Are most of us Muppets?

[Dave2002]

I loved the reports about the guy who resigned from Goldman Sachs. I read about this in the Times recently. Here is another link:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2012/03/14/the-real-problem-at-goldman-sachs-you-the-muppet-client/

[Lateralthinking1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiMZa8flyYY

[kernelbogey]

My best friend and I, having reached a certain age, often think of ourselves as Waldorf and Statler. So... yes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJNxj1FdKuo&feature=related

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

man or muppet is the existential challenge of the century for us all ...... even if we occupy the main square and protest peacefully or violently they still shoot .... they think we are muppets ...


i have been re-watching that irritating thriller series Rubicon on BBC2 ..having missed the last two or three episodes the first time round ...[still find it rather tedious but an OK time waster] ... the best bit is right at the end when the arch conspirator confronts our hero saying 'tell them Will, tell them everything ...see if any one gives a f***' ..... on the whole we do not give the proverbial it seems to me, like the cadavers in Matrix we prefer the existential state of Muppet to knowing and confronting ... and if we do take to the streets we are to be kettled entirely legally it appears ... so much for the rights at the EU Court eh ....

[Paul Sherratt]

>>>Are most of us Muppets?

http://www.bangingtunes.com/img/user/posts/mattb_churchill_dog-oh_yes.jpg

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Squealer and the Gang of Those More Equal most certainly act as if they think so .... especially about old pot bellied farts like me who care deeply about jazz or opera or early or world

Music

[scottycelt]

Yes, anyone who works, or has worked, in a sales field may well feel that, sadly, many of 'us' are ...

It never ceased to amaze me just how many people I encountered in my sales career who appeared to think that shops and businesses existed purely as a public service and were simply there to 'serve' them whatever the cost to the particular shop and business..

They appeared blissfully unaware that everyone works for a profit (however low) and some are out to make as much profit as they possibly can.

The huge number of people who recently claimed they were 'misled' by insurance selling from banks (when all they had to do was to read the legally-required small print at the time) demonstrates only too clearly that muppets are apparently a significant slice of the populace. Alternatively, just who is conning who, here?

Naturally I am not referring to the deliberate misleading of the elderly, unwell and recently bereaved by salespersons which, of course, is truly despicable.

[Serial_Apologist]

I think of us all as puppets, rather than muppets. Some of us a too highly-strung, imv.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

.. and yet others feel the hand of their creator

[Serial_Apologist]

.. and yet others feel the hand of their creator

They're the strung out ones...

[jayne lee wilson]

You seem to suggest that it's alright to mislead the young and fit, and it's their own fault if they're swindled...

Customers of banks or shops have at least the right to expect no deception or cynicism in the pursuit of profit ("low" is the word!) and if they haven't run or been involved in a business they would not expect the small print to undermine the services or the quality claimed, or the headline rate, as it now routinely does in the case of savings accounts and other financial instruments.

Small print is small for a reason - the company hopes you'll miss the crucial bits.

Yes, anyone who works, or has worked, in a sales field may well feel that, sadly, many of 'us' are ...

It never ceased to amaze me just how many people I encountered in my sales career who appeared to think that shops and businesses existed purely as a public service and were simply there to 'serve' them whatever the cost to the particular shop and business..

They appeared blissfully unaware that everyone works for a profit (however low) and some are out to make as much profit as they possibly can.

The huge number of people who recently claimed they were 'misled' by insurance selling from banks (when all they had to do was to read the legally-required small print at the time) demonstrates only too clearly that muppets are apparently a significant slice of the populace. Alternatively, just who is conning who, here?

Naturally I am not referring to the deliberate misleading of the elderly, unwell and recently bereaved by salespersons which, of course, is truly despicable.

[scottycelt]

You seem to suggest that it's alright to mislead the young and fit, and it's their own fault if they're swindled...

Customers of banks or shops have at least the right to expect no deception or cynicism in the pursuit of profit ("low" is the word!) and if they haven't run or been involved in a business they would not expect the small print to undermine the services or the quality claimed, or the headline rate, as it now routinely does in the case of savings accounts and other financial instruments.

Small print is small for a reason - the company hopes you'll miss the crucial bits.

Yes, you are right, which is precisely why most of us make damn sure that we don't miss the crucial bits!

Those who run shops and businesses are akin to politicians. They tell us the claimed advantages of buying their 'goods' but not quite so keen to reveal the full cost. We have to ask or read the small print.

If any fit and healthy youngsters are not aware of this common business practice, and require assistance when purchasing, then I suggest they take a mature adult along for some worldly advice, until they (the youngsters) are safe enough to be let out on their own.

As for mature, fit and healthy adults themselves, if they are so lazy as to simply accept the headline at face value without reading the full story, then, yes, I'm afraid that even my soft little heart finds it impossible to express much sympathy, when they then end up complaining about the total cost, after prematurely signing on the dotted line.

My own retail experience has been that some consumers are every bit as likely to attempt to 'con' shops and businesses (and, of course, insurance companies!) than the reverse ... both parties have to take suitable care in any business arrangement, which is precisely why the seller has the 'terms and conditions' section in the first place.

This is quite different from businesses and salespersons telling deliberate lies about any cost which is simple fraud and rightly a criminal offence.

[amateur51]

My best friend and I, having reached a certain age, often think of ourselves as Waldorf and Statler. So... yes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJNxj...eature=related

Same here, kernel. We alternate between them & the Last of the Summer Wine crew ... which hill do we push the bath down on today's 'outing'?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

well muppett mebbe but i think i prefer to be a bald aged fat fart

BAFF

[LeMartinPecheur]

The huge number of people who recently claimed they were 'misled' by insurance selling from banks (when all they had to do was to read the legally-required small print at the time) demonstrates only too clearly that muppets are apparently a significant slice of the populace. Alternatively, just who is conning who, here?

scottycelt: if you are referring to the misselling of PPI I think you underestimate the degree of fraud. from the time of its introduction - then usually called accident/sickness/redundancy insurance or ASR - it was heavily missold, eg by use of opt-out tick-boxes instead of opt-in, verbal misrepresentation of coverage, making it look cheap by elaborate misstatements of the APR on the loans it accompanied... But the crucial issue was and still is that someone selling an insurance product is required to assess its suitability to the client's needs. many policies were sold to those it could not possibly benefit such as the self-employed. Companies have been forced to repay premiums in such circ's since the early 80s but that hasn't stopped the misselling. Far from it.

The many spam emails offering to get me compensation for missold PPI that I'm now getting make me rather sad that I never bought any of it. I could now be seriously rich