Posted on 12/20/2008 11:58:19 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Butcher, baker, candlestick maker -- all noble professions, indeed. Stay-at-home Mom? Well, get a real job. At least, that's what one Australian mom was told when she went to buy a cell phone. Lyndal Fair, a thirty-six-year-old mother of three, wanted to purchase a mobile phone, presumably to keep track of her brood, to call their schools and doctors and to be available in an emergency. Not good enough, said Vodafone -- they don't sell phones to moms.
In fact, the store employees suggested she get her husband to purchase the phone under his name for her. Sound familiar? "I couldn't believe it. It was like being back in the '50s," said Mrs. Fair. "Being a mum is a full-time job and it's a very hard job - the hardest job you can have - because if you get it wrong, the ramifications for everyone are enormous," she added.
A Vodafone spokesman confirmed that the policy does not belong to just one rogue store but to the company as a whole, adding that getting a man to purchase the phone was the easiest solution. The policy is not meant to target moms alone, but anyone the company feels may not be able to afford a phone. "It's not an ideal situation. We're trying to fix it," said Greg Spears, the company spokesman.
I would definitely say this is something the company ought to address. If you ask me, however, the quickest solution is not to have a man buy the phone but to just put down something like "Moms against Vodafone" as the company name.
POLL
Should motherhood count as a job?
No - They drop the kids off at school and goof off the rest of the day
If you don't get paid, it's not a job
It's the company's right to decide who they want to do business with
It shouldn't matter how you make a living, just whether or not you can afford the phone
Motherhood is more work than any other job -- and more important too!
I am often my husband’s secretary when he is at work. When I need to pay bills or there is an issue with a company, many times the person will work with me when they know I am his wife. Other times I will be told they will not talk to me, because I am not him. Last time, I was told they could not talk to me I told the person that my husband was at work and would not be able to speak to her during work hours. After talking to her manager, she actually spoke to me.
True. It’s the reason I question every article. Just what aren’t they telling us?
No you are not. You are an idiot of a businessman, because you just gave up an awful lot of upside potential worrying about a costless downside risk and you just pissed off half of your customers and maybe 1/2 of the other half.
What is the downside risk of giving someone a cell phone? The opportunity to collect on 2 months of phone bills before you cut them off. The cost to the company is pretty small for that actually, because the person is only using bandwidth that you already paid for expecting future increases in business. There is a big difference between losing anticipated revenue and losing hard costs.
Giving someone a car who cannot afford it is a very risky business. Giving them a house used not to be, but it is now. Giving them two months of cell phone service isn't. In fact, the downside risk is almost all born by the customer, who will have a crappy credit rating if they don't pay up, earned on a small ticket item of no great value, and you can continue to seek collection while they have no future telephone service.
So no, don't give me this, "it's just business" line. You clearly know nothing about making business decisions.
PS. If you pulled your head out of your nether regions, you would know that Australia is still a pretty chauvanistic country, which is what is really going on here.
Damn. I thought I was first to call the idiot an idiot, but I see that you are.
When Mrs. Jackson was a stay at home mom for a couple of years she got all the income. She was kind enough to let me have a lunch allowance. I cannot believe I am reading this utterly ignorant crap on a conservative forum which supposedly has respect for the sanctity of the marriage contract. Just unf'in believable. This kind of nonsense is how conservatives lost the last two elections.
It is a target rich environment.
I use my cell number as my work number. It’s never been questioned.
Myabe the “retired” had decent credit or some documentation concerning ability to pay?
I figured the company had their reasons for not selling her the phone/contract. Additionally, it’s just one company and they can choose to do business however they wish. She could buy from another company, unless there’s a reason she couldn’t get a phone/contract and no business would take a chance on her.
It seems to me this is about women, wives, stay at home moms and the author or subject is trying to make an issue of this for his or her own benefit. Or the subject is whining about something and we’re all supposed to feel sorry for her.Just my take on it. No offense intended.
No, I know the article doesn’t say it, and I can understand the intent behind the policy. But it’s not achieving it’s intent and it’s causing a lot of inconvenience.
Interesting. Thanks for the info.
Great post.
“Some people want to change the world to suit their view of it; others accept the way the world is and lead more stress-free lives.”
And the latter usually find a way to make it work for them, without expecting the world to change to suit their view.
I assume it was a joke.
The reason she has made an issue of this is that Vodafone is the only mobile phone provider in Australia providing the particular phone she wanted. She can get a phone from other providers - but this is the only one she can get that phone from.
It really does seem fair. And something the business has the right to determine.
Thanks. More info I wasn’t aware of from the article.
The point is, their business practice is counter productive. Being a mom without a “job” is not by any means proof that she won't be able to pay the bill. She could be a multimillionaire and with no need for a job or married with a well off family or even comfortably retired. A "Jobless" wife/mother doesn't prove much in itself. It is dumb to base everything on job status alone. But they are welcome to be as dumb as they like...
I learned from another post some other info and it being Australia things are different there.
Appreciate the info.
Pretty neat hearing of how things are often different in other countries.
Good job thanks.
Extending credit to the unemployed is a good business decision?
very strange custom there in Australia.........it almost sound like they value moms, till you realize they can’t get cell phones. why can’t they sell plans that cut you off once you met your limit of hours that month?
I have a pay as you go cell phone........works great and those “hidden” charges are not added to my monthly bill......one of those companies added $2000 to my bill in one month. can you imagine paying that? never again, I don’t trust them.
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