By Bridget Gifford and Sonia Melendez
Our fourth day in Paris began with a trip to AIG, a global insurance company. We traveled to La Défense, the business district of France, by taking the métro which is the French equivalent to the subways of New York City. After we used the métro for several days, we felt much more comfortable transferring to different lines in order to reach our destination; our confidence was aided by our experience using the subways in NYC.
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| AIG company sign |
After arriving at AIG, Richard Deguettes provided an introduction to the history of AIG and discussed the impact the 2008 financial crisis had on their company. Mr. Deguettes stressed that we truly live in a global economy, as he discussed how the United States Housing Market Crash impacted their business. Once believed to be a business too big to fail, Mr. Deguettes recalled giving a financial presentation to his board members on the day of the Housing Market Crash. At the beginning of the presentation AIG’s stock was around $75, and by the end, it was at $5. In that moment the future of AIG seemed very gloomy. All the papers were writing that AIG would most likely have to file for bankruptcy. Employees and clients were nervous as they had little understanding of how the United States’ Economy would bounce back. Due to the time difference, Mr. Deguettes and his colleagues had late nights of worrying. Finally, AIG would receive the news that the Fed would loan them money to keep them stable during this financial crisis.
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| Group lunch |
This news was still rather difficult for Mr. Deguettes to explain to his French employees and clients, who had no understanding of who the Fed was. As a result, Mr. Deguettes stressed how critical it was to teach all employees about international business so they would have a greater understanding of the world and terms like “The Fed.” In addition, Mr. Deguettes talked about how during a time of crisis, the most important things are communication and honesty because your employees and clients need to feel that they can trust you. For about two years, AIG changed their company name because their brand reputation was so hurt by this whole ordeal. However, AIG has been able to fully repay their loans to the US government, has slowly built up their reputation and trust with their employees and clients, and has proudly reinstated the AIG name.
After the meeting, we headed over for lunch in Montmartre at Au Cadet De Gascogne, where we all really enjoyed the food and the restaurant played French music for us. On the way to the restaurant, we climbed up the stairs to see the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. It was absolutely beautiful and the view from the top was just stunning. We explored the city for a while, taking in everything around us. The streets were much less crowded than New York, but there were still people on every corner trying to sell you books, Paris souvenirs, and paintings. After a bit of walking, a few others decided to get crêpes, which were delicious!
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| Sacre Coeur |
After exploring Montmartre, a few of us decided to go to Disneyland Paris, which was about one hour away. We were surprised to find that the theme park's signs were mostly written in English, and that nearly all workers spoke to us in English. After reflection we decided that this could stem from the fact that Disneyland Paris is the only location for Disney in Europe, so tourists from many local countries bring their families to this park, and that English is a common language among these travelers. The park was very clean, and we noticed several signs in bathrooms and near rides that asked for feedback regarding the service and conditions of the park, which was unique to this Disney location and something that we were not expecting. We ended our night with a beautiful fireworks show that highlighted some Disney movies that took place in countries other than the United States, such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ratatouille, Beauty and the Beast and Peter Pan. We had a great day!
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| Disneyland Paris |
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| Service Feedback Sign |
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Waiting in line for the Indiana Jones roller coaster!
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