned the bank, and the company canceled.

I’m stunned and impressed by lawmakers actually commenting on this so quickly and laying the smack down. It’s refreshing… and surprising.

What did Wells Fargo have to say about the whole thing?

“In light of the current environment, we have now decided to cancel this event as well,” the company said Tuesday night in a news release that also said the it had never planned to use taxpayer bailout money for the trip.

“The current environment” must mean the environment where everyone in the entire country, including investigators and lawmakers, is screaming obscenities at their absurd lack of judgement.

And what’s this about never planning to use taxpayer bailout money for the trip? Until they pay back the full amount they were given via the bailout, every penny in that company is taxpayer bailout money. It’s not like they were given a loan to make some improvements to their facilities. They were given bailout money to keep their company from going under due to poor management and bad business decisions. Without the bailout money, they’d be done… finished… game over.

So until they demonstrate they can be fiscally and managerially responsible by paying back all the bailout money and making a profit without government assistance, they’ve got no money that isn’t taxpayer bailout money. Until that point, every single cent of expenditure should be watched with a proverbial magnifying glass to make sure they don’t try, once again, to bilk their customers… and their country… out of billions of dollars.

Buying some extra staples is fine. Buying a 12-day, all-expense-paid, hedonistic party for the employees… not so much.

No, no, no, no, NO!!!!

February 3, 2009 by Dan

According to this article on MSNBC, Wells Fargo, which received about $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, is planning on having a “series of corporate junkets” to Las Vegas casinos this month.

From the article…

Wells Fargo, once among the nation’s top writers of sub prime mortgages, has booked 12 nights at the Wynn Las Vegas and its sister hotel, the Encore Las Vegas beginning Friday, said Wynn spokeswoman Michelle Loosbrock. The hotels will host the annual conference for company’s top mortgage officers.

The conference is a Wells Fargo tradition. Previous years have included all-expense-paid helicopter rides, wine tasting, horseback riding in Puerto Rico and a private Jimmy Buffett concert in the Bahamas for more than 1,000 employees and guests.

Other banks have cancelled their “employee recognition” outings due to financial cutbacks, but not Wells Fargo. Evidently, they feel it’s okay to spend all this taxpayer bailout money on parties and “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” shenanigans.

“I was amazed with just how lavish it was,” said Debra Rickard, a former Wells Fargo mortgage employee from Colorado who attended the events regularly until she left the company in 2004. “We stayed in top hotels, the entertainment was just unbelievable, and there were awards — you got plaques or trophies.”

What’s the excuse for continuing this lavish event even though the company needed (and received) bailout money to stay afloat?

“Recognition events are still part of our culture,” spokeswoman Melissa Murray said. “It’s really important that our team members are still valued and recognized.”

“Part of our culture?” Is poor management to the point of bankruptcy part of your culture, too? Is misusing public funds part of your culture? Is destroying the public trust part of your culture? Is lavish excess funded by taxpayer money part of your culture?

Evidently, it is now.

If they actually hold this event, I think all their bailout money should be returned… forcibly if necessary. Let them fail because they certainly aren’t doing anything to succeed. They are just taking in public funds for their own grand, hedonistic enjoyment, flushing the money down the financial toilet of delusional entitlement.

There was supposed to be some pretty stringent oversight attached to this bailout money. I hope Congress steps in and puts the smack down on this Wells Fargo fiasco, but I sadly fear that they won’t.

Murray did not immediately have details about the size or cost of the events or what was planned.

No surprise there. The MSNBC article provides this detail, though.

Rooms at the Wynn and the Encore are consistently among the most expensive in Las Vegas. The $2.3 billion Encore opened in December as sister hotel to the Wynn. Its decor includes a 27-foot Asian dragon made from 90,000 Swarovski crystals and artwork by Colombian artist Fernando Botero. One of the restaurants features Frank Sinatra’s 1953 Oscar.

I guess the Red Roof Inn is out of the question.