Unhappy Customers Can Spread Their Gloom to Millions

We learn the lesson again and again…a negative experience can live for eternity in the hearts, minds and – now – YouTube accounts of those affected. Fail to serve a member’s needs, and you could end up seeing your credit union being ridiculed online by thousands – or even millions – of people. A couple of examples from this week have really brought this to light.

United Breaks Guitars

In 2008, musician Dave Carroll witnessed his band’s guitars being thrown around by United Airlines baggage handlers, which resulted in major damage to his custom-built guitar. In Dave’s own words, he tried to work with the airline’s call centers for nine months before giving up and making his video.





That video hit YouTube on July 6, and has been viewed nearly 3 million times in less then two weeks. In addition, the story has now generated more than 550 news stories across the country.

Bank of America – Making Customers Call Different Numbers

Think this couldn’t happen in financial services? Consumerist, a consumer focused blog from the publishers of Consumer Reports, shares three examples of customers getting nowhere with Bank of America’s call centers. Worse, even the bank’s own employees couldn’t work their way through the call center:

On May 14, 2009 I called the Risk Department around 1PM. … Immediately after this phone call, I walk into my local Bank of America branch. … I explain the situation. … She tells me there's no use in her calling the Risk Department as they will only tell her the same thing they told me. She gives me a card to Customer Solutions. She tells me to call the number, as it is my best bet at getting this issue resolved…I call Customer Solutions at 1-800-831-4419. I explain my story. They put me on hold as they contact the Risk Department. They come back on the line and give me the exact statement the Risk Department told me. … I ask her if I have ANY other options to get this issue resolved. She responds, "No."

That’s two different phone calls (to two different numbers) and a personal visit to the branch, still with no resolution.

The Consumerist story was read more than 12,000 times in its first week. Both of these stories have generated online comments and other blog postings, with most writers stating their intent to no longer use these companies. Maybe they can afford to lose the business, but could your credit union?

The best way to avoid having to deal with situations like this is to have a competent call center in place. Credit unions must evaluate their call centers, which often handle as much member business as a branch, and make the changes necessary to make them effective sources of true member service.