I recently had to pay a visit to the local branch of the bank that holds my mortgage and before I left was told that if I was eligible for free premium checking (with free checks no less), free savings, and a free safe deposit box. While a nice offer—it wasn’t enough to even tempt me to transfer my allegiance from Wachovia. The reason is simple—Wachovia may not give me a free safe deposit box or free checks, however they do provide something that is priceless—stellar customer service and support.
I have been a Wachovia customer for a little over three years because of my mother. She loves Wachovia, and convinced me that I should give them a shot—a choice which has paid off time and time again. No matter the customer service channel—in a branch or on the phone—I have always been surprised and delighted by the level of service that I receive. Isn’t this a cornerstone of superior customer service—providing surprise and delight with every interaction?
My most recent surprise and delight occurred in the aftermath of a scammer attempting to make unauthorized transactions using my debit card/check card. The aforementioned card was in my wallet, however someone had a copy of it and was attempting to make transactions that could very easily have depleted my checking account. Luckily for me, Wachovia’s cutting edge fraud detection software identified the fraudulent transactions and declined them before I was even aware that there was a problem—and before a single dollar left my account. This isn’t the most surprising and delightful aspect of my customer experience—the actual service that I received from Wachovia representatives.
By the time I learned of the fraudulent activity occurring in my checking account, it was close to 11pm on a Friday night (Wachovia’s fraud detection department tried to reach me hours prior, however being a Friday night I wasn’t near a phone). When I got the message alerting me to potential fraudulent activity I returned the call, however assumed that being past 10pm on a Friday night I would receive sub-par customer support (if I reached a live person at all). Imagine my surprise and delight when I immediately got not only a live person…but a very helpful representative at that. My questions were answered, my concerns addressed, and my mind left at ease—which trumps a free safe deposit box any day of the week.
