I took a call from a telemarketer the other night. (My wife was walking, the kids were somewhat calm, and it wouldn’t crimp my style, so I took the call.) The man at the other end was asking if I would be interested in hearing about lowering my mortgage interest rate. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t bother, but I had the time and the curiosity.
I did think it odd that I would then be transferred to someone else. Not sure what the financial arrangement was, but I did end up with an agent for Countrywide Mortgage (which already has our note.)
The agent (Jason Cline) was professional and understanding, and ran a check on our credit. He then plugged in the numbers on conversions to 15 and 20-year mortgages. What I heard shocked me.
“To be honest, Mr. Pigott, there’s nothing we can do that would help you. The amount of your percentage drop would be so small, you’d end up paying off your house faster if you just applied the same amount on your current mortgage.”
In other words, what he said was “Despite what might be in MY best interest to move you to a closing on a different contract, it wouldn’t benefit YOU in the least to do so.” For all the talk about Social Media (and the marketing thereof), here were the principles in action. Put the customer and the customer’s needs first. Countrywide isn’t the first to do this — Progressive Insurance has made a nice living providing quotes for several competitors, even when those quotes beat their own. It’s relationship marketing, and it works because I now place Countrywide in a much higher level of trust than the rest of the pack.
So, Countrywide… if you’re listening, give Jason a big pat on the back. Maybe even a raise. I’m sure that for every one of me he lets go, you’ll get a couple who appreciate the integrity and transparency. You might not get them the first time, but you’ll get them the next time and every one thereafter. You sure got my attention.
[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Countrywide Mortgage, economics, marketing[/tags]
Maybe that is the trick? Or am I too cynical?
Raanan,
I hate to admit it, but that’s what I was thinking as well…and let me tell you why.
People who hail from nations/cities, etc., where this type of disingenuous behaviour is the norm — rather than the exception — have a tendency to view these types of sincere appeals with heapful skepticism. I can tell you all about how the locals here in Prague would view an appeal such as this one. Even the vaunted Google has a hard time making inroads into the dominant position held by local (and Czech) powerhouse search engine Seznam.cz (meaning, “directory”).
I had a great interaction with a real estate salesman when I was down in Bucharest, Romania last for business. I just wanted to see how the sales interaction went — given that the project was all foreign-financed and all 5-star treatment ‘n stuff — from the marketing collateral, to their website, to the brand of coffee they served me as the well-kempt and flawless English-speaking agent went over all the sales material…still, from what I’d known about Romania going in and from my many previous dealings with some very shady local Romanian businessmen, I was thinking to myself — “yeah, yeah, I know you’ve got British and American diplomats living in the complex and you’ve got staff from one of Austria’s largest banks living in the tower adjacent — but what’s the catch?!”
I’m going to side with Jason (Cline) in this instance — I believe his appeal was sincere. I’ve had those types of interactions before on the other side of the Pond as well, so I’d know…
Way to go, Ike. Thanks for the good cheer.
What have we become when sincerity and honesty is viewed as a trick?
It is a great advertisement for Country Wide though, so maybe…..
…so maybe, just maybe there is something insincere and dishonest afoot?
(just kidding.)
Disclaimer: I do not receive compensation for anything written on this site. I have had no dealings with Countrywide other than the fact they’ve bought three of my mortgages, and called me recently. I own no stake in Countrywide.
(feel better?) 😉
Weren’t CountryWide and Ameriquest among the leading culprits in the predatory lending and mortgage meltdown?
Anyway, thanks for the friendship, support, and ridicule on Twitter. I am subscribing via LiveBookmarks to the RSS feed of this internet weblog.
http://twitter.com/vaspersthegrate
Countrywide might well have been in the middle of that — or at least the part the company, anyway. Big firms have been known to have very different corporate cultures, so it doesn’t shock me that a company accused of being a “predatory lender” can engage in a practice that through my experience was anything but predatory.
Here’s the weird part — I’ve never signed a mortgage with Countrywide. They just always end up buying the mortgage that I already have.