I Was Vindicated by Trump

Before re-launching the new RR Racing with my brother, I spent a long career working in consulting – primarily implementing complex business applications and IT technologies.   One critique that haunted me throughout my career was that I was too direct.   Many times I told the client the truth in a business world that not always wanted to hear the truth. 

 

Over the years the situation got worse.  Business culture has developed in the United States that made people afraid to express any clear opinion about anything slightly controversial for it may offend someone.   Customers have grown to expect to be told what they want to hear – they expect accommodation instead of competence.  Most want to hear a “YES” – not even a “maybe” or “consider this”.  I believe this culture was one of the reasons why people from India took over the entire US IT industry – they are naturally accommodating, agreeable, and not eager to tell the truth, while willing to constantly apologize (but this is a subject for another article).

Trump cut through this attitude – he says what he thinks and does not mince words.  He is not ashamed to point out if someone behaves or says something stupid.  And surprise – many people actually like him.   Although many people like conformity in the corporate world, many of them also understand the negative impact of fake behavior – especially when such behavior impacts their own performance and professional life.  Voters in the US got tired of politicians telling them what they wanted to hear before the elections and then doing something else after.  So now many voters are seeking candidates like Trump, who seem to speak up their mind, with the hope that they will act on all those direct expressions.  Directness translates into honesty for many voters.

But is Trump really the answer to the extreme “YES” culture?  Is the opposite to saying “YES”, and avoiding telling the hard truths, is saying whatever comes to mind and using derogatory names against anyone who you do not like?  For me being truthful and direct never meant being insulting and lacking of substance.  I would never tell a client or a colleague that I disagree with his or her position without supporting my disagreement with a substantive, factual, and intelligent explanation.  I would never use derogatory words in my disagreement, and I would do my best to express my position in the most respectful manner.

The balance to overly protective YES culture is not an abusive arrogant and empty of substance culture – both are negative extremes that are not productive. So despite feeling good that Trump’s success vindicated me, I hope that people would see the lack of substance and arrogance that he has exhibited.  Life works best when balance is achieved – I hope that we all learn how to look for this balance between a “YES” and “I know better” extremes.

Warning: Fraud on HomeAway Vacation Rentals Site!

Many people use HomeAway.com to search and book their vacation rentals.  They think that this is a reputable site and safe to use.   As my son and his friends recently discovered, there are scammers who use this site to defraud people, and HomeAway does not do enough to prevent fraudulent postings on their site.  They also refuse to reimburse the victims for the losses as per their guarantee promise.  Please read the short story below to avoid being scammed when you book your vacation rental.

My son and his friends were looking for a vacation rental for this summer’s senior week.  One of his friends, Brian, volunteered to make the arrangements.  Brian found several houses they liked on HomeAway and send inquiries.  He received various responses.  One response looked as it came from the HomeAway site stated that the apartment he inquired had a cancellation, and, if he moves fast, he could reserve it.  The property number was different than the one he inquired on (which he did not notice), but it represented a legitimate property on HomeAway.

The group made a  mistake paying this fraudster up front by making a money transfer.  After the money transfer was made, the “property owner” emailed Brian that there was a mistake in account number and the funds he wired were not received.  He provided another bank account and requested to make another wire transfer.  The group checked whether the money was transferred back to Brian’s account, and since they were not, they tried contacting the home owner and requested to check what happened.  The emailing back-and-forth went for a few days.  At this point they finally suspected that something was fishy and tried to reverse the wire transfer.  They were notified by the bank that it was not possible to reverse the transfer because the account the money was wired to was closed.

Before the payment was made, HomeAway identified the false listing and sent an email notifying Brian that they delisted this listing for suspected fraud.  However, since the listing of the property now Brian was dealing with was different, he figured this email was in reference to one of the other listings he inquired on and took no action. 

When I contacted HomeAway to see what could be done to recover the lost money and find out how do they let fraudulent listings on their site, their Trust and Security customer service person first implied that it was very likely that the group would be eligible for a $1,000 refund as part of the HomeAway guarantee.  He asked me to collect and submit all documentation including all communications, wire transfer records and signed contracts. 

After I submitted all documentation, HomeAway notified me that my son and his friends were not eligible to receive the $1,000 guarantee, because they made the payment after HomeAway sent the email notifying of suspicious listing.  My pleas and explanations that listing number was cleverly changed by the fraudster did not help.

I feel that although Brian and his friends made many mistakes in this process, HomeAway was partially responsible for the fraud by letting an illegitimate person to make a listing on their site – they obviously do not check good enough whether the listing is legitimate and do not authenticate the people who make the listings.  It is unfortunate that so far they have not been willing to take responsibility for this and honor their guarantee. 

Who knows what other fraud schemes are happening on HomeAway site.   I would not recommend using their service for your vacation rentals -- you are risking losing your money and spoiling your vacation plans.