Tim Bursch

My big bank sent me a new check card recently. Except, I did not ask for one. It came with lots of confusing notices about security, blah, blah, blah. I left it on my desk because my existing card was working fine.

So, I start getting ominous messages from the bank about being at risk if I don’t activate my new card. What? I did not ask for one and did not need one. I break down and call the big bank.

Here’s their explanation paraphrased:

Big Bank: Mr. Bursch we noticed that your current check card might be one of many of our customers that is at risk for fraud. [Huh?] We proactively sent you a new card. You need to activate the new one by X date because the old one will no longer be valid.

Me: Security? Fraud? My old card was working just fine and I had no problems. So, why do I need this one?

Big Bank: This a process to help protect our customers.

Me: Uh, I thought I was already protected or that your were looking out for me. So, I have to upgrade to the new card?

Big Bank: Yes sir.

Me: So, now I have to take time to update all of my online business and information online?

Big Bank: I’m sorry sir, this update is mandatory.

Me: So let me get this straight, I have to do something I did not need because of your policy AND spend hours of my time to fix something that was not broken. Hmmm.

Big Bank: I apologize for the inconvenience…

You get the picture? The Big Bank customer service agent was fed all the lines and it wasn’t their fault, just their job. Was this new care really about security? It would actually be refreshing if they just told me: Sir, we are making changes in our business and will probably be charging you more in the future. In order to do this, we need to give all our customers new cards and new numbers. Sorry for the inconvenience.

But then that’s another blog post.

So, I asked people on Twitter about their experience with banks and got several responses. Here’s a story from Vasco Vasconcelos in Portugal about policy over service:

Some years ago, way before home banking got to Portugal, I went to the local agency of my bank to request a money transfer to Belgium, in order to pay for one of my father’s horses life insurance.

Naturally, I took with me the destination account’s IBAN (International  Bank Account Number). After giving it to the bank clerk…she said she couldn’t order the transfer without having another code: the SWIFT code. It wasn’t my first time ordering such a transfer, so I said I knew it could be done without that code. Even thought it was always preferable to have it, I had to do the transfer that very same day because the horse was going on a show the next day and I needed the receipt of the transfer as proof of pay in case (God forbid) something happened, and had no possibility of getting the SWIFT code in due time.

She insisted she couldn’t do it and that I was wrong, so I asked her to call her superior; her answer was absolutely outrageous: “I’m not disturbing my superior with such a meaningless thing” and “sure the horse will be OK” (imagine mocking voice) I got furious. I had been a client on that bank for several years (my dad opened my first bank account there on my 14th b’day). After insisting a couple of times, with no reaction whatsoever from the clerk, I headed straight to the manager’s office on my own. Needless to say, she followed me. All the fuzz caught the attention of the manager. After explaining what had happened, he authorised the transfer, confirmed that, although preferable, the SWIFT code was not a “sine qua non” condition on the transfer and apologised. I was a heartbeat away from closing my account, had not the manager been so nice to me. Don’t know what happened to the clerk, but never saw her there since. Word is she got transferred. God bless home banking

Who does your company serve? Your customers or your stakeholders and policies?

Tags: banking.

I have a few favorite restaurants right now. And I tell everyone about them. I’m an advocate for brands I love. My guess is you do the same with your faves. Are brands helping their talkers? What could they do to empower their biggest fans?

Let’s take a look at one of the places that I love: Anchor Fish and Chips

Great food, mostly local and sustainable, focused, and affordable. Easy to talk about.

My wife and I have told at least a dozen people each about this place. Face to face. However, I’ve never taken any advocacy actions online. That’s a big opportunity. Imagine if I had told my networks:
Twitter - 2,000+
Facebook - 180
Each of those people have an average of 125 friends. Do the math. Granted, not all of those people are in Minneapolis, but what could Anchor do to help share the digital love?

Here are some best practices for promoting advocacy from other thriving businesses:

1. Identify your talkers.

• Ask for my email. Get me on a list, and share what’s happening. I’d like to know what’s on tap, more about the story, insider scoop.
• Ask if I would be willing to recommend. [Use the simple and effective Net Promoter Score: read more here]

2. Activate

• Give me something to share. I’ll gladly email, tweet, post about your business.
• Do something exclusive for your advocates. Share the back story. History. Make me feel like I’m part of a club.
• Ask me to help and I’ll do it because I like your brand. For free.

3. Measure

• Take surveys occasionally. Put a postcard with the check asking customers a few questions.
  How did you hear about us? [main measurement] Would you recommend us to a friend? Sign up for our email newsletter.
• Social actions (shares, comments, likes, retweets, etc.)
• Look at the bottom line before and after.

What are you doing to promote advocacy for your business?

If you are in Minneapolis, make sure to visit The Anchor Fish and Chips! [Twitter//Facebook]

Image credit: Stig Nygaard

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My wife and I have a budget and we try really hard to stick to it. We’ve tried a variety of systems over the years and some have worked, some have not. We were comparing notes with some friends recently about budget woes and they talked about Mint. While it appears to have some cool features, what stuck with me after the conversation was the potential solution for some of our current system challenges.

We signed up and we are trying it out. It might not be the best solution yet, we’ll see.

Here’s the deal. These kind of word-of-mouth interactions happen every day between friends. Online and Offline.

What problem are you solving?

Tweet from Tim Sanders

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