 | | Works both ways I also recall a regional bank here called Nations Bank started charging $1.00 for deposit slips if you used the slips from the counter. It was a huge failure and the plan backfired. Ma-Bell nickel and dime-ed everyone for services like caller ID and touch tone dialing and along came VoIP to set things right. | |
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 | | | Re: Works both ways quote:
Ma-Bell nickel and dime-ed everyone for services like caller ID and touch tone dialing and along came VoIP to set things right.
HAhahahahahaha. Along came VOIP to set things right??? Are you kidding or drunk? | |
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| |  DaveDudeNo Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey
kudos:1
 ·ViaTalk
·Vonage
 ·Comcast
| Re: Works both ways said by BillTager: quote:
Ma-Bell nickel and dime-ed everyone for services like caller ID and touch tone dialing and along came VoIP to set things right.
HAhahahahahaha. Along came VOIP to set things right??? Are you kidding or drunk? Cable Voip, certainly put a dent in mabell. So did Vonage, etc. | |
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| | |  Noah VailSon made my AvatarPremium
join:2004-12-10
Lorton, VA
kudos:1
·Bright House
 ·Sprint Mobile Br..
| Re: Works both ways said by BillTager:HAhahahahahaha. Along came VOIP to set things right??? Are you kidding or drunk? VoIP is setting things right.
I got to ditch Big Bell.
I have a bizillion options on my phone and they all work.
My phone guys are cool techno-geeks.
My final bill is under $16/mo w/200 longdist and is never down.
VoicePulse is capitalism at it's finest.
NV
The preceeding message is an unsolicited endorsement for VoicePulse and doesn't necessarily reflect the views of VoicePulse ltd., it's management or investors (which are it's management). Ok it completely reflects the views of VoicePulse but you didn't hear it from me. Remember to seek out qualified telecommunications advice before actually choosing an VoIP provider like your 6th grade nephew who has a myspace page. Taxes, tags, and dealer prep are not included because VoIP isn't wholly owned by a few monopolistic megacorporations. Always talk to your doctor about personal VoIP hygiene practices and limit your VoIP exposures to 6 or less Vonage commercials a day to reduce swelling and inflamation. The term SuperDull may not be reproduced without express written consent from the NFL. Copyright 2008 VoIP. | |
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| | |  MizzatWill post for thumbsPremium
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA
kudos:1
 ·AT&T Southeast
1 edit | said by DaveDude:said by BillTager: quote:
Ma-Bell nickel and dime-ed everyone for services like caller ID and touch tone dialing and along came VoIP to set things right.
HAhahahahahaha. Along came VOIP to set things right??? Are you kidding or drunk? Cable Voip, certainly put a dent in mabell. So did Vonage, etc. Where do you think Cable VoIP gets thier phone service from? | |
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| | | | | | Re: Works both ways From LD and local providers via trunks. They don't actual have lines like residential customers do. Comparing POTs to intreconnecting trunks is different. I am glad I got rid of my POTs | |
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| | | | |
| |  dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | said by BillTager: quote:
Ma-Bell nickel and dime-ed everyone for services like caller ID and touch tone dialing and along came VoIP to set things right.
HAhahahahahaha. Along came VOIP to set things right??? Are you kidding or drunk? Well it started out right then came all the bullshit fees people were leaving their landlines for.
--
You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth | |
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| | | | It sounds like you are the one who is kidding.
I got rid of my long distance setup for my landline and the monthly bill went from $38 to $22.
I use a pay as you go voip account - 2 cents/minute outbound, 1.5 cents/minute inbound, and pay far less per month for my long distance calls than I paid just for the long distance setup fee, $16 per month, that I paid on the landline. | |
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| | | said by Pictor Guy:I also recall a regional bank here called Nations Bank started charging $1.00 for deposit slips if you used the slips from the counter. It was a huge failure and the plan backfired. Ma-Bell nickel and dime-ed everyone for services like caller ID and touch tone dialing and along came VoIP to set things right. Nations Bank became Bank of America and they were known as the king of fees. | |
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| | axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Works both ways I've never been hit by any fees while using my checking and savings account at Bank of America. I rarely go to the bank, when I do its for deposits. They never charged me for using their deposit slips, they have a big stack of them by the entrance.
They are horrible about issuing new debit cards though... their associates "lost" them 3 times so they could get a bonus for signing me up for a new one each time. | |
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| |  N3OGHCertified GLG-20Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
kudos:1
 ·Verizon FiOS
| I haven't done direct business with a bank for over 10 years now.
I belong to a large local credit union, and I couldn't be happier. Good rates on loans, credit cards, and savings.
Free on line bill pay, free checking, free ATM card and debit card.
And, when I'm a few days late on the loan payment, they don't care. Never been assessed a late fee, or a fee to talk to someone.
Used to be you had to belong to a certain group to join, now you just have to be in the general geographic area.
I believe the phrase they used on their pamphlet was "if you live, work, worship, or go to school in XXX county, you're eligible to join'.
I highly recommend anyone check out their local credit union...
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power… | |
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| | | | | Re: Works both ways I would try the credit union at my work but they are hardly ever open. The location at my work is open maybe 2 hours a day if the person decides to show up. | |
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| | | chuckkk
join:2001-11-10
Warner Robins, GA | Our local credit union is good for loans, and bad for general banking. | |
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| | | Cable Telephony OK. But that's not exactly VoIP from what I understand. But I highly doubt the ILECs ever took Vonage seriously; especially now that you can get phone service through both the phone and cable companies.
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Praise be to my Cadillac | |
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| | RadioDoc58ef2c0Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11 | Re: Works both ways Oh, let him wallow in his fantasyland. It helps ease the pain of dealing with reality.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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| | | | Verizon didn't offer their Freedom packages until companies like Vonage started offering flat rates for local and long distance calling bundled with CID and other features. Today cable telephony providers may be a bigger threat but it started with VoIP. In the enterprise VoIP is still a huge player as well. | |
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| | | | Cable modem not VoIP? It sure IS VoIP, but with one important difference -- the calls travel on the internal network of the cable company, not over the internet, so the cable company can control the quality. So, quality is likely to be better (or at least more consistent.) With "normal" VoIP, you have no control over the internet.
Sometimes the quality is good, sometimes it is not. | |
|
| jayton
join:2003-12-16
Jefferson, GA | said by Pictor Guy:I also recall a regional bank here called Nations Bank started charging $1.00 for deposit slips if you used the slips from the counter. It was a huge failure and the plan backfired. Ma-Bell nickel and dime-ed everyone for services like caller ID and touch tone dialing and along came VoIP to set things right. That is the exact reason why I dumped my relationship with Nations Bank and I will never be a customer of Bank of America. Even though Bank of America may or may not have that same policy, I have a 9 year relationship with my new bank which is a Credit Union. | |
|
 gaforcesUnited We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA | Lost customers, never to return They forget to figure in the people who never come back, drag all their friends and family with them, and talk crap about them every chance they get.
Online forums, websites, and review sites make that business model short sighted.
One person can affect the decisions of many. When a client asks me about internet access, I send them to my local CLEC Cruzio.com, because of ATT and Comcast's greedy business practices.
--
‘Do ye, quieting in your bosoms your strong hearts,
Who of many good things have had your fill even to surfeit,
With what is moderate nourish your mighty desire; for neither will
We yield, nor shall you have all else as you wish.’
Solon | |
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|  pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | Re: Lost customers, never to return said by gaforces:They forget to figure in the people who never come back, drag all their friends and family with them, and talk crap about them every chance they get. Well, don't forget that the banks here do not want this business anyway, so it is no big deal there. Secondly, there can't be that many people who do what you suggest. If there were, banks (and other businesses) would not be doing it.
My assumption is that most businesses are looking to gain the most number of profitable customers with the least amount of cost. If you as a business attract a large number of fickle customers who will drop you for a small transgression, you won't be in business very long.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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| | | |  Re: Lost customers, never to return
said by pnh102:My assumption is that most businesses are looking to gain the most number of profitable customers with the least amount of cost. If you as a business attract a large number of fickle customers who will drop you for a small transgression, you won't be in business very long. I'd have to agree. Pain in the a** customers often waste your valuable time, the time that you could be spending working on more important things on higher paying customers. Unless they are spending enough money with your business to show for the pain that they are causing, it is probably best to drop them. Not to say that you shouldn't be spending time investigating and resolving legitimate complaints, but if one customer keeps constantly finding something new to pick on time and time again, they should be kicked to the curb somehow.
Funny thing is that some of these PITA customers just do it for the sake of getting attention, even after you openly come out and tell them that you have had it with their bullsh*t and to go be a pain in somebody else's a**, they still stay on and keep complaining.
I also guess that educated consumers are bad news for business.
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Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies...
A MESSAGE to the RIAA and the MPAA: You shouldn't wound what you can't kill... | |
|
|  jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
·voip.ms
| In my experience, all CLECs can do when something goes wrong is open yet another trouble ticket with the incumbent (AT&T or whoever). No thanks, I don't need another level of hassle to deal with. My business service from both Comcast and AT&T has been great, and when we've had problems their support has been great too. | |
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| | gaforcesUnited We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA | Re: Lost customers, never to return When you call Cruzio, you can talk to a tech who knows what they are doing, and they are local.
When you call ATT you get the runaround, They usually blame the customer.
Last time I called ATT it took 4 days of calling to get them to open a ticket! 2 weeks later the problem was fixed magically after they blame it on my computer, my modem, or OMG you are using a router, we wont help you!
I'm not familiar with Comcast support, but they frequently are at the bottom of the barrel on review sites for service.
--
‘Do ye, quieting in your bosoms your strong hearts,
Who of many good things have had your fill even to surfeit,
With what is moderate nourish your mighty desire; for neither will
We yield, nor shall you have all else as you wish.’
Solon | |
|
| | | jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL Reviews:
·voip.ms
| Re: Lost customers, never to return said by gaforces:When you call Cruzio, you can talk to a tech who knows what they are doing, and they are local. When you call ATT you get the runaround, They usually blame the customer. Last time I called ATT it took 4 days of calling to get them to open a ticket! 2 weeks later the problem was fixed magically after they blame it on my computer, my modem, or OMG you are using a router, we wont help you! I'm not familiar with Comcast support, but they frequently are at the bottom of the barrel on review sites for service. Apparently you aren't used to dealing with business class service -- when you mentioned "clients" I thought that's the direction you were headed. For my AT&T and Comcast business services, I usually get zero hold times, same day or next morning truck roll, and invoice credits starting when I pick up the phone.
Except for smiple things like configuring a replacement router, every time I've had to call a CLEC (XO, Covad, some other no-name carriers) they fumble around for a couple hours and then have to call AT&T to actually fix the problem with the line or whatever is messed up. | |
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| | | | gaforcesUnited We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA | Re: Lost customers, never to return The article is about residential service, if any company treated business customers like they do residential customers they would be out of business quickly. | |
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jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL Reviews:
·voip.ms
| Not just banks or cable companies... Don't forget Sprint firing customers that are a hassle, or Best Buy (and other retailers) blacklisting customers who exploit their return/rebate/pricematch policies.
It's about time companies drop the "customer is always right" bullshit and we can all get on with life in the real world. Eventually everyone will figure out that the Consumerist is a figment of its own imagination and just isn't relevant any more. | |
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| gaforcesUnited We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA | Re: Not just banks or cable companies... said by jester121:Don't forget Sprint firing customers that are a hassle, or Best Buy (and other retailers) blacklisting customers who exploit their return/rebate/pricematch policies. It's about time companies drop the "customer is always right" bullshit and we can all get on with life in the real world. Eventually everyone will figure out that the Consumerist is a figment of its own imagination and just isn't relevant any more. Sprint is paying the price now from that policy in the past. They might have gained profits in the short term, but long term they gained a bad reputation, people think 2x before going to them now.
--
‘Do ye, quieting in your bosoms your strong hearts,
Who of many good things have had your fill even to surfeit,
With what is moderate nourish your mighty desire; for neither will
We yield, nor shall you have all else as you wish.’
Solon | |
|
| | jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL Reviews:
·voip.ms
| Re: Not just banks or cable companies... That's a false assumption -- first, do you really think the majority of people even remember that it was Sprint who did that? It was a 2 day news story from a year ago. Second, I'm not aware of any demonstrated correlation between that policy and Sprint's churn numbers. Third, I'm pretty sure that most people think twice about going with any cell phone provider -- it's already something people talk about at the water cooler, and with friends and family, no matter which carrier they're considering.
And which cell phone providers do you think have a "good" reputation? | |
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| | | gaforcesUnited We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA
1 edit | Re: Not just banks or cable companies... You tell me  As far as I know, there are none.
I used to have Verizon Wireless, it was OK, but they also try to charge extra for things that should be included in the account.
I bought the phone from Radio Shack and they took care of me.
If I would have had a problem, which I didn't, I could have gone back to them for help.
Oh BTW, Sprint service has a bad rep, and that info is making the rounds, it just took a few years. | |
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| | | | jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL Reviews:
·voip.ms
| Re: Not just banks or cable companies... said by gaforces:Oh BTW, Sprint service has a bad rep, and that info is making the rounds, it just took a few years. That's funny, now that I think about it, my close friends are split about 50/50 between Sprint and Verizon. I use Nextel (Sprint) and have been pretty happy. Maybe THAT info will start making the rounds, just like the info that their mobile broadband service is pretty darned good and doesn't have annoying caps like Verizons -- even BBR has to grudgingly admit from time to time that it's a good service. Then again, you did say Verizon does like to charge extra for stuff. | |
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 DataDocMy avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.Premium
join:2000-05-14
Greenville, NC | Next, ISP will follow Sprint's example
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My loony bun is fine, Benny Lava. | |
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| | | Re: Next, ISP will follow Sprint's example Comcast already does this. | |
|
Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| Two sides ... to that coin hey Bank Of America!
I'm defaulting on your $30K credit card loan to me. And you just might be luck to get half.
They just sent me a letter (in fine print) that they are raising credit APR again. From 8.99% to a whopping 16.99%!
Why? oh, not because the fed just lowered the rate for banks to borrow at. But because they don't want me and know I can't pay off that balance. unless, ironically, I take their offer (that happened to be in the mail at the same time) to pay off my debts with their Home Equity loan! And that is only at 9.99%!
Eat me chumps. And a lesson to all: don't pay. go to collection. Negotiate for lesser payoff. (ofcourse, you have to have that money to pay off, and you will hurt your credit, but with correct letters, proof of harassment and income issues, it can be repaired.)
Eff you credit cards! You lure us in with "buy now pay later" then sell to some other bank that screws us.
Lesson learned. now time to shove it up the banks arse! | |
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See 9 replies to this post |
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| | In the name of capitalism For years our government has been allowing companies to take advantage of people and stick their noses in the air saying you should have know better or should have been educated more.
Both arguments are BS..
While Families are loosing homes.. the big banks are paying hundred of billions in bonuses.
We need an administration that will not bow to the pressures of lobbying monies. And a Government that will stop companies from taking advantage of consumers.
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Reach out and Tap someone! | |
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|  KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T DSL Service
1 edit | Re: In the name of capitalism Well I agree with you up to a point. Definitely the mentality of treating people as cash cows and trying to hit them up every way and sideways for more money while delivering the barest minimum of service or product quality back is running rampant....
... The banks are also eating massive losses on the real estate downturn. People are loosing their homes to foreclosure, and then the banks are having to sell them at huge losses to generate capital.
So both the family and the banks lose...
Here's what I don't understand about the "Economy Bailout" stimulus package. Why not try a plan to allow people to refinance out at a lower rate from the ARMS and so on? Rather then force foreclosure and then liquidation for huge losses for everybody? Why not have a stimulus plan that allows for people to take their existing mortgage and do a no or very low cost Re-Fi into a lower interest rate fixed mortgage. (I'm specifically talking about people who are already over-extended so that they can't get normal re-fi... but offer the plan to everyone to help the economy....) I think this would be in the banks and the families best interests long term, and would allow people at least the chance to get their finances in order. | |
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| | | | Re: In the name of capitalism said by KrK:Why not have a stimulus plan that allows for people to take their existing mortgage and do a no or very low cost Re-Fi into a lower interest rate fixed mortgage. I think this would be in the banks and the families best interests long term, and would allow people at least the chance to get their finances in order. Because "long term interests" are anathema to Wall Street, particularly if it benefits anyone else except corporate interests. The name of the game is short term. If Wall Street can make a bajillion simoles in a day, then f*ck the long term. That's the entire reason the U.S. economy is in the shitter...myopia. | |
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|  Combat ChuckToo Many CannibalsPremium
join:2001-11-29
Erie, PA | said by packetscan:We need an administration that will not bow to the pressures of lobbying monies. And a Government that will stop companies from taking advantage of consumers. Yes, why should people be realistic when we can have the government wipe their noses when they get whacked in the face for being stupid.
Oh no, we relied on the BANK to give us good advice on our loan, and they didn't tell us that adjustable rate meant it would go up at some point. Boo Hoo.
Same goes for the bank that decided it would be a good idea to squeeze people into ARM's instead of saying "look if you can't afford the flat rate you need not be financing this much money".
Let the idiot lose his house, let the bank lose their shirts; everyone walks away beat to shit but a little wiser.
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Mooooooo!!! | |
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| bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | Good luck with that. For thirty years Americans have endorsed and re-endorsed the fiscal conservatism launched in the Reagan years. Even the Democrats are pro-business now. You hope is a pipe-dream. I'm not even sure if you really want what you say you want. Who are you going to vote for for President? | |
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 jgkoltPremium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH | National City Thats why i stuck with national city 8 years ago and I am still happy ever since.
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3 free for you/3 free for me: Free Stock Trades : PM Me | |
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|  58483323Gurt me
join:2003-06-23
Normal, IL
1 edit | Re: National City I agree. I use National City and I couldn't be happier with them. I haven't paid a single cent in fees to them. I got a free box of checks and a free ATM card. I use their ATM and pay no fees as well. It works out great. | |
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Reviews:
·Comcast
| The Dumb Customer In other words only a small minority of dumb customers fit the profile. Think of it this way, the Comcast customer has many different ways to pay the bill. There is only a minority of customers that make the drive to the Comcast's office and talk to a representative. Here is the kicker; my Comcast office has a drop off box at the front door. There is no logical reason to go to the counter. Not to mention the time and transportation cost to go to Comcast office. For me it is an eight mile drive. | |
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 ChucklesPremium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN | Stupid heads. I wish the idiots who call in every month asking their balance and why it's so high (most of the time because prior bill not paid) would be stopped by the fees for making payments. Unfortunately not... they call, ask for the their account number, then use an automated phone system to make the payment. If you have a sh!77y payment history you should be charged for balance and account number queries.
"I'd like to go over my bil", well do you have your bill with you? "No." then I just end up reading the bill to them pretty much. What a waste of everyone's time.
And if you call from your job and put a customer service rep on hold you should be charged $1/second for making other people wait. Crap.. just arguing about long hold times is part of what makes long hold times.
Even further off topic... when you're asked for your account number bitching about how long the number is takes more of your breath than just saying the number.
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kustomerservice.net | |
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See 7 replies to this post |
|
axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
| makes sense for banks and Sprint I don't know if it makes sense for Comcast though. This is a once a month thing. People just want to pay their bills...
Maybe the only alternative is to cancel the options, and not have them available at any price. That way they can fire 100% of their live billing staff instead of 80%. | |
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| | This is SOP for banks Sounds like Wells Fargo bank. They nickel/dime you to death unless you call up and bitch about it. Of course, they charge you for THAT call then you end up calling again to bitch about THAT charge and on and on it goes. | |
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Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| bad idea.. its a bad idea to cite banks as an example as there have been many colossal failures & bailouts of US banks over the years.. if a cable or telco company failed, it just gets bought out.. ceos of cable & telco alike went to jail for fraud & other violations of law, eventually predatory practices fall back on those who employ them. there are occasional startup banks and community federal credit unions who potentially come to the rescue in some regions and big banks hate that.. you see what happened when walmart wanted to get into banking, how much of an uproar there was to stop that. you forget, just as community federal credit unions & small banks incorporate, so can small pocket fttp builds compete against the likes of comcast & at&t right in the heart of their most profitable territories.. so those practices will have a reckoning sooner or later. | |
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| | | Re: bad idea.. said by tmc8080:its a bad idea to cite banks as an example as there have been many colossal failures & bailouts of US banks over the years.. Bad idea for whom - If you are responding to my particular statements referenced above, I was pointing out that the practice of nickel/diming is not limited to any given institution regardless of which one is bailed out or not. Industry ::GREED:: is not exclusive to any given facet of the market. | |
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| | i fully expect a "no premium channels fee" Gee, I just paid $1.99 to drop HBO over the phone.
I bet they don't charge you to *add* HBO!
Does anyone know an alternate way to make service changes other than over the phone? Particularly seeing just how many eggs their website sucks. | |
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| ChucklesPremium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN | Re: i fully expect a "no premium channels fee" $1.99 gets charged to add or drop.  | |
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| | | | Re: i fully expect a "no premium channels fee" Geeesh just have the agent uncheck the box that gets autochecked during a change of service. They aren't making any commission on the $1.99 fee for removing services.
Oh thats right, Comcast needs every penny they can get to finish the Comcast Center skyscraper they are building in Philly | |
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| dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | said by romulusnr:Gee, I just paid $1.99 to drop HBO over the phone. I bet they don't charge you to *add* HBO! Does anyone know an alternate way to make service changes other than over the phone? Particularly seeing just how many eggs their website sucks. DISHNETWORK does this too[only its $5.00]
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You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth | |
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KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK | So... Rich get it easy, Working class get the shaft... Well, at least they are admitting what we all already knew, instead of just insisting everyone has it fair. | |
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approval from:
Chuckles 
| Chuckles... People complain when they feel something can be fixed. In an ideal world, you'd listen to a complaint and fix the source of the problem. But, as you pointed out, it's not an ideal world. You get customers "abusing" the service...the 10% of folks using up 90% of the resources, while the other 90% of folks are content to go about their lives.
The complaints are usually long hold times, fees, etc, etc. But by increasing fees on that small sect of customers that do all this complaining, you eliminate them, eliminate CSR time, etc. A common person would think correcting "the source" of the problem would be adding more CSR's to answer the phones. But business, to save money, want to eliminate phone time, so they'd rather eliminate "non-profitable" customers.
This can actually be pretty good, because in some cases a customer can just be a burden. (Much like a friend who always gets drunk, forcing you to drive them home while they puke in your car...not exactly a good friend.) However, more companies are trying to push for online billing & statements. But poorer / older customers may not have access, and prefer to speak to someone over the phone. Companies are driving away these otherwise good customers by charging them phone fees, paper billing fees (yes, a fee just to get your bill mailed to you!), etc.
The line has to get drawn some where, because every business can't have that perfect customer demographic that just racks them up tons of profit for little cost. First they start doing tactics to run off undesireable customers. Then they go a step further to run off almost undesireable customers. Apparently, while it's not ok to discriminate against employment applicants, it's certainly ok to discriminate against customers. | |
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| bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | Re: Chuckles... Absolutely Bob. There is so much entitlement mentality being bandied about in this thread, I don't know which to go after first. This is a free country. There is no obligation on the part of businesses to sub-optimize... indeed, corporations are typically required to make all business decisions in the best financial interest of their owners. That's why they exist.
Most of the whining is just a reflection of people wanting to have their cake and eat it too (having great customer service, but not paying for it in fees and not having the cost of companies providing great customer service adversely affect your retirement investments). It's a very myopic and naive perspective that the typical consumer in our society wears around them. | |
|
 mph300Two Thirds The Way There
join:2000-11-09
·Charter
| Really???? in my opinion, any business that operates on the premise that annoying their customers is profitable will be a short lived business.
while i will agree that some consumers are less profitable than others, they are still consumers and patronize your business.
i feel the effects of annoying your customers by these fees are instant profitability, long term customer base erosion and negative word of mouth advertising. the effects of the latter two items will eventually overcome any instant profitability from bogus fees.
my .02
mike
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CH3NO2-Fuel me UP-Let's race! | |
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| bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | Re: Really???? You're wrong, mike. Absolutely wrong. Just check the history. Tons of companies have survived for decades doing things that have been regularly assailed in forums like this (and their non-electronic analogs before) as "annoying" to customers. Don't let the whining take on more significance than it warrants. Don't be snowed over by your own rhetoric. | |
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ricep5Premium
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL | First Chicago - Teller Fee I worked at First Chicago when the $3 teller fee was implemented. While control of the marketing was poor, there were very sound fiscal reasons why they did this.
There were many customers who wanted to take advantage of the low checking rates and access to the broad coverage of FNBC ATM's throughout Chicago. However, they didn't like our Money Market rates, so they would open a Schwab or Fidelity MMA and simply do a check teller deposit to the FNBC account when they needed cash.
This was very nice for the customer, but lousy for the bank. Anyone who knows banking knows that they make money on the overnights and when someone takes out as much as they put in and leave the balance at near zero all the time, it is a big money loser.
Why did we offer this kind of checking? Easy, our market in less affluent areas demanded it and we supplied it. Unfortunately, more affluent clients took advantage of the service. So the teller fee was developed to discourage people with near zero lifetime balances to use the ATM for routine deposits.
What didn't make it in the marketing was the fee was waived a majority of times to accomodate the circumstances. Like, broken ATM's, relationship of the customer, etc. Usually, anyone who had a payroll direct deposit had their fee waived if they used a teller.
While it got a bad rap for the bank, it worked. People who could afford it, began to increase their relationships. FNBC got more competitive rates and it actually increased our market share in underserved areas.
The people who complained the loudest were those who were getting the "free ride" of the checking/ATM service while milking their MMA's.
Today with electronic transfers common using the Net, teller charges are somewhat outdated. Economy checking services using an ATM provides 24 hour service with less hassle. | |
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 SlaksterCan't Do The Math? Get Out The EquationPremium
join:2003-01-21
Oklahoma City, OK | The Sad Truth You know they do the same thing with just about any business; Restaurants, Clubs, Theatres, and any venue that want to weed out the undesirables. The bigger question you have to ask is what is their definition of "undesirables" are they referring to socially or economically. There lays the paradox.... | |
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| | Comcast is setting the world on fire! Take a good look at the share price or value of Comcast. The stock is in the toilet bowl and headed sharply lower. It was the number 2 most shorted stock behind level 3. Now with the Dow looking to test and break 10,000 to the down side that should drop Commycast below the 10 dollar area. Let's face it Comcast is a pig! | |
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| ChucklesPremium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN | Re: Comcast is setting the world on fire! Oink oink! | |
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