5 ms·

Why now? Why with this story? I've been reading similar complaints to that for years. Some of which were far worse in my view (i.e. taking money out of banks t

Why now? Why with this story? I've been reading similar complaints to that for years. Some of which were far worse in my view (i.e. taking money out of banks to repay people who weren't even seeking a refund because PayPal changed its mind about someone's product or service). Why does PayPal suddenly care? Is it because there is viable competition now?

sync 14y ago
It says right there: "I'm driving a lot of changes at PayPal (I took over 5 months ago)"
- wging 14y ago
  But 5 months is a long time. Why only now? Surely there have been high-profile cases whose media frenzies can be capitalized on before now.
  - asarazan 14y ago
    I think you're both underestimating how long it takes to really get settled in and take charge of a huge corporation, as well as overestimating just how long 5 months really is. Seems like about the right amount of time for him to start really kicking things into high gear imo.
  - joshAg 14y ago
    If I had to guess, I'd say because it took the ceo a few months to see how things are currently done and identify problems. The rest of the time I guess would be waiting for the right case to come along.
  - j79 14y ago
    Five months may seem like a long time, but trying to fix something that's pretty broken probably requires a bit of time to understand just what the hell you're trying to fix.
  - diego 14y ago
    Not for the CEO of a big company like that. 5 months is barely enough to get the lay of the land. The press may have you believe otherwise (e.g. Marissa Mayer is changing Yahoo overnight). It's a more interesting story than "she's slowly getting to know how things work while trying to fix the most obvious and visible disasters."
  - adgar 14y ago
    "I can run a 3 man startup and change things in a week! Why can't a public traded company worth billions with thousands of employees change things in a week?" Check your ignorance and entitlement at the door, please.
    - rhizome 14y ago
      Not to mention that any changes they make have to be proven not to expose them to the banking laws that they've been assiduously avoiding, and that would provide the kinds of protections that the general population expects.
      - chris_wot 14y ago
        They can't escape these laws on Australia as they are a financial depository institution regulated by APRA. Should they try to deny an Australuan their money like this, they will be in a world of pain.
        voltagex_ 14y ago
        Hey, I'm an Aussie using PayPal and this is the first time I've heard of this. Where can I go to read more?
        chris_wot 14y ago
        Authority is here: http://www.apra.gov.au/adi/Documents/cfdocs/PayPal-auth-and-conditions-2006.pdf http://www.apra.gov.au/adi/Documents/cfdocs/PayPal-auth-and-... They are classed as an ADI, which means banking rules applies to them.
sw007 14y ago
Classic case of someone who just can't win whatever he does. People have been crying out for PayPal to change - he notices this, he emails the guy with a first class email but still gets criticised. Criticise him if he doesn't act, don't criticise the guy for being big enough to say 'hey, we have a problem, I want to fix it' - that should be applauded, even if it's come later than people would have liked - at least it has come.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  Honestly, that's the job he took. Apparently he was ok with that, and I'm sure he's being well compensated for it. PayPal has built up a lot of ill will, and no, it doesn't just go away with a promise to change. It is in fact going to take time. Let's keep in mind that this offense just happened. It's not the distant past.
- kmm 14y ago
  Oh come on. He can't "win" by solving one person's problems. Will he give his personal email to everyone who has got his account frozen or large chunks of money taken away by PayPal? I doubt it. This is a non-solution, which is almost worse than doing nothing at all, because it's active disingenuity.
  - dlikhten 14y ago
    We must see the first step. He is trying to stop the bleeding. My guess is that the signs are there that the bleeding has started, it just hasn't hit mainstream yet.
  - wpietri 14y ago
    Did you read the same note I did? He says explicitly that he's new in the CEO spot and would like to use this story as a tool for redoing how they handle holds, and how they deal with customers. You can't win by solving just one person's problems. But you also can't win unless you start by solving one person's problems. And then fix the system, so that the kind of problem is less likely to recur. This, IMHO, is exactly the right way to do it. As contrasted with the wrong way, which is for employees to sit in their comfy offices and avoid all direct contact with customers, making up bureaucratic solutions to imagined problems.
gabaix 14y ago
disclaimer: I work for eBay Inc. David Marcus was CEO of Zong, a small mobile payment startup who got bought by PayPal last year. When buying the company, the CEO of eBay Inc. asked him to change quiet a few things in the company culture. This email is one of the first step to improve customer service. Will he succeed I don't know, but you gotta give him the credit of trying.
- chris_wot 14y ago
  eBay is even worse than PayPal! If he can fix PayPal, he might want to try his hand at the owning company...
logn 14y ago
He said he just took over 5 months ago. He's probably just finished filling out his w-2 and selecting health insurance :)

sync 14y ago

It says right there: "I'm driving a lot of changes at PayPal (I took over 5 months ago)"

wging 14y ago
But 5 months is a long time. Why only now? Surely there have been high-profile cases whose media frenzies can be capitalized on before now.
- asarazan 14y ago
  I think you're both underestimating how long it takes to really get settled in and take charge of a huge corporation, as well as overestimating just how long 5 months really is. Seems like about the right amount of time for him to start really kicking things into high gear imo.
- joshAg 14y ago
  If I had to guess, I'd say because it took the ceo a few months to see how things are currently done and identify problems. The rest of the time I guess would be waiting for the right case to come along.
- j79 14y ago
  Five months may seem like a long time, but trying to fix something that's pretty broken probably requires a bit of time to understand just what the hell you're trying to fix.
- diego 14y ago
  Not for the CEO of a big company like that. 5 months is barely enough to get the lay of the land. The press may have you believe otherwise (e.g. Marissa Mayer is changing Yahoo overnight). It's a more interesting story than "she's slowly getting to know how things work while trying to fix the most obvious and visible disasters."
- adgar 14y ago
  "I can run a 3 man startup and change things in a week! Why can't a public traded company worth billions with thousands of employees change things in a week?" Check your ignorance and entitlement at the door, please.
  - rhizome 14y ago
    Not to mention that any changes they make have to be proven not to expose them to the banking laws that they've been assiduously avoiding, and that would provide the kinds of protections that the general population expects.
    - chris_wot 14y ago
      They can't escape these laws on Australia as they are a financial depository institution regulated by APRA. Should they try to deny an Australuan their money like this, they will be in a world of pain.
      - voltagex_ 14y ago
        Hey, I'm an Aussie using PayPal and this is the first time I've heard of this. Where can I go to read more?
        chris_wot 14y ago
        Authority is here: http://www.apra.gov.au/adi/Documents/cfdocs/PayPal-auth-and-conditions-2006.pdf http://www.apra.gov.au/adi/Documents/cfdocs/PayPal-auth-and-... They are classed as an ADI, which means banking rules applies to them.

sw007 14y ago

Classic case of someone who just can't win whatever he does. People have been crying out for PayPal to change - he notices this, he emails the guy with a first class email but still gets criticised. Criticise him if he doesn't act, don't criticise the guy for being big enough to say 'hey, we have a problem, I want to fix it' - that should be applauded, even if it's come later than people would have liked - at least it has come.

waterlesscloud 14y ago
Honestly, that's the job he took. Apparently he was ok with that, and I'm sure he's being well compensated for it. PayPal has built up a lot of ill will, and no, it doesn't just go away with a promise to change. It is in fact going to take time. Let's keep in mind that this offense just happened. It's not the distant past.
kmm 14y ago
Oh come on. He can't "win" by solving one person's problems. Will he give his personal email to everyone who has got his account frozen or large chunks of money taken away by PayPal? I doubt it. This is a non-solution, which is almost worse than doing nothing at all, because it's active disingenuity.
- dlikhten 14y ago
  We must see the first step. He is trying to stop the bleeding. My guess is that the signs are there that the bleeding has started, it just hasn't hit mainstream yet.
- wpietri 14y ago
  Did you read the same note I did? He says explicitly that he's new in the CEO spot and would like to use this story as a tool for redoing how they handle holds, and how they deal with customers. You can't win by solving just one person's problems. But you also can't win unless you start by solving one person's problems. And then fix the system, so that the kind of problem is less likely to recur. This, IMHO, is exactly the right way to do it. As contrasted with the wrong way, which is for employees to sit in their comfy offices and avoid all direct contact with customers, making up bureaucratic solutions to imagined problems.

gabaix 14y ago

disclaimer: I work for eBay Inc. David Marcus was CEO of Zong, a small mobile payment startup who got bought by PayPal last year. When buying the company, the CEO of eBay Inc. asked him to change quiet a few things in the company culture. This email is one of the first step to improve customer service. Will he succeed I don't know, but you gotta give him the credit of trying.

chris_wot 14y ago
eBay is even worse than PayPal! If he can fix PayPal, he might want to try his hand at the owning company...

logn 14y ago

He said he just took over 5 months ago. He's probably just finished filling out his w-2 and selecting health insurance :)