Dale Says

It is hard to know who to address this letter to because the letter I am responding to did not include the name of anyone at Bank of America. That makes me assume that no one at your organization wanted to take responsibility for sending the letter.

Your letter dated January 15, 2013 informed me that the customer service for my Bank of America checking account is being downgraded. You put it this way:

“After a recent review, we believe your above-referenced account is better aligned to the value and convenience available through the standard Bank of America service options available to consumer customers, rather than through Wealth Management Banking.”

Your letter also included an extensive schedule of additional fees that your letter described as “Standard Account Fees” that will now be charged to my account; including Check Image Service, Non-Bank of America ATM fees, etc., etc.

I have been a loyal customer of Bank of America for over 30 years. My checking account is at Bank of America. I have a savings account at Bank of America. My mortgage loan is through Bank of America. I have an equity loan account at Bank of America, and I have borrowed money from your bank. I assume that Bank of America has made a profit from each of those relationships.

My loyalty to Bank of America has been repaid (twice now) by downgrading the level of service provided to me. A few years ago, Bank of America laid off my personal banker, who had provided excellent, personal service to me. Since then, I have had to deal with your Wealth Management Banking personnel, who, while friendly have no relationship with me, don’t know me, and have no interest in my history with your bank. And now, I have received a letter that informs me that my continued loyalty is to be repaid by further downgrading the level of customer service — and by a plethora of additional account fees.

I want someone at Bank of America to know how it feels to receive a letter like that.

• Your letter makes me feel that Bank of America no longer cares about customer loyalty.
• Your letter makes me believe that Bank of America’s top priority is income and profit – not customers.
• Your letter makes me feel disappointed in Bank of America, which used to be a much better organization.
• Your letter encourages me to tell everyone I know that Bank of America is a cold, impersonal corporation that can be counted on to treat its customers coldly and to provide them with the cheapest possible customer service.

The Bank of America that I signed up with 30 years ago was proud of its heritage, proud of its customer relationships, and proud of providing caring, personal service.

The Bank of America that I am now dealing with has no similarity to that once proud organization. The corporation I am now dealing with apparently values profit above all – even above its customer relationships. That is a very bad path for Bank of America to follow.

Perhaps I read your letter wrong. Perhaps what you really wanted to say is that you value customers who are loyal to Bank of America. Perhaps you sent the letter to me by mistake, and perhaps you will change your mind and decide to reward three decades of loyalty by retaining my current status and waiving the account fees. We will see.

I am providing my name and contact information below, so that you can contact me to let me know how Bank of America really feels about me as a customer.

Sincerely,