Notably Quotable: Anger, Blame and Dynamite

“Anger turned to skepticism and a certain caution. And it lasted for decades.”

— Author Steve Fraser, referring to banks after the Great Depression

“The fundamental value of financial institutions is clouded by the anger and the confusion people feel.”

— Anne Finucane, CMO/BofA

“Consumers are past the angry phase, and everybody’s waiting to see what the banks will do.”

— Val DiFebo, President/Deutsch

“It takes dynamite to remove customers from their bank.”

— James Van Dyke, President/Javelin Research

“My bank, HSBC, drives me nuts lately, because you see really good advertising but it doesn’t connect with the call center experience, and that’s what really matters. We have put way too much emphasis on advertising and communications in the past and not enough on the actual experience.”

— Karl Heiselman, CEO/Wolff Olins

“Customer perceptions of banks-and the accompanying brand image-has declined for a third consecutive year. Low customer ratings in the areas of overall reputation, customer focus and personal service primarily drive the drop in brand image among banks.”

— JD Powers

“Innovation’ has largely been to blame for the crisis – not the positive innovation that characterizes customer-focused products and service development, but the creation of complex financial instruments that were designed to keep the bubble from bursting.”

— Adobe Systems (PDF whitepaper)

“Banks do not naturally present themselves as institutions with which many people want to do business. Banks continue to talk about growing their relationships with their customers. However, research has indicated that the majority of customers have no interest in developing any relationship with their bank.”

— Gartner Research