By Frank J. Diekmann
A few years back America’s First FCU ran a terrific series of TV spots themed “Banker Confessions.” In one spot, a banker is astonished that even after all the fees and pain it puts customers through, they don’t seem to leave.
The banker character observes, sardonically, “Once you get a customer’s direct deposit and auto bill pay set up, you can do just about anything you want to them; they still won’t leave the bank.”
He finally confesses, “Sometimes I see customers come into the bank and I’m like, ‘Wow, you’re still here?’
I often think of that spot every time CUToday.info reports on the latest anti-consumer, almost predatory behavior by banks, especially Wells Fargo. It’s hard to exaggerate what Wells Fargo has done to its customer base and yet, “You’re still here?” I’ve come to suspect Wells Fargo could drag some people out front of the branch run them over with a team of horses and its iconic stage coach, and more than a few would still see no reason to close their accounts.
So, some recent reporting by Consumer Reports offers some insights into what’s going on, with the publication noting that “it may be surprising that consumers like their banks so much.”
“Our findings suggest that the overwhelming majority of consumers overlook alleged wrongdoing on everything from mortgage redlining and illegal student loan servicing practices to charging for unauthorized overdraft protection and deceptive marketing,” Consumer Reports said. “Only 11% of our surveyed members closed an account because of concerns about their institution’s lack of social responsibility.”
In her analysis of Consumer Reports’ findings, Christina Tetreault, senior staff attorney for Consumers Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports, said, “I don’t think that means consumers are letting banks off the hook for their bad practices. It could very well be that consumers can’t get over the obstacles to switching banks.”
And if you'd like to watch it, you can find the America's First CU spot here.
How Credit Unions Were Rated…
Speaking of consumer treatment…
A new analysis has found that credit unions overall (plus one bank) deliver the best customer experience in the financial services industry, according to the just-released 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual consumer experience benchmark of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.
Navy FCU, which appears separately, was also highly ranked. (And it’s no coincidence Navy FCU was recently ranked as a Top 10 employer in the U.S. When people like their jobs, it shows. And if you don’t think so, how quickly can you tell when you’re in a business where people aren’t happy to work there?)
According to Temkin, of the15 banks included in this year's Ratings, Citizens and credits unions tied for the top spot. Each earned a score of 83% and came in 2nd place overall out of 318 companies across 20 industries, the company reported. Two other banks received "excellent" ratings: USAA, which scored 82% and placed 7th overall, and Regions, which scored 81% and placed 12th overall.
Overall, the banking industry averaged a 73% rating in the 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings and came in fourth place out of 20 industries. The average rating of the industry improved by 1.1 percentage-points between 2017 and 2018, going from 72.0% to 73.1%, Temkin reported.
"Once again, we see that smaller banks and credit unions tend to deliver a better experience to their customers compared to major banks," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group, in a statement.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info.