Comment by IsaacL | Hacker News Reader

Comment by IsaacL | Hacker News Reader

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"IMHO, what was said in the email is just marketing duck-speak, no matter how sincere it sounds until proven otherwise."

I agree that this looks like a PR stunt, but it also shows some potential changes underfoot at Paypal.

Here's my read of the situation: Paypal has been known for being beauracratic ever since the eBay acquisition, when all the smart people left and the bozos and middle managers remained. You know the type of place and the type of people it attracts: it's the smooth-talking-but-not-that-bright individuals who do well, and any smart employees who perceive the real problems the company is in find themselves a part of an outcast fringe.

Don't tell us we have bad customer service issues; expressing that kind of negative attitude is not going to impress senior management, what with bonus season coming up. Stripe and Square are just dipshit startups that no real business will ever use. La-la-la I can't hear you.

It seems someone at eBay finally realised PayPal was going to be "disrupted" if it didn't get a leader with their shit together. This new guy seems competent, but steering a big lumbering ship like PayPal away from its death course takes serious political/organisation-hacking skills, no matter how big the icebergs loom.

PayPal's reputation is so deep in the dirt that nothing any one at the company says will bring it back above ground. If someone says "we are changing X" and the changes actually happen, then eventually, over the course of time, Paypal's goodwill may return.

You're really overstating how "deep in the dirt" PayPal's reputation is, though. Some developers complain very loudly about PayPal, but just about everyone else continues to use the service.

They remain an interesting choice for anyone starting up a business that takes money online -- I have a business that I've partially migrated to Stripe (and I'll finish that up soon), but for about 9 YEARS before Stripe came along, every year I'd evaluate the available options for accepting payments, and come back to PayPal each time.

They certainly have trust and customer service issues -- and I've never allowed more than a few thousand to accumulate in the account for that reason -- but I have to admit I've only had technical problems with maybe 2-3 payments over those 9 years, never had my account locked, and generally just benefited from the flexibility and good rates.

My impression is that overall, they still have a middling to good reputation. Especially if they can fix the glaring problems remaining, I don't think they'll have any trouble staying strong for a long time.

Uh, you consider them to be something of a necessity, but you try to keep as little money as possible in the account because you fear your account will be frozen. I'd not say that they have "a middling to good reputation" - I'd say if that's what someone who speaks of them well thinks, that's an appalling reputation!

"it's the smooth-talking-but-not-that-bright individuals who do well, and any smart employees who perceive the real problems the company is in find themselves a part of an outcast fringe."

Extremely well said and sadly often true.

Yeah at the wrong companies it does definitely. You can bullshit your way in/out of anything, especially in big companies. Just find another job if that happens; if you are really smart and competent, there will be no problem finding something which does fit. Don't stick with elbowing morons, ever.

^^ Well said, my friend. Well said.

Maybe I've just been suckered in by his smooth-talking ways, but there's an earnestness to this guy that I didn't expect.

> It's the smooth-talking-but-not-that-bright individuals who do well, and any people who perceive the real problems the find themselves a part of an outcast fringe.

Change a few words and it can also apply to a "scene."

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