State of…Twin

It's crazy…but I think that the fictitious lead singer in the show Parenthood is also one of the top wingers in the NHL.  Or perhaps I've got that mixed up, and Patrick Sharp is also the lead singer of the band All-American Rejects. 

State of…"Values"

There's obviously a lot of thought that goes into a corporation's "Vision and Values".  It's really hard to capture a larger thought that incorporates everything your company stands for and boil it down into a single statement.   After a recent interaction with Wells Fargo I wanted to look up their "Vision and Values" to see how it matched up with my understanding of them.  Here is what I found:

"Everything we do is built on trust.  It doesn't happen with one transaction, in one day on the job or in one quarter.  It's earned relationship by relationship." - John G. Stumpft, Chairman and CEO

That sounds great, right? Who wouldn't want to have that kind of relationship with their bank? I certainly would.  Unfortunately, my relationship with Wells Fargo is…let's just say strained right now.   Let me paint you the picture to get a better understanding.

I've been banking with Wells Fargo for at least 12 years.  When I moved up from Georgia they were the first bank that I opened an account with.  At the time they were Wachovia, but essentially it's the same company.  For the past, let's say, 5 years I've been transferring money every two weeks into a joint account that I have with my wife at USAA.  They offer some nice financial incentives for their customers and since my wife is the one who handles most of our bill-paying it made sense to have one central bank to write checks.

So, for at least 5 years I've been transferring a large percent of each paycheck from my Wells Fargo account to our USAA account.  Each year I set up the automatic transfer for the upcoming year (based on any increases to my pay).  I won't use real numbers…but let's say that I've been transferring $1.50 per paycheck for the past two years, $1.35 the year before and $1.30 for the two years prior to that.

This year, when I attempted to  setup my account (as I do each year) I was told that the maximum transfer amount is $1.20.  It's now "bank policy" that one cannot transfer more than this amount on a given day, or $3 for a given month.  No matter that some months include three pay periods and would put me over that $3 total (3 x $1.50 = $4.50).  So not only can I not transfer the $1.50 that is required for us to pay our mortgage, electric, auto payments, etc., but I can't even make multiple transfers over the span of 30 days in order to cover our bills.

To make makers worse, the brainiacs at Wells Fargo have decided that to demonstrate their emphasis in "Trust" they will start implementing a $3 fee (that's a real number not made up) on each transaction.  So in order for me to continue what I've been doing for the past 5+ years I will now be charged a minimum of $6, and at times $9, per month.  That may not seem like a lot, but at $78 per year that would total up nearly $400 over the past 5 years.

When I called Wells Fargo today to confirm my understanding, I got an infuriating answer.  I outlined the above items and the lady I was speaking with said "Yes, that makes sense.".  What part of the above "makes sense"?  When I enquired about having the $3 transaction fee waived she simply said "there's nothing we can do to waive the recurring fee unfortunately".  She was kind enough to waive a single transaction fee (for my trouble), but moving forward there it was simply out of her hands.  I'm being screwed over by the same entity that has a mantra that trust is "earned relationship by relationship".

It was an inconvenience to make multiple transfers instead of it being automatic (to stay under the $1.25 cap) but I was prepared to ride it out.  It's been a fairly good relationship over the years…dare I say that I've had a neutral relationship to this point (which is likely pretty good compared to most peoples' relationship with their bank).  But when they informed me that I was also going to be dinged $3 per transaction that became too much.

I doubt that a massive bank like Wells Fargo will care about losing me as a customer, but the smallest

floods often start with a single crack.  So, starting today I will be informing our HR department that my direct deposit should now be directed to USAA moving forward.

Thanks for the good times Wells Fargo.  My trust may not have been gained with just one transaction, but you certainly lost it in one.

Sincerely,
LW

State of…Gr8ness

I heard a very interesting discussion today on the Steve Dangle Podcast (no, not THAT discussion) - by  the way, if you're not listening to this podcast you should be - They were talking about the statistics of Alex Ovechkin and how his stats compare to the list of All-Time Goal Scorers.

Ovie currently sits at 411 goals (as of February 11, 2014) and is 83rd on the All-Time List. Later this season he should move up into the Top 70 (#70 is Yvan Cournoyer at 428).  At his present pace (40 goals in 55 games) he should hit around 58 goals (I'll assume he misses at least 2 games).  So that would mean another 18 goals THIS year…putting him at 429 for his career.

The discussion was surrounding the idea of whether or not Ovie the Gr8 could possibly catch Wayne Gretzky for the All-Time lead in goals (894).  Ovie is only 28 years old…so theoretically he could play for another 10 years (perhaps longer if he follows the lead of other greats like Jagr and Selanne).  It seemed ludicrous to think that anyone could possibly threaten the Great One's hold on top spot…but looking at Ovie's career stats and plotting a few future seasons, it does indeed look POSSIBLE.

Here's how it could breakdown:

2013-2014: 58 Goals (429 Total)
2014-2015: 60 Goals (489 Total)
2015-2016: 58 Goals (547 Total)
2016-2017: 56 Goals (603 Total)
2017-2018: 54 Goals (657 Total)
2018-2019: 49 Goals (706 Total)
2019-2020: 45 Goals (751 Total)
2020-2021: 44 Goals (795 Total)
2021-2022: 38 Goals (833 Total)
2022-2023: 33 Goals (866 Total)
2023-2024: 29 Goals (895 Total)

This would take Ovie to the ripe age of 38.  If he were to extend his career for another 1-2 years you'd have to expect that with his hands and vision he could still hit 20 goals per year…which would give him roughly 40 goals to play with over the next 10 years.  Is it unrealistic to expect him to hit 6 straight  (I include this year as it looks like he will top 50 this year) 50 goal campaigns after his 28th birthday…perhaps, but would you say it's impossible? No chance.

To have this healthy of a career would also be a lofty achievement, but outside of one year where he only played in 72 games, Ovie has been relatively healthy.  That's not to say that he will continue to do so…but his history is all we have to go off.

Ovie already has one campaign of 60+ goals (2007-2008 he had 65 goals in 82 games) and five total seasons of more than 50 (again, including this year) in his first 9 years (keep in mind that one season was a shortened one, but his pace that year would have put him over 50 for the full season).  So putting up five 50+ goal campaigns in his next 10 years is not THAT unreasonable.  It would be a monumental feat…but not much more than what his first 8 years have been like.

What's most incredible is that this conversation is worth having.  Gordie How is second in All-Time Goals will 801.  That is 93 less than Gretzky.  That's essentially three really good seasons of goal scoring behind the leader.  So for Ovie to be in the conversation of potentially threatening the other Great One is impressive on its own.

Do I think that Ovie gets to the 895 number? No.  I bet he gets to the high 700's or very low 800's (which would be an outstanding career)….but if you've read my previous posts, I've misjudged Ovie before.  A motivated Ovie is a VERY scary player and if he starts to get a sniff of arguably the "greatest hockey player of all-time" that could be just the motivation that Ovie needs.  He seems like the kind of player who wants to leave his mark on the game…and what better way than to be called the Greatest Scorer of All Time!?

Either way…it's going to be fun next few years watching this.

Cheers,
LW

State of…Amenities

Before I get to my point, I had to mention that once again I find myself sitting at the Buffalo International Airport waiting on my US Airways flight.  This time, my first two flights have been cancelled, not due to incompetence but because of weather.  To date, US Airways has been wonderful and I continue to find that my last experience/post was out of character and not the norm. Keep it up US Airways!

So I stayed at a hotel last night.  It was a recognized brand name, and certainly in the upper echelon of “good” hotels.  It was not a luxury hotel by any means, but certainly one that you know you’ll be well taken care of.

When I got checked in and got into my room, I noticed the following sticky on the bed:

In case you can't read this, it says "Duvet covers & sheets are clean for your arrival".  

Does this really need to be stated?  When I check into a hotel I generally assume that the room has been cleaned and I've been given clean sheet and duvet.    Am I the crazy one here, or do you also assume this?  Have standards at other hotels dropped so low that "Clean Sheets!" are now a major selling point, much like "Free WiFI" (don't get me started on those dirt bag hotels that ask you PAY for internet)?  Will I find myself one day driving down the road looking for that hotel that I remember had clean sheets?

Could you imagine if this carried over into other industries?  Picture this:

You and your wife arrive at a fancy restaurant for your Anniversary.  The host seats you at a cozy table by the fire.  The server comes by and welcomes you and takes your drink order.  When they come back to tell you all about the specials they start by saying "It's my pleasure to serve you this evening, and I just wanted to let you know that your knife, fork, spoon and salad fork have all been cleaned prior to your arrival.".

Sounds ridiculous, right?  How is this any different than my clean sheet experience?  Do we not expect the same courtesy with sheets and covers at a hotel that we stay in?  Should we?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I look forward to continuing to rant and ramble through this portal.

Cheers,

LW