Would You Like a Credit Card With that?
Hi Scott,
My 19-year-old daughter just started a job at David Jones. To my horror, one of her KPIs is to sell the David Jones credit card to customers. In fact staff are incentivised $75 for every customer they sign up. There is a lot of pressure on her to meet this KPI, and we both feel very uncomfortable with this. I would be interested in your thoughts on this practice.
Wendy
Hi Wendy,
Would you like a credit card with that?!
Seems the beancounters at David Jones have worked out there’s potentially more money to be made flogging debt than designer duds:
The David Jones American Express Platinum Card has an interest rate of 20.74% on purchases, and a ‘competitive annual card fee of $295’.
(They seriously think that’s competitive? Who the hell are they competing with? Cash Converters?)
Anyway, this is exactly why I’m starting ‘Barefoot’s Money Movement’
Debt has been sold to us so relentlessly, so forcefully and so underhandedly that we’ve become desensitised to it.
Look, I’m not saying that DJs shouldn’t be allowed to sell debt, or that your daughter is wrong for following orders.
(That being said, if she feels uncomfortable about it, that’s a very, very good sign. Encourage her to trust her gut and her ethics. That’s a proud parent moment right there.)
What I am saying is that I’m sure as hell going to do everything I can to make sure kids coming out of school see the trap before they get upsold into the merry-go-round of misery. And in the next few weeks I’m back to my old school (in Ouyen, Victoria) to blend up some credit cards in the classroom!
True dinks!
Scott
