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  • This will lose us some customers

    The bank is sending out a letter to all our customers about changes to our checking accounts.

    “In an effort to keep your costs low” [emphasis mine] the letter reads, the bank is changing the fee schedule for all our checking and savings accounts. All accounts are increasing fees by between $1 and $5 per month. Most of those accounts have a minimum balance required to avoid fees, but many of our customers can’t afford to keep a minimum balance in their accounts.

    Another thing is they’re getting rid of all the benefits that come with our branded accounts. Things like accidental death insurance, identity theft insurance, trip routing, rebate offers, etc. That doesn’t seem like such a big deal, though, since hardly anybody ever used them. They were never a selling point when someone chose a checking account.

    “We’re confident that this update will allow us to keep our fees low and provide products more in keeping with your busy lifestyle.” I think this is their way of saying they want everyone to use online baking and e-statements, since they’re going to start charging for paper statements. A lot of our older customers aren’t online. They’re going to be really pissed off.

    Management is supposed to inform us when to start opening the new account types and ONLY the new account types, sometime between now and the beginning of December. But what are we supposed to tell customers in the meantime? There’s no guidance for that. Customers are going to be angry if they open an account in November expecting a certain fee schedule and in December it goes up $1-5! At our local branch, at least, we’re going warn new customers that the account terms are going to change soon. I suspect it will affect whether a customer opens an account and which they choose.

    These changes will likely lose us customers. The branch manager and the former branch manager have been worried about the credit union building a nice new building only a few blocks away from us (it’s a small town), but this is going to drive more customers to them than the shiny new building will.
    "I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. "We are all star stuff." I suddenly remember Delenn's line from Joe's script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."
    -Mira Furlan

  • #2
    These changes will likely lose us customers
    You're probably right -- but the customers you're likely to lose are the normal, human everyday people type of customers. Banks (especially larger ones) care about their Corporate/Business-level customers who make them as much money in a week as most of the the wee little humans make them in a year, all put together. To them, the non-business human types are little more than inconveniences the company has to put up with in order to keep up appearances x.x
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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    • #3
      You're right, Eric. The Branch Manager effectively said this morning that if customers can't keep $50 or $100 in a savings or checking account and they're mad about the below-balance fee going up, they're welcome to go to the credit union. So much for being worried the credit union's going to take our customers.

      I won't get into what he said about the reasons people are unable to keep $50 in a savings account. That's fratching territory. But it made me angry. I had to bite my tongue.
      "I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. "We are all star stuff." I suddenly remember Delenn's line from Joe's script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."
      -Mira Furlan

      Comment


      • #4
        I switched banks because of fees. Just keep $5000 in your account and we won't take anything from you. Yeah. When I finally closed the account the woman said that I should've talked to them about it. Sorry, I found a bank that doesn't charge me to hold my money until I pay my bills, I'm moving on.
        I would have a nice day, but I have other things to do.

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        • #5
          Quoth Ghel View Post
          The Branch Manager effectively said this morning that if customers can't keep $50 or $100 in a savings or checking account and they're mad about the below-balance fee going up, they're welcome to go to the credit union.
          Corporate speak for: We don't want "poor" people banking with us, they don't make us enough money.
          My Guide to Oblivion

          "I resent the implication that I've gone mad, Sprocket."

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          • #6
            Tama - Exactly. We're just cheapskate SC's to them.
            "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
            "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
            "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
            "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
            "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
            "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
            Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
            "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

            Comment


            • #7
              'In order to keep your costs low, we're raising your fees'. That makes about as much sense as it did when my bank said 'in order to serve you better, we're closing at noon on Saturdays rather than 3pm'.

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth Ghel View Post
                So much for being worried the credit union's going to take our customers.
                Reminds me of what my prior bank (Great American Federal--I can mention this one since they're no longer around) did some years ago. They decided to charge everyone for ATM access, even if you didn't use it. Naturally, people were pissed. They only had a few ATMs (one at their main branch, the other across town), and both were a pain in the ass to use. They were either "being worked on," or were having problems. So people didn't use them and went anywhere else--this was before all banks decided to tack on "not our machine" charges.

                So yes, I was annoyed being charged for a service that I didn't use. When I went in to cancel my accounts (and move them), the teller actually said "Let me guess, you're leaving us because of the fees." Seems they had a run on the bank, which forced its closure not long after. Good riddance.
                Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. --Enzo Ferrari

                Comment


                • #9
                  I had a bank (once) that charged you a buck to use their own ATMs with their own cards -- and this was their way of encouraging people to use the ATMs. How so, you ask? Because it cost two bucks to do any transactions with a teller inside or via the drive-thru.
                  "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                  "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                  "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                  "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                  "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                  "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                  Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                  "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth Ghel View Post
                    Most of those accounts have a minimum balance required to avoid fees, but many of our customers can’t afford to keep a minimum balance in their accounts.
                    The fee for a printed statement, eh. I'm not sure if my bank offers printed statements mailed, even for a fee. I think if you don't want to go online and print it yourself you have to go to a branch and they will print one for you. As for minimums, my bank has like three different ways to avoid fees, the others are like... Having a transfer from checking to savings and I think having a certain amount of EFT into your account.

                    However, I'm planning to move to a credit union soon for a couple reasons... First, there's only one branch in my town and it's not in a convenient location. When I opened my accounts I lived in a different town with two locations both in better spots. Second, every time I've gone in recently they've bothered me to open a credit card with them. No, no, and NO! Even when I said no, nicely, one lady still pulled out a pamphlet to show me. I'm not going to say no meanly, I'm just going to go back and close my accounts.
                    Replace anger management with stupidity management.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth Ghel View Post
                      The bank is sending out a letter to all our customers about changes to our checking accounts.
                      The name of your bank isn't expressed as an improper fraction by any chance, is it?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth notalwaysright View Post
                        Second, every time I've gone in recently they've bothered me to open a credit card with them. No, no, and NO! Even when I said no, nicely, one lady still pulled out a pamphlet to show me.
                        That's the point I would have taken the pamphlet with a polite smile, then ripped it in half (slowly) in front of her. Never letting the smile waver. Then I would have gently placed the halves on the desk and said "No, thank you."

                        As soon as I left I would have started researching banks to shift to.
                        "It is traditional when asking for help or advice to listen to the answers you receive" - RealUnimportant

                        Rev that Engine Louder, I Can't Hear How Small Your Dick Is - Jay 2K Winger

                        The Darwin Awards The best site to visit to restore your faith in instant karma.

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                        • #13
                          What saddens me is that teller most likely didn't have a choice in pushing it. Some idiot at the home office decided that everyone that doesn't have their credit card should have one and the only reason they don't was because they were never showed how great it is. They truly can't understand why anyone would say no so it must be the fault of the teller not explaining it right.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth CyberLurch View Post
                            The name of your bank isn't expressed as an improper fraction by any chance, is it?
                            No, that's not us. We're still considered a "community" bank, even though we have branches in two states.
                            "I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. "We are all star stuff." I suddenly remember Delenn's line from Joe's script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."
                            -Mira Furlan

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              When I go in my credit union, they always ask if I want a CU Visa card.

                              I already have one of those....
                              “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
                              One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
                              The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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