Chuck Is Back
As a former "Schwabbie" (that's insider lingo for a Charles Schwab employee) and a Schwab account holder, having Chuck Schwab return as CEO last summer was good news. I was able to see him speak live once and it became abundantly clear why he was so successful. He really, truly, and honestly cares about his employees and his customers.
When I was there, there was another guy acting as a co-CEO with Chuck. His name was Dave Pottruck. I got to hear Dave speak up close and personal at a gathering of African-American employees. It was nice of him to show up, but I can't say that I got the same feeling of support that I got when I heard Chuck speak.
In fact, as time went on, while I was there, the atmosphere became more and more adversarial towards smaller clients (assets under $100,000). In other words, there was a negative perception focused towards almost everybody I knew. When I first arrived, the customer was always important and even thinking about a co-worker in a bad way was grounds for discipline. Diversity had been the company's strength for years, and intolerance of any kind was heavily frowned upon. That is until the end of Dave's tenure.
All of a sudden there was this atmosphere of treating smaller customers like a burden. Fees were introduced on their accounts, and all manner of nitpicking and penny-pinching were focused toward this group of people. In the company's defense, it was going through a severe slump that resulted in many rounds of layoffs. I went voluntarily in the fourth round when I found out about the great severance packages that were being offered. It should be noted that a good portion of the severance packages came from Chuck's own pocket. I'm telling you, the guy is a class act.
The reason I'm saying this is because when I checked my account today there was a huge message saying that fees have been completeley eliminated. I won't lie. My first reaction was to wonder how I could get my old job back. My next reaction was to look into buying SCH again. It looks like I was a little late to the game, because the stock shot up 4 months ago. About the time it probably took from conception of fee removals to its public announcement.
Well, I'm not too disappointed that I missed out on the price gain. I don't have any money to invest with anyway, and now that the fees are gone, my account balance won't continue to get hacked away. Chuck's return was a very good thing. He's a great guy by all accounts, and I wish the very best to the company and all my former co-workers. NO MORE FEES!!!! HOORAY! YAHOO! Whoops. Wrong company. It looks like they could use their own "Chuck" right about now.
When I was there, there was another guy acting as a co-CEO with Chuck. His name was Dave Pottruck. I got to hear Dave speak up close and personal at a gathering of African-American employees. It was nice of him to show up, but I can't say that I got the same feeling of support that I got when I heard Chuck speak.
In fact, as time went on, while I was there, the atmosphere became more and more adversarial towards smaller clients (assets under $100,000). In other words, there was a negative perception focused towards almost everybody I knew. When I first arrived, the customer was always important and even thinking about a co-worker in a bad way was grounds for discipline. Diversity had been the company's strength for years, and intolerance of any kind was heavily frowned upon. That is until the end of Dave's tenure.
All of a sudden there was this atmosphere of treating smaller customers like a burden. Fees were introduced on their accounts, and all manner of nitpicking and penny-pinching were focused toward this group of people. In the company's defense, it was going through a severe slump that resulted in many rounds of layoffs. I went voluntarily in the fourth round when I found out about the great severance packages that were being offered. It should be noted that a good portion of the severance packages came from Chuck's own pocket. I'm telling you, the guy is a class act.
The reason I'm saying this is because when I checked my account today there was a huge message saying that fees have been completeley eliminated. I won't lie. My first reaction was to wonder how I could get my old job back. My next reaction was to look into buying SCH again. It looks like I was a little late to the game, because the stock shot up 4 months ago. About the time it probably took from conception of fee removals to its public announcement.
Well, I'm not too disappointed that I missed out on the price gain. I don't have any money to invest with anyway, and now that the fees are gone, my account balance won't continue to get hacked away. Chuck's return was a very good thing. He's a great guy by all accounts, and I wish the very best to the company and all my former co-workers. NO MORE FEES!!!! HOORAY! YAHOO! Whoops. Wrong company. It looks like they could use their own "Chuck" right about now.
posted by moluv at 5:22 PM
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