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This was posted today on the FB page of Andy Frisella. He owns 1st Phorm supplements and hosts the MFCEO podcast. It has some great lessons on how to treat your customers in business and why one idiot working for you can wreck a lot of repeat sales...
One of the most important business lessons you will EVER read.
For the purpose of a lesson...Id like to share a story regarding an issue with a small town bank here called Farmers & Merchants Bank
I have been a customer of this bank since 2011. My wife's family recommended this bank as this is the one they have used for years. So knowing & trusting them I used this bank to finance a property we own in the area.
I have never been late on a payment...ever. So in November I had an issue where the web portal I use through Bank of America failed to put any of that months payments through to any of the companies I tried to pay. In my mind they had been paid. 30 days or so later I started getting calls from companies about me being 30 days past due. So I quickly went online to try and figure out what happened and sure enough none of the bills had been paid.
I quickly contacted over a dozen companies and 10 of the 12 were very accommodating and took my payment history into account and agreed to not mark my credit 30 days past as long as I paid up to date immediately. Which I did. The only two that would not work with me were FMB and American Express.
I have worked very hard to maintain a great credit rating so to maintain this I hired a reputable credit repair company to help me get the two outstanding marls against me removed. American Express immediately removed the mark once they were contacted by the company. Farmers & Merchants Bank did not.
Now here we are 6 months + later and I get a phone call a few weeks ago from Brenda at FMB.
From the very beginning I could tell this wasnt going to be a good conversation because of the annoyance in her voice. "Yeah, we keep getting these letters asking us to remove the mark on your credit report" "Yeah...thats not going to happen". Super professional (sarcasm).
I went on to explain that they were the only company not helping me out on this and that considering my history with the bank I dont understand what the problem is here. "Well clearly it was late" she tells me. "Nobody is contesting that it was late...as mentioned before it was a freak incident that was out of my control or anyone elses". "Well I guess I could talk to my supervisor...but its still not gonna happen" She says. Don't you think talking to your supervisor would be a good idea before you called me?!
I went on to explain that I do not "need" a note through them for the property...or any bank. I utilized FMB because I am a business owner of multiple small and mid sized businesses and I love to support local business.
I also went on to explain that if they dont remove the mark I will be taking my business elsewhere, closing the loan immediately and letting everyone I know publicly that a company that manages finances for people would rather lose 150k+ in interest over the term of the loan than be flexible and work with loyal customers in situations like this where they have a proven perfect track record and a situation out of their control causes an issue.
Her reply was "So now you're threatening me".
I hung up the phone as I had reached a boiling point and had to walk into another meeting and didnt have time to argue. ...but no...it wasn't a threat. It was an explanation of what would happen if the bank didnt work with me here.
So today I get a letter telling me that "although my business was valued" they would not be removing the mark. They then told me that if I got a letter head from Bank of America stating that they take responsibility for the issue and I also provided them with the contact email & phone number of the person who wrote the letter they would be happy to "look further into the issue" but that "even if the did look further there was no guarantee of the mark being removed.
So basically what you're saying is...instead of working with me out of trust, loyalty & customer history like the 11 other companies did...all much bigger than you...you need a note from my Dr/Teacher/Mom/Dad to validate myself...and even after I spend the time and effort to get the note you still arent going to guarantee the mark is removed?
So should I bill you out for my time on this?
Here is what they aren't aware of and why you should treat EVERY SINGLE PERSON like they are YOUR ONLY CUSTOMER 100% of the time:
1. Im planning on moving one of our company HQ's into their area in the next 18 months along with 75+ employees who will all need banking services.
2. I happen to host an extremely popular business podcast that gets a million + downloads a month...and this is a PERFECT lesson to teach on it regarding policy & rigidity getting in the way of smart business.
3. I am going to probably use this story every single time I speak for life as an example of policy and rigidity costing businesses lifetime relationships and profit.
4. All of you are reading this now and Im sure your impression of this brand isnt favorable after reading it.
Lets be real...if a financial institution such as a bank...in this case Farmers & Merchants Bank are this unwilling to work with people who give you their loyal business when a small issue arises and would rather lose the interest and future business you make from having mine and other peoples business you have truly lost touch with the fact that WE are the customer...and there are PLENTY of other options out there. This is a prime example of a bank thinking people dont have options and instead of working with them...flex their muscles, intimidate and bully people at will...which has become all too common in the banking industry.
Never be short sighted in business.
Business is LONG. Its not about today. Its about the next 20 years.
Never let "Policy" or being rigid cloud your judgement for doing the right thing. It can cost you a hell of a lot more than you think. You shoukd treat every single customer as if they are going to walk away from you and go directly to the internet and post a story about your interaction...good or bad.
Would that affect your attention to detail? If you absolutely KNEW that every person you interacted with was going to write a story about you...how would that affect your actions, efforts & ethics?
Keep that in mind...because thats the world we are living in.
One of the most important business lessons you will EVER read.
For the purpose of a lesson...Id like to share a story regarding an issue with a small town bank here called Farmers & Merchants Bank
I have been a customer of this bank since 2011. My wife's family recommended this bank as this is the one they have used for years. So knowing & trusting them I used this bank to finance a property we own in the area.
I have never been late on a payment...ever. So in November I had an issue where the web portal I use through Bank of America failed to put any of that months payments through to any of the companies I tried to pay. In my mind they had been paid. 30 days or so later I started getting calls from companies about me being 30 days past due. So I quickly went online to try and figure out what happened and sure enough none of the bills had been paid.
I quickly contacted over a dozen companies and 10 of the 12 were very accommodating and took my payment history into account and agreed to not mark my credit 30 days past as long as I paid up to date immediately. Which I did. The only two that would not work with me were FMB and American Express.
I have worked very hard to maintain a great credit rating so to maintain this I hired a reputable credit repair company to help me get the two outstanding marls against me removed. American Express immediately removed the mark once they were contacted by the company. Farmers & Merchants Bank did not.
Now here we are 6 months + later and I get a phone call a few weeks ago from Brenda at FMB.
From the very beginning I could tell this wasnt going to be a good conversation because of the annoyance in her voice. "Yeah, we keep getting these letters asking us to remove the mark on your credit report" "Yeah...thats not going to happen". Super professional (sarcasm).
I went on to explain that they were the only company not helping me out on this and that considering my history with the bank I dont understand what the problem is here. "Well clearly it was late" she tells me. "Nobody is contesting that it was late...as mentioned before it was a freak incident that was out of my control or anyone elses". "Well I guess I could talk to my supervisor...but its still not gonna happen" She says. Don't you think talking to your supervisor would be a good idea before you called me?!
I went on to explain that I do not "need" a note through them for the property...or any bank. I utilized FMB because I am a business owner of multiple small and mid sized businesses and I love to support local business.
I also went on to explain that if they dont remove the mark I will be taking my business elsewhere, closing the loan immediately and letting everyone I know publicly that a company that manages finances for people would rather lose 150k+ in interest over the term of the loan than be flexible and work with loyal customers in situations like this where they have a proven perfect track record and a situation out of their control causes an issue.
Her reply was "So now you're threatening me".
I hung up the phone as I had reached a boiling point and had to walk into another meeting and didnt have time to argue. ...but no...it wasn't a threat. It was an explanation of what would happen if the bank didnt work with me here.
So today I get a letter telling me that "although my business was valued" they would not be removing the mark. They then told me that if I got a letter head from Bank of America stating that they take responsibility for the issue and I also provided them with the contact email & phone number of the person who wrote the letter they would be happy to "look further into the issue" but that "even if the did look further there was no guarantee of the mark being removed.
So basically what you're saying is...instead of working with me out of trust, loyalty & customer history like the 11 other companies did...all much bigger than you...you need a note from my Dr/Teacher/Mom/Dad to validate myself...and even after I spend the time and effort to get the note you still arent going to guarantee the mark is removed?
So should I bill you out for my time on this?
Here is what they aren't aware of and why you should treat EVERY SINGLE PERSON like they are YOUR ONLY CUSTOMER 100% of the time:
1. Im planning on moving one of our company HQ's into their area in the next 18 months along with 75+ employees who will all need banking services.
2. I happen to host an extremely popular business podcast that gets a million + downloads a month...and this is a PERFECT lesson to teach on it regarding policy & rigidity getting in the way of smart business.
3. I am going to probably use this story every single time I speak for life as an example of policy and rigidity costing businesses lifetime relationships and profit.
4. All of you are reading this now and Im sure your impression of this brand isnt favorable after reading it.
Lets be real...if a financial institution such as a bank...in this case Farmers & Merchants Bank are this unwilling to work with people who give you their loyal business when a small issue arises and would rather lose the interest and future business you make from having mine and other peoples business you have truly lost touch with the fact that WE are the customer...and there are PLENTY of other options out there. This is a prime example of a bank thinking people dont have options and instead of working with them...flex their muscles, intimidate and bully people at will...which has become all too common in the banking industry.
Never be short sighted in business.
Business is LONG. Its not about today. Its about the next 20 years.
Never let "Policy" or being rigid cloud your judgement for doing the right thing. It can cost you a hell of a lot more than you think. You shoukd treat every single customer as if they are going to walk away from you and go directly to the internet and post a story about your interaction...good or bad.
Would that affect your attention to detail? If you absolutely KNEW that every person you interacted with was going to write a story about you...how would that affect your actions, efforts & ethics?
Keep that in mind...because thats the world we are living in.
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