It does seem to have taken an awfully long time to get help into Haiti. With all the technology and communications we have available the simple thing that has thwarted nearly all of the efforts to get aid into the country has been the basic physical factor that the airport couldn't cope with all of the aid flights. Then, just like a good old western movie, the cavalry in the form of the Americans arrived and seem to be restoring some sort of order and getting the aid moving at last!
Anyway it's great news that the aid is getting through, although I had to laugh last week when the French government had apparantly complained that the US presence was effectively turning the country into a US territory. Don't you just love the French? Of course they may well have a point of sorts, but in reality the Americans are the only country close by with the manpower and resources to get in there and sort things out.
The best thing is that despite the thousands and thousands of lives lost, those American and other resue teams keep finding survivors in the ruins. Every person who is rescued after all this time is a miracle and I just hope that the aid and help that is starting to get through helps the country rebuild and supports the survivors.
The Financial Services Industry
A few months ago I decided to do some re-organising of my personal financial affairs which involved restructuring my pensions and insurance and releasing some cash . I've already mentioned in previous blogs my frustration about delays caused by simple errors and it has caused a significant delay in getting things sorted out, though God willing I'll get my funds through very soon.
Now mistakes happen and anyone who has to deal with pension funds, insurance companies etc knows how frustrating dealing with them can be. But five separate professional organisations (including my own financial advisor) are involved in this "restructuring" and the thing that really annoys me is that they ALL automatically get paid for their services upfront from my funds regardless of whether or not I am satisfied with their work. Of course I'll be able to complain but we all know how much effort the client has to put into such correspondence and in the majority of cases, the suppliers get away with poor service because the client just gives up in frustration. And a single individual trying to take on large companies really has very little chance of getting any decent form of restitution which makes up for the time, frustration and hassle caused by a simple delay or error.
In a few weeks time I'll probably have forgotten about all of this but the delay caused by one simple error has caused significant hassle for me and I'm trying to decide what to do about it. I will write to my FA with my concerns and of course I could appoint a new FA in protest, but is it worth the additional hassle and time that I'd have to spend sorting it out?
Of course the answer is no. A couple of weeks delay in receiving some funds is really nothing when compared to the plight of those in Haiti who have been affected by the earthquake, so I know that this is just one of those situations that aren't worth getting bothered about. The point though is that this is just another example of a poor level of service from the financial services industry where the customer has little recourse to challenge costs. I won't loose any sleep over it but I'll remember it for future reference.
Marie