Bank of America. Bank of "Lost" Opportunity.

Bailouts and bonuses. That seems to be what everyone thinks of when it comes to banks–especially the big ones like Bank of America. In times like these, why wouldn’t they invest in much better customer service?

Skimming the Surface

Last weekend, we discovered that we had become victims of “skimming,” where, earlier in the week, my wife used our Visa Debit card at an ATM machine and someone had skimmed our account number and PIN number and withdrew over $900 from our checking account.

A skimmer is a device that attaches to an ATM either to the card reader or it is a bogus card reader. When you slide your card into the machine, the device reads your account number and records your PIN number from the magnetic strip on the back of your card. The bad guy then uses that data to create a bogus card with your information and withdraws money from your account or makes other transactions.

We called Bank of America, our bank, canceled our card and they opened an investigation. But the customer service experience could have been so much better.

From Phone Tree to the Forest

First, let me say that I understand why companies use phone trees. Sometimes there just aren’t enough people to cover phone calls to answer routine questions. For most questions, I’d rather go online or quickly access the answers through a well-organized phone tree.

But calling Bank of America was a bit of a pain.

Emergency connections should be on the first level, not buried somewhere inside an account information selection. There should be a person immediately available on the other end of the line to guide you through the process. Eventually, I got a customer service person (who was extremely courteous and very helpful). She canceled our cards, said that she would gave us credit immediately for the bogus charges (which, as of Monday morning, hasn’t happen yet) and ordered a replacement card. That’s where the good experience ended because she should have overnighted the card to us. American Express would have. And they have. Given how dependent people are on their debit cards, Bank of America should have overnighted a card should automatically.

Swingin’ From A Person to a Another Tree

Once her part was over with, she explained that she was going to transfer me to another department to verify my fraud claim. It was another phone tree. The recordings were clearly written by attorneys (or life-long bankers) because it was specifically confusing and unclear. The choices employed banking shorthand or acronyms, so I honestly didn’t know what to choose. I had to listen to the choices four times to try to make sense of them. The customer service rep should have stayed on the line with me to make sure that I understood all of the options and that the process was completed smoothly.

Bank of America Is No American Express

Had this happened with my American Express card, things would have been different. AMEX’s customer service, bar none, is the best. I’ve lost my card in the past and they are clear, understanding and responsive. A PERSON stays on the line with you to guide you through the process and take care of all of the issues while you wait. They make sure you have a new card in your hands within 24 hours. If AMEX can do it, Bank of America should be able to do it too. That would be a great use our Federal TARP funds.

The Bare Minimum

Bank of American did just over the minimum. Their telephone tree is tedious and confusing. Their people are nice enough, but not helpful enough, as they seem anxious to transfer you somewhere else–and often times, it’s another twisted telephone tree. In the end, I got done what I needed to, but it took me three phone calls (the first initial call, then I had to call back twice) to make it happen. And we still don’t have the credit to our account that she had promised would happen immediately (which, in banking terms, means five days).

Just Spend More on Advertising

They say that it costs companies ten times as much to attract new customers as it does to retain current customers. Bank of American spends hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising–at least they did prior to the bailout. They had a Bank of Opportunity to create a raving fan–someone who would have sang their praises to everyone I know–but all they did was reinforce what we’ve known all along: It’s a pain in the ass to transfer an online checking account to another bank. Go figure.

Marketing Money Better Spent

Marketing is everything that touches the senses of customers and prospects. It’s the ads they see, the people who answer the phone, the courtesy of the person who drives the vehicle–all of these factors affect how people perceive your brand. It’s so easy for companies to blame advertising when things don’t go well. Yet, the role of advertising is simply to bring in new customers and remind current customers why it’s so great to do business with you. It’s up to the client to make sure they take care of their customers once they have them. It’s frustrating because, as a consumer, you want the people you do business with succeed. And, when they don’t, no one wins.

For more information on how to protect yourself from skimming see: How To Prevent Card-Skimming Identity Theft

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