Banking…When People become Data and Fee Generators, not Individual Customers

I just read Hola Bank! Me llamo Steve by fellow Montclair resident Steve Baker on Business Week Blogspotting. He attended a conference where Larry Rosenberg of Fair Isaac raised the point of how banks are really going to customize their offerings if they cannot even remember what language (English or Spanish) we use at the ATM.

My opinion is that for most banks we have become a Data Stream, not a Person, not an Individual Customer. At most financial institutions, if you request a loan it is computer driven. A growing source of revenue for banks and other financial services is Fees. I remember not so long ago when you could apply for a loan and talk with a person who had a say in the final decision. Has the customer been removed from customer service in banking? It is a retail business after all. This is why most of the time I use the ATM because it does not feel like it makes any difference if I deal with a Bank rep, except for the wait.

In my New Jersey Concierges business, I consider each client as someone with specific needs and offer a pernalized service that matches them.