 OUR TAKE -
Not Really Bad Profits
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| Lasting Impressions:
If you delay till tomorrow what ought to be done today, you overcharge the morrow with a burden which belongs not to it.
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Hugh Blair
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This week, we have had a lively discussion about the risky business practices of relying on bad profits. While airline baggage fees and hotel internet charges get many people worked up, it seems the banks policies regarding NSF charges takes the prize.
One reader believes "the present banking policy goes back to the approach our parents used during our formative years. They want you to feel the shock when you spend money you do not have." I do see some merit in this perspective as the fees should not be a surprise and no one holds a gun to my head to bounce checks.
But on the other hand, do I want a bank to take punitive actions akin to a parent/child relationship? Hey, who is the money and who is the organ grinder here? Maybe such policies make sense for the habitual offender. But what about the banking customer that simply makes an errant mistake? A little grace could go a long way. Don't you think?
That's my take. What's your take?
Gary Lemke, Publisher
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| Stock Ticker |
| CDC | 1.02 |  | 0.05 |
| eLoyalty | 2.45 | | 0.1 |
| NetSuite | 8.06 | | 0.3 |
| Selectica | 0.75 | | 0.02 |
| APAC | 1.22 | | 0.01 |
| Pegasystems | 11.88 | | 0.03 |
| Nortel | 0.4 | | 0 |
| Astea | 2.51 | | 0 |
| Rainmaker | 0.74 | | 0 |
| Teletech | 6.73 |  | -0.01 |
| NCR | 13.03 | | -0.04 |
| Unica | 4.21 | | -0.03 |
| HP | 34.78 | | -0.32 |
| ATG | 1.93 | | -0.02 |
| Vignette | 7.76 | | -0.17 |
| Amdocs | 17.68 | | -0.44 |
| SPSS | 23.53 | | -0.79 |
| LivePerson | 1.35 | | -0.05 |
| SAP | 33.38 | | -1.41 |
| Convergys | 6.07 | | -0.29 |
| Sykes | 16.32 | | -0.8 |
| Tekelc | 11.73 | | -0.61 |
| Oracle | 16.46 | | -0.93 |
| ClickSoftware | 2.05 | | -0.13 |
| ICT | 4.44 | | -0.29 |
| Interactive | 6.74 | | -0.45 |
| Chordiant | 2.36 | | -0.17 |
| Epicor | 4.23 | | -0.37 |
| Salesforce | 31.51 | | -3.07 |
| RightNow | 8 | | -0.84 |
| NICE | 21.15 | | -2.94 |
| SupportSoft | 1.91 | | -0.34 |
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As of 3:15 p.m. on 12/11/08 |
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