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I just received a significant piece of correspondence from the bank I have been with for 40 years.
It was important, great, huge even, but it captures in a nutshell how far we have come from the bank where you knew your manager and there was a genuine relationship, to the one that exists today, which is nothing but a connection to an entity that just processes transactions.
My significant letter starts with..
“Dear Customer(s)..
Even though it was written to me this generic piece of auto generated crap didn’t use my name and tried to cover itself with an “s” in plural just in case the generic BS correspondence was intended for more than one person.
As well as the humbo jumbo in the middle section which did include a “thank you for your business” message there was some technical stuff with no effort at providing an actual relevant contact person if I had a query about any of it.
And then it signed off .., with a
“Your sincerely“
that’s another joke, this was auto generated.
and then the “person” who sent it.
“The Manager“ , no name, and no actual signature (does this possibly make this correspondence invalid?).
The only contact details on the letter was a phone number in Dublin – I can imagine how far I would get if I called the number and asked to speak to the person who sent me the letter.
I’m fairly sure I would get a “your call is being recorded“.
Oh, I forgot to mention what was included in the humbo jumbo, a pure classic..
“Should you require any further details or other AIB products please do not hesitate to contact your Relationship Manager at your local branch”
Hey AIB and everyone on this automation, bot, AI, less people drive, let’s stop pretending… this is not a relationship and no advertising campaign can rescue this empty BS.
Getting simple things like important correspondence right, even in an automated world might just make a difference.
Backing Brave?? …Maybe start with real people?
Rant over ..
Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion Communications who offer Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing services from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland
