This is a 'fun' little story about customer service. A while back, we decided that we needed another checking account to set aside funds for a specific purpose. As someone who embraces local business, I decided to go with a small bank that is both Texas owned and has a branch right in our neighborhood. Seems like a good fit.

Well, it wasn't. They never sent me a debit card for the account. Or at least I never received it. So I went back to request another. I never received that one either. But whatever.

Their online account services were clunky at best. The app looked like it was developed for the first generation iPhone long ago. But whatever. Not a huge deal.

Fairly small things. I'm pretty easy. No worries. But then, I found out shortly after opening the account that the bank had secured a deal to be acquired by another, larger bank. Not one of the huge banks, mind you. But this concerned me. If you've ever been a customer for a business in the midst of an acquisition, it's rarely good for the customer, at least in customer service terms.

Later, I started receiving emails about the coming changeover to the new bank. It required a new phone banking app. Not shocked. They sent instructions on how to log into the new app with the old bank's credentials. It included a new activation key. Well, the activation key didn’t work. I tried multiple times, checked multiple sources, but no, it didn’t work. Then it told me I was locked out, with no communication on how to remedy this, who to contact, etc.

A quick scan of social media showed that many people were having this problem as well as many others. Funds withheld. Long waits on hold for customer service. Some of those calls resulting in hang ups. Customer service agents telling them they couldn’t help. Lots of problems. I emailed a help address and they replied with a phone number. Given what I had seen online, no way was I interested (or had the time) to call. So I decided to close the account and go elsewhere.

The first thing I did was open a new account at another local(ish) bank. They had an option to open the account online, so I signed up. I got a message that I needed to visit a branch to verify some information. Fine, no problem. I showed up, saw that the lobby was closed, and decided to try visiting the drive thru. I had no problems there. They said no big deal, we can finish the process right here. It was a smooth process. I was very happy with this experience.

Then, I went back to the old bank to close my account. I was told in the drive thru that I must come inside to close the account. Given the COVID pandemic, I wasn’t thrilled by this. But I parked, put on my mask, and went in. As an aside, while waiting to talk to the employee who could close the account, I noticed that only one of about 8 employees was wearing a mask. Given the close distance required to interact with customers, this is probably not a good idea at this point in time.

Once I got to meet with the proper employee, who was very nice (and the only one wearing a mask), I learned that there was a $10 fee deducted from the closing balance. Given this was a free checking account, I was puzzled, and asked him what it was for. He explained to me sheepishly that the bank that acquired them does not have a free checking account equivalent to the one I had with the old bank, and that the fee was for my account balance being below a fairly high minimum required balance. So the new bank didn’t grandfather in the old bank’s account policies. I don’t recall being notified of this amidst all the communications about the changeover.

Anyways, I’m very glad I made the switch. It seems that the customer gets lost in the shuffle often during an acquisition. Given that the customer base in a huge reason for an acquisition, this is so ironic. As a marketer, I am always intrigued by these situations. How many customers have left (or will leave) because of such ineptitude?

What could they have done better? Understand the customer. Do a good job of making sure the acquired customers were a part of the conversation in the midst of the changeover. Grandfather in the old bank’s policies, at least for a clearly stated period of time. Ask questions. Do some research on the customers.

Thank you for reading. Part venting, part cautionary tale, part marketing case study.