Bank of America: Train your replacement, or no severance pay for you

[ScottK]

No wonder I haven't heard from my former best bud in a long, long time.
He's a 6s Master Black Belt for BoA, last I knew.

He must just be plain embarassed.

 

[qualeety]

Banks (BofA and others) are continually engaging in mergers and other consolidations, removing the "personal" touch where the service people knew their customers.

I am not sure about you, Wes but the old paradigm is changing.
I am not sure when was the last time I was in the bank to do any type of transction. All my banking needs are done through internet/instant teller and I prefer it that way.

Financial institutions like ING and PC have no banking branches yet they seem to do very well. There has been a drastic increase in online shopping and will continue to do so. There is more emphasis on price, deliever and choice, rather than human relationship.

I am very aware of human relationship when it comes to business but from the consumer point of view, do we still need it? Any opinions?

 

[Craig H.]

I am very aware of human relationship when it comes to business but from the consumer point of view, do we still need it? Any opinions?

It depends. In the case of commodity goods (groceries,etc) no, we don't need a human relationship. Wal Mart has done quite well streamlining the process. But..

If you want to buy clothes off of the rack, and the pants legs need shortened, you are on your own.

If you go to buy shoes, you have to guess which size you need.

If you don't know anything about computers, you need to ask someone else (and buy from them?).

I am not doing this to pick on Wal Mart, like I said, they do what they do very well. But, if you need something a little different than the norm, then there is a good chance that you will still need to ask a human - one with experience.

Many of the things we buy have a service component. Cars, for instance, traditionally had a sizable service component that came with them, in the form of warranty repairs. Now, some high-end makes still install a service component via a maintenance agreement to change oil, check fluids, etc.

So, yes, we will still need a human relationship, but the role is changing in many cases.

 

[Wes Bucey]

I am not sure about you, Wes but the old paradigm is changing.
I am not sure when was the last time I was in the bank to do any type of transction. All my banking needs are done through internet/instant teller and I prefer it that way.

Financial institutions like ING and PC have no banking branches yet they seem to do very well. There has been a drastic increase in online shopping and will continue to do so. There is more emphasis on price, deliever and choice, rather than human relationship.

I am very aware of human relationship when it comes to business but from the consumer point of view, do we still need it? Any opinions?

I'm not talking about cashing a check from your own account or taking a deposit as a check - ATM's do a good job of that (most times!)

Today, I can hardly turn on a TV or radio without hearing an ad referring to a "credit score" for people looking to borrow money for everything from houses to junker cars.

When I was lending money to small and large businesses alike, I used the same mantra as the local savings & loan (what are they? topic for another thread) when contemplating a loan for a young couple looking to buy their first home:
the original four C's of credit:

1. character - WHO?
2. capacity - were they overextending, only one-week down time from default?
3. collateral - Was the real or personal property REALLY worth what someone said? None of our customers were "upside down" on their borrowed or leased property.
4. credit-ability - did the income stream really cover the payments from day one or did they need inflation to bail them out?

A lot of people don't understand bankers should not be in the "gambling" business. There is a dichotomy between a "loan" and an "investment." A loan counts on current conditions to justify the trade of money for a lien. An investment is based on hope the future will bring a return on the money traded for a share in a business.

A loan EXPECTS money to be repaid with agreed interest.
An investment HOPES money to be repaid with profit.

If the banker never sees his clients face-to-face (even on a week-to-week basis), he doesn't have any insight about "bending" loan criteria to stretch a loan amount because the banker knows the viability of the business the loan applicant works in and knows the applicant is well-regarded and not likely to lose his job.

When lending or investing with a small business (we did both), we were extremely careful to understand the risks and expected commensurate returns. We were able to successfully compete against much larger investment banks because we were able to assess risks more accurately and thus make a faster decision or a more generous amount than competitors who were less personal in the relationship. Rarely did we compete on rate of interest.

 

[Jen Kirley]

I am not sure about you, Wes but the old paradigm is changing.
I am not sure when was the last time I was in the bank to do any type of transction. All my banking needs are done through internet/instant teller and I prefer it that way.

Financial institutions like ING and PC have no banking branches yet they seem to do very well. There has been a drastic increase in online shopping and will continue to do so. There is more emphasis on price, deliever and choice, rather than human relationship.

I am very aware of human relationship when it comes to business but from the consumer point of view, do we still need it? Any opinions?

There are fewer times I need a face-to-face banking service. Getting notary service is one.

However, I often need a customer service rep and a capable, pleasant, well organized and continuous service thread is possible by phone but not pulled off nearly often enough.

Navy Federal Credit Union is out of state so I don't use them for my every day banking needs, but I will get a mortgage with no one else because the experience has been repeatedly superior to every single other lender we have used. They do not need to churn their work force to pull it off.