If you’re happy at your bank, raise your hand

If you’re unhappy with overdraft charges or upset with the fact that you had to buy all new checks when your bank went under, you’re suprisingly in the minority.  An online survey by Digital Insight reported by Pacific Business News revealed that people are happy or very happy with their current bank.  The results were reached by polling both individuals and small businesses.  On a whole, people and businesses felt secure in their current bank’s stability.  Maybe people feel secure and content is because they have no choice in where they can bank.  With a lot of community banks closing and large banks like Wamu going under, people have little choice in where to bank.  In Chicago you have to trek halfway across the city to find a non-Chase ATM.  Just last week, the local bank on my corner was taken over by the feds leaving my community with even less options in banking than they had the week before.  It seems that the banks that have survived know that customers have little choice and take advantage of the situation.  Overdraft fees have gone up and free checking seems a thing of the past.

The company who performed the survey felt differently saying that during this economic strain, ““Financial institutions have an unprecedented opportunity to seize this moment and provide the tools and services that their customers and members want and need.”  Clearly, the surveyor’s opinion has not been heard by the banks yet, and when they do get the poll results, I think the banks will do nothing to improve service.  After all, if people are already so content  why should the banks even try?