It’s worth mentioning first that before this summer, I was a Scotiabank customer for two years, and generally fairly happy with them. I had both a chequing and savings account. This summer, however, I realized I wasn’t using the accounts enough to be able to justify the fees I was being charged (and why was I being charged fees in the first place?! I was on a Student account!), so I decided to close my accounts. My accounts were officially shut down in June, and I was pleased with the way everything had turned out. Until…
One day in July, I received a mailing from Scotiabank– it was a brochure for a new credit card they had. I already have a credit card, and the yearly fees on this one were terrible ($39/year for only 2% CashBack? Really not worth it), so I threw the brochure out. I also received another mailing around this time for something else– insurance? I can’t remember, but it was also from Scotiabank, and I remember thinking “why are they only sending me stuff now, when I’m no longer even a client?” I never received this kind of thing in the mail when I was a client. Little did I know that things would get worse…
I started receiving calls at 5pm once a week from an unknown 1-888 number. I don’t usually pick up my phone at this time, because I’m almost always on a bus, heading home. So one day, I called the number back, and discovered that it was a Scotiabank number. Hmm. The next week (last week), I got called by that number EVERY SINGLE WEEKDAY. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, all at 5pm. You’d think they’d wise up after a while and call at a different time? But no. Friday I was actually able to pick up, thanks to missing my bus, and did I ever have some questions for that Scotiabank representative!
Firstly, the reason they were calling was to try and sell me that same credit card for which I’d received a brochure already. You’d also think that if you hadn’t sent back the application which was attached to the brochure, one could reasonably assume that you weren’t interested in the card, right? Apparently not. The lady on the phone went on for 5 minutes, extolling the greatness of this card, and I just stayed quiet until she was done. So then I said that I had a few questions for her, and she sounded very eager to answer them… no doubt she thought the questions were about the credit card, and that she was already thinking about her commission.
The conversation after that went something like this:
Me: So… I’m just wondering why I’ve been called non-stop about this credit card? I’m not even a Scotiabank customer anymore! I stopped being a customer last month.
Her: Well… um… it sometimes takes up to 30 days for your name to be removed from our database…
Me: Yes, but I only started getting mailings and calls AFTER I stopped giving you guys my business. Speaking of which, I already got a mailing about this card, and being called about it every day for a week is pretty annoying. You’re not going to get many people signing up if you keep doing that!
Her: Err…well… It may take another 3-4 days for your name to be taken out of our system, but I can take it out right now.
Me: Please do. I don’t want to get called every day anymore about a card I don’t even want!
And after that, she was tripping over herself in her effort to end the call. My goodness. 30 days to remove one’s name from a database?! Cold-calling every single darn day in an effort to get me to sign up for a card I don’t even need, AFTER already sending me a brochure about it? In fact, trying to sell me a $39/year card in the first place when the only product I ever had with Scotiabank was a STUDENT account? Really unintelligent, Scotiabank. Very, very unintelligent of you. Obviously you’re not doing so well if you have to resort to measures like these to get new signups.
Do you, Scotiabank, honestly think that STUDENTS are going to sign up for a card that costs an exhorbitant annual fee like that, for minimal benefits? I already have a card that gives me a more than decent amount of CashBack, for no annual fee at all. We’re not stupid people, Scotiabank! And even if I was in the market for a new card, I would have been thoroughly turned off by your cold-calling skills (or lack thereof), and would have looked elsewhere. You shouldn’t have to forcibly push products like that on people… if you offer something good, people will sign up, but only if there are far more positives than negatives. Spend a little more time doing your market research, Scotiabank, and back off. If you call me again, I will be more than slightly unfriendly. Shape up.
P.S.: The number they were calling me from was 1-888-882-3811. If you get a call (or twenty) from this number, beware– Scotiabank might be trying to push useless products on you.