O O Ø O O O O
Freebie Jeebies
My bank is currently running a promotion to convince account holders at other banks to come on over to the green side. The promotion is simple: transfer your existing chequing account from another bank to theirs, set up one direct deposit or two scheduled monthly payments with that account if the account is personal, and they’ll give you an iPod Shuffle. Better than a toaster, and just a bit more expensive.
This got me thinking. Shuffles are not super-expensive, but they do retail for $129.99 from the Apple Store. They probably did a bulk deal with Apple and got a discount, and I’d guesstimatethe unit price TD Canada Trust paid is somewhere in the $80-90.00 range. That’s not chump change. In fact, that’s six months of my service fees—not including any overhead—to grab someone else’s customer and make them your own. The second thought I had was “what about me?”
I’ve been a loyal TD Canada Trust account holder since 1982, when the bank was known as Toronto Dominion. I remember the bright green passbook I got when mom took my brother and I up to the mall after landing a paper route, and I’ve been with them ever since. That’s loyalty. What about me? Why don’t I, after being your customer for eons in Canada and the United States, get any deal, too?
It bothers me that the company I have a long-standing relationshipt with, and pay anywhere from $15-40.00/month is service fees to (not including any Visa interest), would just leave me hanging like that. It bothers me even more that they think someone using another service is worth more than I am. I never got a toy for signing up, nor has anyone ever told me that TD values me as a customer. Twenty-three years is longer than a lot of marriages, so you’d figure someone would pick up on that from time-to-time and let us know they’re happy we’re around. Sadly, it’s all about conquering new domains, and forgetting or taking for granted what’s got you to where you are.
I know it’s all about marketing, and the promotion is intended to build market share and raise revenue overall, but it pisses me off somewhat. Many companies offer incentives to switch, but the only time incentives are offered to stay is when you’re so fed up you want to leave. There are folks who hop from place to place to place, so the companies I sink my money into over time will never make money on them, but do just fine by me. It’d be nice to hear them say “thank you” once in a while.
TD Canada Trust is in no danger of losing me, because I have always liked their service and, with respect to all the other banks, provide me with the greatest value. I won’t switch for any reason, as they provide everything I want, at a price I’m willing to pay, and I have never had cause to leave. I’m their perfect customer.
And maybe that’s the problem.
Kev Needham
July 19, 2005
OOØOOOODCCXIII
July 19th, 2005 at 10:19 pm
Kev leads up our Peace, Order and Good Government department.
July 20th, 2005 at 8:04 am
in my best Buzz Lightyear
You’re mocking me… aren’t you?
July 20th, 2005 at 7:07 pm
No, not mocking. But you always seem to come across as the most reasonable, most duty-bound of all of us here.
That said, I too am a customer of TD Bank, but I’m really just waiting for one of the other majors to offer me something akin to an iPod so I can switch. Your rant has convinced me to switch: their wooing of potential customers to the neglect of existing customers isn’t just unmindful, it’s offensive.
Come on ScotiaBank! Big money! No whammies! Papa needs an AirPort hub!
July 21st, 2005 at 10:05 am
I think I may re-package this as a letter to TD. Maybe they’ll be the first to respond to one of my letters, but I’m not hopeful.
Re: reasonable and duty-bound - I feel old, now :) I just expect a little more and, much to the amusement/consternation of friends and family, continue to be surprised when those expectations aren’t met.
July 21st, 2005 at 2:12 pm
I got my first bank account in 1982 as well!! But mine is at the Bank of Montreal.
They suck sht, their tellers are a bunch of no-brain btches and they closed my savings account without telling me!! Where’s the $0.34 that was in there a**holes???
I can hardly wait to switch banks and get my iPod Shuffle!!!!!
Woot! Woot!
July 21st, 2005 at 2:20 pm
oops… my bad… they didn’t close my savings account. It was under my maiden name. And there’s actually $0.37 in there.
Regardless… the rest is true and I’m still switching and getting my free iPod!!!!
July 21st, 2005 at 5:40 pm
My wife just said “Woot”?
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:06 am
(from the UK and a regular reader for no reason that I can think of except that I like the style)
We have the same problem here - all goodies directed to new sign ups - but we do have one thing that you might like to press for as well - no service fees.
So long as you stay in credit, we don’t get charged anything. Some even pay (miniscule) interest on curremt (checking) accounts. Mind, you get hit hard if you overdraw. This position has slowly evolved due to competition over the years but the justification is that the banks are making a fortune out of lending your balance to someone else while you are not using it.
Consumer rights organisations are still chipping away here, currently to make the penalty fees fairer and make advertised interest rates reflect the true cost.
July 22nd, 2005 at 3:45 am
Which is somewhat different to South Africa where they charge you to deposit money into your account. That took some getting used to, coming from the UK and all!
July 22nd, 2005 at 8:04 pm
I thought I was the only TD Canada Trust long time customer who is ticked off by their little “freebie” of an IPod. Thought I was just getting picky or something. I wonder what I have to do get one of those little IPods? Close my account and re-open it? What a thought.
July 22nd, 2005 at 8:07 pm
Hi Kevin. How come your “rants” just happen to be the best one’s I’ve ever read anywhere? You been reading my mind? LOL
July 25th, 2005 at 8:15 am
Hey all, thanks for stopping by!
Little: How long have those 37 cents been languishing all alone in your poor ‘ole BoM account? Are there any more? Does your hubby know about them? They could buy half a recycled asphalt shingle, you know. Oh, and I applaud the use of woot, just remember it should be spelled “w00t” :)
kj: Yes, yes she did. And it’s all your fault.
Rick: The concept of no service fees really hasn’t shown up anywhere in Canada with chequing accounts. They do offer fixed rate service fees with a certain number of withdrawls, but they still find a way to ding you for things. There are a couple who promise no-charge chequing, but that just means they don’t charge for cheques, and roll the charges into some other place. ING is pitching no-fee savings accounts, but really, I don’t like the idea of tying my cash up in an account that’s going to earn a whopping 2.175% (or whatever it is) rate. Part of the problem is competition - there isn’t a lot here in any major service industry… but that’s a rant for another day :) Glad you’re enjoying the reads, although be careful with accusing us of having any style, it makes us suspicious…
Gwen: Sadly, you must transfer an account, not open a new one. It’s all aimed at getting you as a customer at someone else’s expense, so they can gain market share and whittle away at the compeition’s revenue (’cause, you know, with only $311B in assets and $2.7B in profits last year, they need more). Glad you’re enjoying the Tuesday silliness, and nice to hear from you.
July 25th, 2005 at 12:39 pm
Two points:
1) Most banks close accounts that are inactive: or they at least put a hold on them. You must be lucky there are no fees otherwise you wouldn’t have your $0.37. I deal with CIBC and I had an account set to inactive on me with about $1.67 still in it. Of course they don’t want you to get interest so they inactivate it.
2) As a good customer of Chrysler I have an invitation to test drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee (I’m a Jeep TJ owner currently) and the offer includes a free iPod Shuffle if I do. I guess Chrysler values me as a customer! Or at least someone that might provide more business. I don’t think this offer is open to the public. Maybe you should let TD know this.
Cheers,
######
: )
######
July 25th, 2005 at 9:38 pm
Phone companies have been doing this for years. I think Telus or Shaw tried this a while ago for ISP customers.
It is simply a poor long-term business move. Probably every retail employee that had to go through a “customer comes first” training booklet must know that repeat customers are worth a lot of money.
I just got an ING Direct statement last week. They have a promotion where if you set up an automatic monthly savings plan (ie $20 out of your chequing account every month) then you are entered to win some prize. At first I was a bit upset because I’ve had my account for years. Then I realized at the bottom it said customers who already have accounts are automatically entered.
July 27th, 2005 at 11:17 am
Is this the time to say that I’ve been a Canada Trust customer since the mid 1980s and as such, I have a ‘grandfathered’ account meaning no service charges?
So considering they haven’t been sucking me dry with stupid little service charges, I could care less whether they gave me an iPod shuffle or not. Not to mention I don’t need another toy (but someone will now tell me that that’s not the point :) )
July 27th, 2005 at 4:23 pm
Same comment as mck, I’ve had my account since the dawn of time and it’s grandfathered so no service charges. This was perhaps a Canada trust deal and not something offered to ancient TD customers. THAT would get me more excited than some “fashion forward”, DRM, tethered mp3 player. You should have the same benefits us ex - Canada Trusters have. I also recall a teller trying to sell me on a “new account” as it had no service changes too. The catch was you needed to have a balance over 5 grand.
July 28th, 2005 at 2:09 pm
See, I don’t want a shuffle. I have my music players and love them, and actually don’t want any trinkets. All I really want is an acknowledgement once in a while from companies I have long-term relationships with that they actually like having me as a customer. No fees would be outstanding, but it’s not going to happen.
It’s not that it’s not the point, because I think being a happy customer is a good thing, and I am happy enough that I’m not going to leave. It’s also not about the particulay trinkets given, as I think a shuffle is actually a poor choice, and I’d much rather have a year or two of free service.
What it is is the fact that they’re willing to spend decent money on luring new customers, while relying on trending info to ensure the existing base is happy instead of taking a pulse. When was the last time you got a letter from your branch manager, form or otherwise, telling you how much they appreciated having you as a customer? I can’t remember it ever happening, and the surly tellers I frequently get when I actually set foot in the bank sure don’t make me feel wanted, either.
That’s the real deal, and I envy (and want) your “grandfathered” status!!! :)
July 30th, 2005 at 1:06 am
This is one of the reason’s I switched cell phone providers a couple times. The competitor was willing to give me a deal if I signed on with them but the existing vendor wasn’t going to give me anything to stay.
That and Cantel customer service was awful. Lo and behold I got the same thing from Telus. I cancelled my Cantel phone with 1 month notice (like my contract said to). They shut it off 2 weeks early and due to a “technical problem” and they said they could not turn it back on before my contract was up. Then they sent me a bill for $4 per day because I wasn’t in a contract and “service was available” while my phone was turned off.
Thank goodness I don’t carry a phone for work anymore. :) No cell phone for 3+ years and I’m happy that way.
August 26th, 2005 at 12:08 am
My sister told me just today that she saw some posters at a TD Canada Trust branch for a free ipod some time ago. I immediately called the local TDCanadaTrust branch and sought confirmation. Well, I was about a week too late. It was a bit disappointing, but I was happy to find out a website called f r e e i p o d s.com is offering free ipods. I was skeptical at first. How can a company make money giving away hi-tech gadgets? But after researh, was glad to find it as legit as the everyday mom-and-pop store. Take a look at BBC’s Report, available in
video or in a text transcript.You can also download an NBC report on free ipods.
All you need to do is to click here to get your Apple ipod. Email me if you have any questions.
jeff
August 26th, 2005 at 12:11 am
my email by the way is hanzjordan@gmailDOTcom
August 26th, 2005 at 10:48 am
Look Ma! Pyramid scheme meets spam harvester!
September 4th, 2006 at 12:30 am
Hi Kev. Let me start by introducing myself as a TD Staff Member. I was browsing the internet tonight and by chance landed on your blog. I realize that you posted this summer 2005, and it may be a bit late now, but I wanted to write and let you know that although we may not always show our appreciation for our long-time clients as much as you would hope, we really do appreciate you.
Working in the offices at the branch level, I have had hands on experience with clients who have expressed concern about not being appreciated during the iPod promotion. That’s why this year, when we had the promotion again, we changed it so that even if you were an exisiting client, you could benefit from the promotion if you transfered your account from another bank to your existing TD account.
Surveys have shown that most clients at most banks in Canada hold accounts at 3 different banks. TD therefore offered this promotion to new clients and existing clients with the idea that most of our clients would have accounts at other banks that they’d like to switch to TD for their convenience.
Of course, there are still the very loyal customers, such as yourself, who bank soley at TD. In a case such as yours, this year’s promotion unfortunately still would not have benefited you.
On that note, I was aware of this situation this summer and personally sent a letter to the marketing deparment suggesting that if we offer the promotion again next year, it should include a way for our most loyal clients to benefit as well.
Until then, I wanted to let you know that we do appreciate your business, and although we may not show you in the way of material objects, I would imagine that being a client since 1982, if you frequent the same branch on a regular basis, you get served with excellent service where most of the tellers know you by name and treat you with the decency and respect that you very much deserve.
We hold a huge respect for our long-time clients in such a manner, while we do offer newer clients with respect, it’s simply not the same relationship as an older client as we do not know them as well.
I won’t go into detail over the internet over the subtle differences in service that we offer to old and to new clients, but I hope you realize the small things that I would imagine your branch does for you when asked.
I imagine you do, as you’ve mentioned that you’ve always received excellent service and do not plan on leaving TD.
Again, I just wanted to let you know that we do care and we do appreciate your business. And on behalf of TD Canada Trust, I thank you for your business. I just hope that a year later, this news isn’t coming to you too late.
September 7th, 2006 at 5:46 pm
For the last time, Mr. Employee (Wow. with a name like that, I hope you never change jobs. It’s like the time I worked for Shell…) it’s not a blog. It’s a weekly internet serial. ISSN and all!
June 5th, 2007 at 7:24 am
http://canadianfreestuff.com/2007/06/05/switch-to-td-canada-trust-bank-and-get-a-free-ipod/
Just letting you all know that TD BANK Is running this promotion again.
June 5th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Holy crap - the internet works! It brings relevant news to me!