That time RBC told me my bank wasn’t real.

The Pitch

Last year Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) had a promotion:

Bring in your bank statement and talk to us about your everyday banking.

If we can’t convince you to switch to RBC, you get a $50 prepaid credit card.

I looked at the fine print and it said “any Canadian bank”.

Tangerine is my only bank and they are awesome so I wondered how RBC would convince me to switch.

I mean, if Tangerine wasn’t part of this promotion they would have said something like:

Only bring in your statement if you pay your bank fees and your bank has a branch that you never visit.

But they didn’t say that.

So I made an appointment to meet with RBC and discuss.

The Bank Appointment

When I got there and showed my Tangerine bank statement, she immediately seemed defeated.

I asked her to convince me to switch. I said:

Show me how RBC is better.

It might seem like I was taunting her but I was truthfully asking.

Here’s her chance to get me in her branch, at her desk.

Face to face opportunity with a prospective client.

But she didn’t do anything.

The Missed Opportunity

She started with saying that Tangerine is not a real bank so she can’t win.

I asked her if my bank wasn’t real, why didn’t they exclude it from the promotion.

No comment.

I asked her if my bank wasn’t real how come I haven’t needed any other bank than Tangerine for 6 years.

Am I some kind of weirdo who never needs a branch?

Then she said I only came here for the free $50.

I said:

That’s too far.

You created this promotion.

You invited me here.

For what?

So you could insult my bank, insult my banking behaviour and then claim I’m taking advantage of your company and only here for a handout?

Well, I never.

If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will

It’s not my fault you didn’t anticipate Tangerine customers would come in.

You could have said so many things to win me over.

Maybe take the time to ask me why I love no fee banking so much.

You could have said anything to show that you actually want me as a customer.

But you gave up.

Why?

Because I don’t want to be a customer on your terms.

You could have discussed the Tangerine strategy with your coworkers and said I’m gonna get me one of them Tangeriners.

But you weren’t interested in that.

You made a promotion to try to convince people and then you didn’t take the time to ask them what would convince them.

And you wonder why more and more people are shifting to Tangerine every day.