美国国家公共电台 NPR Former Wells Fargo Employees Describe Toxic Sales Culture, Even At HQ

Former Wells Fargo Employees Describe Toxic¹ Sales Culture, Even At HQ 

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This next story we're about to hear pulls back the curtain on what former employees say was a toxic sales culture inside Wells Fargo. They say a pervasive³ high-pressure sales environment drove some workers to break the rules, including at its headquarters in San Francisco. Wells Fargo is embroiled⁴ in a scandal for taking advantage of customers by opening as many as 2 million accounts without their consent. The bank says it was the work of a small minority of employees, some bad apples who've been fired. But in a rare look inside the bank, former workers tell NPR that wrongdoing was widespread, even in the very building where the bank CEO and senior management team work. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE⁵: Wells Fargo's CEO John Stumpf has been defending himself in congressional hearings, trying to explain the scandal that's engulfing⁶ his bank.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN STUMPF: Wrongful sales practice behavior goes against everything regarding our core principles, our ethics⁷ and our culture. We never directed nor wanted our team members to provide products and services to customers that they did not want.

WORKER #1: B.S.

ARNOLD: That's a former employee of Wells Fargo reacting to Stumpf. We played her this testimony⁸, and she says that he's not describing the Wells Fargo that she worked at for five years.

WORKER #1: Abso (ph) - that's the whole foundation of Wells Fargo - is cross-sell, cross-sell, cross-sell. Everybody needs ridiculous amount of products. That completely contradicts what he's saying.

ARNOLD: We're going to call this employee Worker #1. She doesn't want her name used because she's worried that talking to NPR will hurt her chances of getting another job. And if she sounds angry, that's because she is. But it didn't start out that way. Standing⁹ on the street looking up at the corporate¹⁰ headquarters, she remembers back in 2007 showing up for her first day of work at the branch here. She says she was excited and a little overdressed.

WORKER #1: Stiletto heels and I probably had about a pound of hairspray and bobby pins in my hair. I felt proud, and my parents were proud of me for getting a job at headquarters. I was very hopeful.

ARNOLD: But right away, she says, working as a personal banker in the branch here was not what she expected. She says the number of products she was expected to sell - checking and savings¹¹ accounts, credit cards - it just seemed really high, at least eight a day. And during what was called Jump into January, it was 20 products a day, and that just seemed impossible. And she says the pressure was disturbingly intense.

WORKER #1: We were all miserable¹², and it was just soul crushing to walk in every day.

ERIK: It was every day, man. I mean, it was literally¹³ every day. And it was a grindhouse.

ARNOLD: Erik, who doesn't want to use his last name, worked in the headquarters branch, too. He says mornings started this way - with a huddle¹⁴ where managers pressed workers to meet their, quote, "solutions goals" - each product was called a solution. And all day long, he says, it was sell solutions, sell solutions.

ERIK: It was multiple occasions where I saw my co-workers get to the point where they were at their - were cracking, you know, under the pressure.

ARNOLD: And what did cracking look like?

ERIK: You know, cracking - like, tears, crying, constantly getting pulled into the back room and having one-on-ones and coaching sessions, you know, a lot of coaching happening.

ARNOLD: Erik says if you didn't meet your sales goals, that's when you'd have to have these so-called coaching sessions. Worker #1 remembers two managers would approach her desk, reprimand her and then march her past her colleagues.

WORKER #1: They shut the door, locked the door. You sit down. And they say here's your formal warning. You have to sign this. If you don't meet your solutions, you will be fired and it's going to be on your permanent record. I mean, it was real, like, you were stuck. You were stuck, and it was the feeling that no other employer is going to want you because we will ruin you.

ARNOLD: Worker #1 says after one of these coaching sessions - she couldn't make it to the bathroom - she got back to her desk and threw up in the wastebasket.

A branch manager we spoke¹⁵ with in San Francisco said sometimes managers would try to be nice about the warnings. But he said that same basic message that your job was on the line would be conveyed. And all the employees we spoke to said that that environment pushed some workers to break the rules. Erik says that no managers directly told him to do anything deceptive¹⁶ with customers.

ERIK: When they'd say they want to know, you know, where you at? You know, what do you got going? You know, how are you going to get there? How are you going to get there?

ARNOLD: Pat, who also just wants to use his first name, remembers one co-worker at the headquarters branch issuing lines of credit for customers who never applied¹⁷ for them.

PAT: There was this banker who - he had an unbelievable loan volume. And I was thinking - wow, is he that good of a salesperson¹⁸?

ARNOLD: Pat says he figured out what was happening after customers started showing up at the branch to complain. They said they'd applied for a home equity¹⁹ loan.

PAT: But then they'd also have a personal line of credit for, like, 20,000 or so, which they didn't ask for. And I realized very quickly how he was doing all his loans because he was basically tagging on other loan products in the same application so they wouldn't really notice when they signed the docs and all that.

ARNOLD: Regulators say deceptive practices like this at Wells Fargo were illegal, though in its $185 million settlement, the bank did not admit wrongdoing. NPR spoke with former employees who worked at Wells Fargo between 2004 and 2011. They said deceptive practices were widespread. Accounts were being opened without customers' knowledge, and, they said, managers knew. Wells Fargo says this wasn't the culture of the company. But remember, these workers were not in some backwater branch. They were in the branch on the first floor of the headquarters building, where the CEO himself and the senior management team worked just upstairs. We contacted Wells Fargo to ask about this. Wells spokesman Oscar Suris read us a prepared statement from the bank.

OSCAR SURIS: (Reading) Although the vast majority of our team members do the right thing every day on behalf of our customers, these allegations and accusations²⁰ are very serious. And if any of these things transpired²¹, it's distressing²², and it's not who Wells Fargo is. Our board announced last week that it will lead an internal investigation²³ into retail²⁴ banking²⁵ sales practices and related matters.

ARNOLD: And the bank has now pledged to end the sales goals that many employees say were at the root of the problem. For Worker #1, though, that move came too late. She says she eventually pushed back and told managers there was no ethical²⁶ way for her to meet these sales goals. She was fired by the bank in 2011.

Chris Arnold, NPR News, San Francisco.

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

4 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 engulfing   

adj.吞噬的v.吞没，包住( engulf的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house darkness. 一位摄影师把电灯的保险丝烧断了，使整栋房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A professional photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house in darkness. 一位职业摄影师把保险丝烧断了使整所房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自辞典例句

7 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

8 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

11 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

12 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 huddle   

vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人

参考例句：

• They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
• The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

17 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

18 salesperson   

n.售货员，营业员，店员

参考例句：

• A salesperson works in a shop.售货员在商店工作。
• Vanessa is a salesperson in a woman's wear department.凡妮莎是女装部的售货员。

19 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

20 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

21 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

22 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

23 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

24 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

25 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

26 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。