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comment by wasoxygen
wasoxygen  ·  2641 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Dumbest User Interface of 2016

    I shopped around and found virtually no difference among what was on offer.

I am inclined to see this as confirmation.

Within a strictly regulated sector, where innovation is somewhat stifled — try offering virtual currency and see what happens — the various banks have so optimized the balance between customer service and not-going-bankrupt that they are nearly copies of one another, exhibiting a kind of law of one price for banking services.

By "actively hostile" I imagine tellers who insult your mother, lobbies that smell of urine, lines out the door on Friday, empty ATMs, unexplained balance reductions, established banks that take customers' money and run.

Instead we get web sites that are slow or occasionally down for maintenance, fees hidden in fine print, mobile apps with annoying security protocols, ATM daily withdrawal limits that you remember right before your summer vacation, and credit card readers that are sub-optimal for a year.

I am considering switching to a credit union too. Their not-for-profit structure and tax exempt status enable advantages for members that traditional banks can't match. It might be nice if more services were provided this way.

I find plenty of customer-friendly innovations in banking. Many of them are quickly copied by other banks, so eventually you see virtually no difference between them.

• Free checks

• Groovy hologram stickers

• Online bill pay

• Brick-and-mortar branches on every corner

• Online-only banks with no bricks or mortar

• Check deposit by sending a digital photo

• Temporary freeze on a misplaced card

• Notify bank of travel plans in advance to reduce fraud alerts

• Photo on back of card

• Budget reports and planning tools

• Complimentary coffee, breath mints, dog biscuits

• 24/7 telephone service

• ATM fee reimbursement

• Check security features: microprinting, temperature-sensitive ink, watermarks

• A competent mortgage division

At a high level, any business is customer-hostile because it wants to get as much of the customer's money as possible while providing the minimum in exchange. In practice, the business that provides the most in return gets the most customer revenue.





johnnyFive  ·  2641 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    By "actively hostile" I imagine...

I don't accept your definition, though, or perhaps better said I'm not willing to settle this low.

wasoxygen  ·  2641 days ago  ·  link  ·  

A bit of rhetorical flourish on my part, perhaps, though we must agree that those characteristics are hostile.

Is there anything in my bullet list that does not fairly represent banks "making a more attractive product"?

If none exist today, what would a truly customer-friendly bank look like, in your opinion? What prevents anyone from founding it, and stealing everyone's business?

johnnyFive  ·  2641 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm not really clear on whether you agree with my talk of hostility or not...

>what would a truly customer-friendly bank look like

Maybe one that doesn't try to wreck the economy again?

wasoxygen  ·  2640 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Now I am confused. I don't know which of these, if any, is the case.

1. I haven't expressed my idea — that corporate behavior is largely driven by consumer preference — clearly enough.

2. My point is clear, but I haven't persuaded you that it is true. In this case, I don't have enough information from you to understand why you are not persuaded. I don't see your "talk of hostility" to know if I agree with it or not.

3. You don't think this subject is interesting or important enough to bother discussing. In this case, we can leave what's been said and move on to other subjects.

johnnyFive  ·  2640 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Well, for point 1, I get what you're saying, but that becomes one of those maximization problems. In other words, consumers pick the lesser of two evils, which can then be taken as the same thing as full-on approval.

For 2, I don't think your conclusions (especially as regards to point 1) are inconsistent with the hostility I discussed.

For 3, well, I won't say it's something I'm especially passionate about, so up to you :)

wasoxygen  ·  2640 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It would be a mistake to conclude that a customer fully approves of a business simply because they patronized that business. I haven't made that mistake. Customers can always be better satisfied, by paying less if nothing else. Additional legroom is nice too.

Even if I make that mistake, the business is still making customer-centered decisions to be more attractive than the competition. It's the customer's interest that drives business behavior.

johnnyFive  ·  2640 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I think your conclusion is based on the incorrect assumption underlying most economics, namely that people (a) have sufficient information to make a rational decision, and (b) then make a rational decision.

wasoxygen  ·  2638 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I am pretty sure that these important and interesting considerations have received a fair amount of attention. Thinking, Fast and Slow includes many examples, such as the Allais paradox.

In any case, I don't see any connection to the idea that business is hostile to consumers. Both sides have limited information, and both sides occasionally make decisions that are not in their best interests.

johnnyFive  ·  2638 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm not saying it's connected, but I'm saying I disagree with your statement that

    It's the customer's interest that drives business behavior.
wasoxygen  ·  2637 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Okay, I agree that you disagree, though I'm not clear on why.

I've tried to add a little nuance, so my one-sentence position would be more like "Profit-seeking drives business behavior, and serving customer interests brings profit."

johnnyFive  ·  2637 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    and serving customer interests brings profit.

Except where it doesn't....