By Lisa Lindquist, Account Supervisor
So I receive an envelope from Bank of America the other day – where I have been a model credit card customer, or so I thought, keeping my balance within reason and paying off in full every month for the past 10 years! And how does Bank of America reward me?
By telling me they are doubling my interest rate from 7.25% to 14.9%!
I was a little insulted to say the least.
Three choices
So I have 3 choices:
2. I can accept the higher rate and charge on– or
3. I can cancel the account.
What’s going on here? “Are you trying to lose customers?” I ask the customer service rep.
And then it occurs to me – yes they are.
Why would any company do that?
Because the fact is, I am not their best “A” rated customer. They do not make any money from me – since I pay off the balance – so they are not earning any interest.
All I am worth to them is the 2% merchant fee they get from the store where I use the card.
For such a large company it’s easy to see how that $10.00/month account times thousands can be a drain on their operations, resources and administration.
Lesson learned- Get all A’s
So what’s the takeaway here?
When you look at your own business, think, who are your “A’s”? Can you identify your best “A” customer or client? The ones who provide you with higher profits and don’t waste your time and resources for little return? Once that’s done, do you know where to find more of them?
Your goal is to maximize the “A’s” and minimize the “C” and “D” customers – even if that means providing a gentle disincentive for the latter groups to do business with you.
This may seem to be a strange thing for a person in a customer service-oriented position to say – but do what you can to find the right “A” prospects and clients and (nicely) get rid of the C’s and D’s and you will be amazed at the increase in profit and productivity your business will enjoy!
So sometimes the customer is not always right…for you.
