The cruel heart of business
This morning on Radio Lives news I heard the report of a car rental company, NZRCS based in Wellington I believe has just sent a bill for over $1,000 to the parents of those two Australian tourists who were killed at Fox Glacier last week.
At the face of it...its heartless! No doubting it. Simply put, your two sons are dead...here's the bill for getting our car back and replacing the key.
But then...as I always say, there are two sides of the coin. The other side is, this is a business, times are hard. In the end, they would have to pay for the costs of getting the vehicle back to base. And to be honest, its not like these two were murdered in cold blood.
These two guys we have to remember were killed because they made a decision to cross a safety barrier (regardless if its rope or brick wall), and put themselves in harms way.
We all know the signs on the Desert Road say at certain points not to go off road because it is a military training zone and there are tanks around or at the very least, guns. There is no great wall on either side of State Highway 1 to stop people, and not even rope along the side of the road. Yet for the most part, people do not venture off the road.
While I agree with the sentimental side, that this was a bad move for NZRCS to make in the wake of a tragedy, it for the most part was, and sorry to say, much like the tragic Mangere house fire, a self inflicted injury. The people made a mistake and the cost was far to high. But I think the business, is well within its legal rights to ask for payment but certainly not morally in the right.
As a businessman myself, I would certainly ask for payment, but be very, very paitent and understanding and allow a lot of time. And if it does, sweet, thank you very much...but if not...then for goodwill and publicity, write it off as a loss.
It may not be the business thing to do...but it is the right thing to do.
At the face of it...its heartless! No doubting it. Simply put, your two sons are dead...here's the bill for getting our car back and replacing the key.
But then...as I always say, there are two sides of the coin. The other side is, this is a business, times are hard. In the end, they would have to pay for the costs of getting the vehicle back to base. And to be honest, its not like these two were murdered in cold blood.
These two guys we have to remember were killed because they made a decision to cross a safety barrier (regardless if its rope or brick wall), and put themselves in harms way.
We all know the signs on the Desert Road say at certain points not to go off road because it is a military training zone and there are tanks around or at the very least, guns. There is no great wall on either side of State Highway 1 to stop people, and not even rope along the side of the road. Yet for the most part, people do not venture off the road.
While I agree with the sentimental side, that this was a bad move for NZRCS to make in the wake of a tragedy, it for the most part was, and sorry to say, much like the tragic Mangere house fire, a self inflicted injury. The people made a mistake and the cost was far to high. But I think the business, is well within its legal rights to ask for payment but certainly not morally in the right.
As a businessman myself, I would certainly ask for payment, but be very, very paitent and understanding and allow a lot of time. And if it does, sweet, thank you very much...but if not...then for goodwill and publicity, write it off as a loss.
It may not be the business thing to do...but it is the right thing to do.
Labels: Australian Tourists, Business., NZRCS
posted by Wiremu Bayliss at
8:39 am
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