Some companies seem to treat customers with an indifference that feels almost embedded in their corporate culture. This attitude isn’t confined to the private sector—it’s often reflected in public administrations as well, particularly in regions with bureaucratic inefficiencies. France, including its overseas territories, provides stark examples of such institutionalized disregard for user rights.
This phenomenon raises deeper questions: how do these organizations recruit and train their employees? Are their internal cultures focused solely on profit at the expense of basic customer care?
The Root Cause: Profit Over People
The answer lies in a relentless drive for profits and shareholder dividends. What we’re witnessing today is no longer classic capitalism—it’s neoliberalism, a system that thrives on extreme deregulation of financial markets. This “financial Wild West” reduces people to mere economic variables, valued only for their immediate contributions to the bottom line.
Customer service? More like no service at all! Support that doesn’t support… A scam? – © ADPI News Infographics
Capitalism Is Not the Problem—Its Abuse Is
Capitalism itself is not inherently harmful. It has existed in various forms throughout history, and some models—like social capitalism—balance profitability with societal benefits. The real problem lies in the distortions created by neoliberalism, which emerged during the Nixon-Friedman era (when the U.S. dollar replaced gold as the global monetary reserve) and was later institutionalized by Thatcher and Reagan, both heavily influenced by economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman.
This ideology has left societies struggling with increasing inequality and economic insecurity. Worse, it has created fertile ground for extremism by eroding public trust in institutions.
Devaluing Human Time
In today’s neoliberal framework, if human time doesn’t generate profit, it’s deemed worthless. This mindset has infiltrated sectors like healthcare. In France, hospital reforms have prioritized cost-cutting and metrics over patient care. Low wages, understaffing, and “profitability assessments” have made it harder to provide necessary but “unprofitable” treatments.
It’s a scenario where accountants, rather than medical professionals, dictate care priorities. The absurdity of this approach often goes unquestioned, defended by pundits on TV who are sometimes rewarded with honors for their compliance.
Well-Documented Realities
These are not just opinions—they’re facts, widely recognized by economists and political scientists alike. Only those who seek to distort or manipulate the truth deny these systemic flaws.
Did You Know?
War, for example, can boost a country’s GDP. So can disasters—both natural and human-made. While catastrophic for people, these events are perversely profitable within this economic model. Precarious work, inequality, crime, security measures, pollution, and household debt—all feed into an economy that prioritizes growth over well-being.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is often used as a measure of a nation’s economic health. However, many economists argue that it’s an incomplete metric that fails to capture societal well-being. Despite its limitations, GDP remains a key factor for credit rating agencies, influencing a country’s borrowing capacity and benefiting speculative financial markets.
What Comes Next?
This article is the first in a series that investigates systemic failures in corporate and institutional practices. Future installments will spotlight specific cases of customer mistreatment, with a focus on prepaid card providers like Veritas* and PCS Mastercard*. Additionally, we’ll explore the implications of compliance systems, including KYC (Know Your Customer), AML (Anti-Money Laundering), and CTF (Counter-Terrorism Financing).
By examining these examples, we’ll reveal how unchecked profit-driven systems continue to undermine consumer rights, exacerbate inequalities, and prioritize financial gain over public trust. Through clear and detailed investigations, we aim to shed light on the practices that define today’s financial and corporate landscapes.
*/ Veritas and PCS Mastercard are registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Photo: Illustration of bad customer support for the article ‘A Corporate Culture of Customer Contempt’ – © Sabine Kroschel / OpenClipart-Vector – ADPI News Infographic
