Posted on 08/28/2014 3:19:19 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Needless to say, the Department of Veteran Affairs has had its public-relations challenges this year. The wait-list scandal cost Eric Shinseki his Cabinet post, and the families of dozens of dead veterans in Phoenix claim it cost the lives of those men, even though the government officially exonerated itself this week. A new report from the Philadelphia Inquirer shows that the VA has busied itself with an effort to cheer up veterans by asking its staff to think of them as … Oscar the Grouch?
The beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs depicted dissatisfied veterans as Oscar the Grouch in a recent internal training guide, and some vets and VA staffers said Tuesday that they feel trashed.
The cranky Sesame Street character who lives in a garbage can was used in reference to veterans who will attend town-hall events Wednesday in Philadelphia. …
The slide show, “What to Say to Oscar the Grouch – Dealing with Veterans During Town Hall Claims Clinics,” was shown to employees who will staff those events.
Most slides touch on routine instructions, including dressing professionally, being polite, showing empathy, and maintaining eye contact.
But the “grouch” theme is maintained throughout.
About a dozen slides include pictures of the misanthropic Muppet in the can he calls home. In one, a sign reading “CRANKY” hangs from the rim. In another, Oscar’s face is flanked by the words “100% GROUCHY, DEAL WITH IT.”
Referring to veterans unhappy with access to their care as Oscar the Grouch might in fact be part of the entire problem at the VA. Customer-service training is always a challenge because it has to engage staffers and capture their imagination a bit, but … Oscar the Grouch? One has to assume that most of these staffers had put a few years between themselves and their Sesame Street age. Forget for a moment the condescending tone that sets in regard to the patients — it’s almost as insulting to the staff.
The larger problem, though, is that the program appears to have assumed that the only problems were the crankiness of their clientele. The Inquirer notes that the training program appears to be a few years old, so it predates the current scandal, but the issue of poor service to veterans extends back for more than a decade. Even the VA’s executives admitted that the problem existed, even if they refused to admit its extent or its scope, and certainly fibbed about making progress in resolving it. Their patients weren’t cranky, they were sick or injured, ignored, and forgotten. This training underscores how the VA’s first priority has been the VA and not the veterans whom they are supposed to serve.
In some cases, though, the analogy may make some sense. For instance, this Florida veteran is about to lose his house to foreclosure while waiting for the VA to make a determination on whether his service injury qualifies for disability coverage. Willie Butts has been waiting for nine years, and still hasn’t gotten a decision. In the meantime, the bank is ready to foreclose because Butts can’t work enough with his pain to cover his house payments:
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
If the VA waits much longer, Willie Butts may have to live on the street just like Oscar the Grouch, too. Too bad the VA isn’t moving with alacrity to prevent Butts from being “100% GROUCHY,” or even dealing with the reality of why veterans are unhappy in the first place.
I reached out to Pete Hegseth of Concerned Veterans for America, who said that this exposes “the dirty little secret about how many VA officials feel about veterans.” They see veterans as the problem, not the clients. “If veterans were seen as customers, they wouldn’t be seen as Oscar the Grouch,” Pete said. “This feeds the fears about how veterans believe they are perceived at the VA.” He assured me that CV4A will not let this slide, either.
Everyday it is more blatent - them against us. And that think we work for them, we exist for them.
We DO work for them… non-payment of any tax, license or fee will let you know where you stand PDQ.
In the eyes of Obama and most of today's Democrat party, aging vets have three strikes against them: they are old (therefore useless wasters of resources), they are connected with the military (therefore evil and imperialistic unless they served the former Soviet Union), and - perhaps least forgivable - they just might vote Republican.
Mr. niteowl77
Who wrote these preparation papers? Whoever it was has a marijuana marker for about the age of 10. Marijuana intake arrests intellectual development from the age that the user started using the weed.
Clearly demonstrates the disdain and lack of respect these idiotic, immature morons have for our veterans. This is how they view our combat veterans?? And yet, we keep paying for this crap.
I have been visiting my VA for several years and have run into only ONE, older female appointment scheduler with an attitude. She definitely stands out in a crowd and has been moved around from department to department. (She took her “attitude” with her to each new station). Other vets and I have been treated rudely on several occasions for no apparent reason. Recently, there has been a noticeable change in her attitude and I have zeroed in on just why that change took place. It may have something to do with the day I told her that WE VETERANS made if possible for her to have such a job and that she was OUR EMPLOYEE and worked for us, we were not her subjects. (Applause came from the vets in hearing distance). Last time I was there, she smiled when I came to her appointment window. Sometime you just have to speak your mind.
Everyday it is more blatent - them against us. And that think we work for them, we exist for them.
Where do they find these people?
Most of the workers at the VA are veterans, upwards of 2/3rds.
Don’t really care. These kind of things have been goin on for years both in private and public sector.
It’s a cartoon.
What a very touching and heartfelt message from Clint Eastwood.
He made my day!
If you realize each day is a gift, you may be near my age.
My Twilight Years ~ Clint Eastwood
As I enjoy my twilight years, I am often struck by the inevitability that the party must end. There will be a clear, cold morning when there isn’t any “more.” No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat.
It seems to me that one of the important things to do before that morning comes, is to let every one of your family and friends know that you care for them by finding simple ways to let them know your heartfelt beliefs and the guiding principles of your life so they can always say, “He was my friend, and I know where he stood.”
So, just in case I’m gone tomorrow, please know this: I voted against that incompetent, lying, flip-flopping, insincere, double-talking, radical socialist, terrorist excusing, bleeding heart, narcissistic, scientific and economic moron currently in the White House!
Participating in a gun buy-back program because you think that criminals have too many guns is like having yourself castrated because you think your neighbors have too many kids.
Regards,
Clint
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