Voting

For those of you in Iowa, you either looked forward to or are thankful that we just finished the Caucus season. For those of you living somewhere besides Iowa, the state's "First in the Nation" status regarding the Presidential contest does in fact come with some baggage. We've had more access and exposure to reporters from around the nation than is ever required. In the last two weeks, at least half the time my commute included a news crew doing a story about the conflict....oops, I mean contest.  But now that is all over for a while. The candidates have packed up all of their slogans and promises and moved on to New Hampshire, and I am sure I speak for many when I tell them to travel carefully. Even though we worried a blizzard might keep people here another day or so, it looks as though they are gone.

So, let's talk about the real power of voting. I am not talking about the caucuses, although all of that was important, I am talking about voting economically. We've all thought about this at one time or another, and have probably executed this at one time, but if you are like me, I always wonder if it really matters.  Well, I am here to tell you for me, it does.

You know me - a story has to come with this. I have been with the same bank for over 26 years. I moved to this bank in 1990 because I discovered a very interesting thing. At the time, if you were with a bank in one state, and at an ATM in another state, you could not make a deposit.  At the time I was with a local Des Moines bank and working in Kansas City - in the days before direct deposit. In order to deposit a paycheck, I had to drive to Iowa and find an ATM in the middle of the night. Yes, if there is any doubt, the deposit needed to get into the account and HOW. So when the smoke cleared, we moved to a bank with a national footprint so this wouldn't happen again. And I have been with them for 26 years. Until a week ago.

Over the time, this bank has added more and more fees, as so many have, and I just accepted it, but a week or so ago, they charged me $37.00 for something which was incorrect, at least in my opinion (by the way, remember, I am the customer here). When I called to speak with someone, I was pleased to be talking to a call center immediately identified as being in Rhode Island. Okay, good first step. Then after I explained what my issue was, to my amazement and disappointment, the person on the other end of the phone tried to explain to me why I was wrong, and in what seemed to me to be a very demeaning tone. This after they identified me at the beginning of the call as a "Preferred" customer. By the end of the call I had to resort to telling them in the event they did not want to fix this, I  would just leave. They fixed it and I came off the phone angry enough I decided to leave anyway.

In steps JP at a local bank. I've used this institution to finance the Toybox for several years now, and even though JP on occasion asked me about other opportunities, he never pushed or treated me like any less of a customer because he only carried the paper on the Toybox. When I called him to make an appointment, he told me he was working on Saturday and typically after the rush first thing in the morning there was a very quiet period of time. I went in during that window and found things to be just as JP had said. We sat and talked about all of the things he could do, and I set up accounts with him on the spot. I also believe if there is ever an issue with anything, JP will take the time to listen to me and come up with a solution appropriate for the circumstances.

Now, in looking at the total current assets of the bank I am leaving, they show 2.144 trillion dollars. I feel highly confident nobody in that organization woke up this morning and said, "Crap, I think Jim Martin left us."  From the point of view of voting economically, this did not affect the company I left even one bit. But it mattered to me.

I feel as though I will be taken better care of in a more local situation. I know the name of the person I am dealing with, and I believe that getting my business matters to him. And that is good enough for me. Thank you, JP, for caring enough to treat me as not just a customer, but also as a person. I look forward to doing business with you.