May 30, 2009

This week I joined the legions of Americans who received notice that their credit card APR was rising, for no reason other than they can. In my case, it’s doubling, from 7.24 % to 14.24%. I know some people would be happy with 14%, but I’m used to low rates on all my cards. On a personal level I’m outraged, as I’ve had this card for years and I’m never late with a payment. As a consultant, I’m baffled at this business model.

This card is issued by Chase, and like many banks, Chase has it’s share of problems. Unfortunately, they think the way to solve their problems is on the back of loyal customers. I saw a web headline the other day that said “Banks are Declaring War…on You.” Sadly that appears true.

Why not use this economic crisis as an opportunity to change strategy, and communicate a message to customers and consumers that we’ll find a way to weather this crisis, but not at customer expense? Banks are perceived as greedy and evil these days, so why add evidence to the perception by punishing loyal customers? Why not present Chase as a bank that will innovate and improve itself and find other ways to cut costs and increase revenue?

But Chase won’t. It’s a dinosaur and unwilling to shed its arrogant behavior anytime soon. I called Chase and let them know my response, which is to shred my Chase card and never use it again. More people should do the same.

May 14, 2009

The economy is going to recover. When, I don’t know, nobody does. But it will recover. It always does. One big question is what it will look like when that happens. I think it’s essential for those who fret about the economy to look at small signs of change. Not in the usual way, not by looking at the usual indicators like the Dow or consumer spending reports and the like. I mean take notice of small changes or tweaks in the nature of how business is operating in the turmoil of today.

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article the other day describing how while companies are laying off large numbers of employees, they are also hiring at the same time. But who they’re hiring and for what skills is what’s different. In the struggle to survive, businesses are changing and adapting as they try to navigate their way to a profitable future. So rather than hire for the same skill sets for the same jobs in the same way, new employees are brought on for positions that didn’t exist before or have changed job descriptions in adaptive ways.

Every business in America should be doing this. We don’t know how radical or how nuanced the changes in the economy will turn out to be, but smart companies will watch carefully and make these adaptive changes along the way. Those that do will be in a better position to thrive once we pull out of this. In fact, they may well begin to thrive now! Why not? What better time to innovate and experiment? Hunkering down will leave you where you were before this whole mess began. What’s the point of that? Crisis brings opportunity for those willing to step up, and they will see success first.