In August 2003, while many Europeans were heading to the
beaches to mitigate the effects of the worst heat wave on record, José
Eduardo Sampaio, the CEO of Casa XXI, was faced with another kind of
heat.1
Cartão 21, the innovative payment system of Casa XXI that he had
personally conceived and subcontracted, had dramatically failed on 6
August during the high-visibility inauguration of Alvalade XXI, the
newly built football stadium of the Sporting Club of Portugal.
Casa
XXI had been granted the rights to exploit all the bars and restaurants
in the stadium. Based on pre-paid cards, the new payment system was
supposed to make bar operations more efficient by eliminating the use of
cash. In addition, the system was supposed to give Casa XXI an image of
innovation and modernity enhanced also by all the free publicity it
received in recent newspapers articles covering the inauguration.
The
failure of the system represented not only a significant financial loss
for Casa XXI but also an embarrassment for the Sporting Football Club
as well as a major blow to the reputation of Casa XXI and to the
credibility of José Eduardo, himself a former football player.
José
Eduardo was quick to point the finger at Meag, the company with whom he
had contracted to design and implement the system. But José Almeida,
Meag's manager, claimed that the system worked fine. In his opinion, the
nature of the problem was organizational. He believed the mishap had to
with the late activation and distribution of the cards, as well as the
lack of training of the bar staff; and these were responsibilities of
Casa XXI, not his.
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