Insights and Ingenuity

Anyone who’s browsed this blog understands my passion for the consumer/customer. I assert that they MAKE your business. Yes, that may sound obvious–the premise is commerce, after all. But what I mean is, consumer insight is the holy grail business strategists, product developers, marketers, and sales forces should forsake most other tools for.  Insight can help a business:

• Anticipate: flaws, lack of functionality, holes in offering suites
• Mitigate: lessen the impact or importance of flaws or weak benefits
• Prepare: plan for competitive or consumer interest group response
• Solve: know what issues are a priority, and why
• Resolve: have a target goal/benchmark of achievement

If you’re a company offering products or services, you’d better know how important that consumer perspective (voice of the customer, VOC) is to the growth and longevity of your business. If you’re not actively seeking, synthesizing, analyzing, and identifying valuable customer data, then let me be the one to tell you: you’re on a one-way trip to irrelevance.

Nobody uses products that aren’t simple, convenient, intuitive, relevant, fulfilling. No one subscribes to services that are cumbersome, circuitous, complicated, cause the customer to bear brunt, and don’t meet target needs.  Unaddressed, these issues serve as communication roadblocks, essentially sending your customers the message “You really don’t matter.”

In other words:  If you’re not listening to what your customers are saying and building that insight iteratively back into your culture and product or service development, you won’t have to worry about them being your customers for very long. You’ll be relieved of that little problem. And likely many other little problems, if those customers share their experiences within their networks or assert their viewpoints in public (online) venues.  Personal opinion/ratings are incredibly influential, whether shared between close friends or semi-anonymously in customer comments or reviews.

Which is precisely what I’ll endeavor to do here, hopefully avoiding crossing the line into “rant” territory.

I am a very satisfied customer of Veridian Credit Union.  Adam and Amy there are my peeps; I have their email addresses and Adam once called to personally thank me for notifying them of a problem at a kiosk one day.  Generally speaking, banking is a necessity and the elements of choice and benefits are negligible, but I feel very good about our relationship with Veridian.

By contrast, I don’t have a relationship with Wells Fargo. About 7 years ago, we were customers of theirs. There was no relationship, but rather cyclical transactions.

Three years ago, after satisfying a small loan, I personally visited a branch and closed our account. Twelve months later, we received a $25 service fee for that same account. I came to learn our account was never really closed, and we were charged for the privilege of holding an account.

Yes, that’s right. Charged $25 for an account I had closed one year earlier. An account with zero balance that had shown no activity for over 12 months.

Re-read paragraph above. Yes, folks, this happened again in 2007. Re-visit branch; again request closure; repeat assurances of said closure, yada yada. I leave feeling smug and vindicated because hey, I’m very comfortable asserting myself with service institutions and providing rational, evidence-based debate.

But it gets better. Or worse. So just this month, in 2009, *it happened AGAIN*. Just last week, a $25 fee was charged by Wells Fargo. Ostensibly on the very account that had been closed (at least to the fullest of my control) twice before.  Details:

• I had to narrate this whole sordid story to a new (phone center) person with no vested interest in my satisfaction.
• My deductive powers of reasoning tell me we’ve been at credit risk for three years, unaware of an open account that could have been accessed by someone.
• We have the insult of a third $25 fee assessment
• The $25 fee can’t be returned to me electronically, I must wait for a check. Which I then have to physically deposit (nobody does that anymore, right?) in Veridian.
• I experienced unease giving personal identification information (DOB, address, SS#, mother’s maiden name, etc.) to phone center, given Wells Fargo hadn’t impressed me with their keen eye for detail or thoroughness.
• Despite providing all of the info above, they weren’t allowed to give me my “account” number over the phone.
• I’m to be inconvenienced for a third time, to drive to a physical bank branch.

I can’t express my frustration, disappointment, mistrust, feelings of disabuse emphatically enough.  The irony of Wells Faro placing me at financial risk, then again inconveniencing me as they purportedly protect my financial security is baffling.  There was no customer service escalation. There was no customer training that kicked in upon hearing my startling story.  And while $25 isn’t a large sum of money, I resent the presumption that Wells Fargo felt it within their rights to charge it.

For an account dormant three years with zero balance, no less.

Gak, are there no IT or Quality assurance processes in place there?  What assurances do I have that this will get resolved properly this time? Another smiling suit across a desk showing me the computer screen and shaking my hand while offering melodious platitudes is inadequate, really.  Heard that before.

So consider this, businesses big and small:

• Consumers have big voices, and they’re using them
• Consumers trust peers and referrals far more than they trust institutions
• Consumers are doing research for considered purchase products and services before deciding to buy
• You, Mr. Company, have a lot to learn. Fortunately, you have resources to tap
• The competitive environment mandates a genuine, demonstrable interest in customer service as a cost of doing business. Not interested? Fine, we’re moving on.

Wells Fargo:  if you were listening, you would have known yesterday that I’d Twittered 140 char of customer relationship angst about this. And you’d know I shared my views on this blog because your analytics would show the inbound link. You’d know how to reach me to discuss because of the buttons on my blog. If you were listening (and were concerned).

2/3/09 Update:

After sharing this post with a friend on Twitter, I learned she had a connection within Wells Fargo’s social media team and chose to share a link to my post with them. The next day I received the post comment from Joel shown below, and a phone call from someone within their “Online Executive Office.”  The gentleman at the OEO verfied one piece of identity and said he “would check with his colleagues and see if they could resolve my issue.” It’s been 24 hours; no confirmation call about my account cancellation. I’m not sure what to do now; call him back? Wait? Will I get a letter? Another post comment? Meanwhile, I received a $25 check today, presumably remuneration from the wrongly assessed annual fee. This is my assumption, but as there was no accompanying letter of explanation (nor apology), only the check, I can’t be for certain.

The repayment gives me transactional closure, yes. But it doesn’t resolve my pervasive issue, nor does it suitably address my value as a (potential) customer. It further cements the Wells Fargo view that I really don’t matter to them.

Feeling like Wells Fargo still isn’t getting it.

2/5/09 Update:

Received voice mail from same gentleman in the Online Executive Office, wanted to determine if I’d received the $25 refund and instructions on how to close the account. If I still need help, I can call him….

Which, of course, I did.  Left a message. This situation is still a trainwreck; what benefit did I receive from having the OEO involved in things? I’d already had the refund part of the issue resolved with the regular phone bank person days before, and had received the refund check already (remember–the check came without a single piece of correspondance). One would assume that escalation policy (presumably, the OEO, right?) would offer a consumer added value–say, like, actually closing my account? As swiftly as possible? Right now, they’re just another cook in the kitchen, but not yet producing anything.

Why is Wells Fargo ostensibly “listening” and dedicating staff, but doing nothing to resolve the core issue, authentically address customer concerns, and bring closure to a very aggrevating situation?

Tags: Authenticity, Customer Relationships, insights, listening, Trust

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 11:40 pm and is filed under Customer Relationships, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.