Australian banks aren’t known for their generosity of spirit, despite achieving record multi-billion dollar profits year after year.
In misery and apathy Australian consumers and businesses alike have been trained to expect nothing after decades of banks sneakily clipping the ticket here, and adding unjustifiable extra fees there, and then crying poor when certain Federal Treasurers ask them to graciously chip in a little bit more to lift the budget out of deficit.
Which provides such a stark contract to the email I received today from St George Bank, who have out of the blue recognised my loyalty by waiving all account fees for 12 months (total value $60).
‘Dear Philip,’ they warmly greeted me. ‘We’d like to thank you for banking with us by waiving your monthly account service fee on your St.George Complete Freedom account ending in XXX for the next 12 months. We’re pleased you have chosen us to take care of your banking needs. Regards, The St.George team.’
Having banked with St George for 17 years, for which I’ve receive nothing whatsoever in all that time, I’m genuinely thrilled.
Could it be that someone within the bank has finally managed to sell the message up the chain that customers appreciated being recognised and rewarded? Whoever they are, they deserve a raise and a promotion.
Go St George!
Philip Shelper is a specialist loyalty consultant based in Sydney, Australia who obsesses about everything to do with loyalty and rewards. His company Loyalty & Reward Co are a leading loyalty consulting firm.
Let’s connect! https://au.linkedin.com/in/philipshelper
