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September 29, 2006
Definition For Marketing? BOA & Nixon Flunk!
If you want a definition for marketing, then do the opposite of Bank Of America ... and Richard Nixon. Two powerhouses with contempt for the public and their customers. And they pay a price for this neglect. Here's the story ...
Here in Atlanta we have a local radio personality named Clark Howard who is a "consumer expert". He advises listeners about how to buy wisely and use good judgment in financial matters. He also sometimes gets involved in "righting wrongs" when ordinary people have been mistreated by large companies. His listener audience is said to be 3.5 million.
In the last week, Howard has become incensed over treatment that Bank Of America (BOA) doled out to a guy named Matthew Shinnick. It all started when Shinnick posted two bicycles for sale on Cragislist.com and received a check from a man for more than the cost of the bicycles. He went into his bank, BOA, to see if the check was legitimate and verify that there was money in the person’s account. He was told it was a valid account and so he cashed the check. At that point, BOA employees called the police and Shinnick was arrested on fraud charges because the check was actually a phony. He had no idea that the real criminal had used the name of a legitimate company to fake a check. So, Matthew sat in the bank branch for hours while police figured out what to do and then spent the night in jail. Once he got out, he wanted to clear his name legally so the arrest would not come back to haunt him. He had to hire attorneys to do this and it cost him nearly $14,000. He then went to Bank of America and asked that the bank cover his fees because it was the bank’s error but so far BOA has refused.
Clark Howard is so indignant over this treatment that he has started a national campaign against BOA. He is asking all folks who bank at BOA (like me) to withdraw their money, accounts and credit cards as a protest against bank actions. He posts a "BOA Money Loss Meter" that shows over 16 million in lost funds thus far. In addition, a senior vice president of an unnamed Fortune 500 company called in last week. He informed the audience that his company had been planning on depositing $250 million into BOA but has decided not to do so.
Howard also has numerous ties to consumer advocate groups who are now joining in his efforts.
To make matters worse, two BOA officials were on the radio this week.
* One of them stated that if a bank depositor wants to verify the funds for a check it is their responsibility to make a long distance call to a certain department and they will be informed over the phone. Clark Howard claims they are the only bank to have such a policy.
* Secondly, they informed Howard that if he didn't cease talking about them, BOA would sue him.
The lessons from this situation ...
#1. Everybody loves the David & Goliath-type story and we have all felt helpless in the clutches of an indifferent corporation. So any time the average citizen has a chance to strike back at an arrogant giant, we all cheer.
As the arrogant giant in this situation, BOA is creating an incredible amount of dreadful publicity. Apparently, there isn't a single marketing person on their payroll. Howard says that BOA earned 57 BILLION dollars in profits last year. If they had simply apologized for this error, even paid the $14,000 attorney fees and assured everyone that this wouldn't happen again, the story would have died on the spot. Instead, they're cast as the cold, heartless corporation that everyone loves to hate.
#2. The threat to sue Clark Howard is a colossal mistake! Howard works for Cox Broadcasting, no tiny little company itself. Cox has the resources to fight a long legal battle and would undoubtedly love to do so. There's no way they could possibly buy the favorable publicity they will receive as a staunch defender of the 'little guy', abused by the arrogant corporation. If BOA sues over this matter, they will simply make the entire situation worse.
#3. Other banks are missing a giant opportunity! If one of them had stepped forward and paid the $14,000 because "they care about their customers", the good will would have been awesome! For banks who make billions of dollars, $14,000 would have been so trivial they wouldn't notice. In fact, they couldn't possibly get such great publicity for such a small sum.
However, bankers aren't marketers and they don't think this way. For BOA's sake, I hope some sane person over there puts a stop to this soon. Even presidents are brought down by such small incidents. Ask the family of Richard Nixon.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at September 29, 2006 10:43 AM
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