HOW refreshing to see a couple of Australia’s major corporations paying attention to the concerns of their customers for a change.
This week, Telstra bowed to public pressure and dumped its $2.20 administration charge for people paying phone bills by post or over the counter.
In admitting they had made a mistake to impose the fee in the first place, the telco gives us a glimmer of hope that, somewhere out there, someone might actually be listening. There was a strong customer backlash after the charge was introduced in September, and Telstra CEO David Thodey eventually conceded the company had got it wrong.
“I have listened to the community debate and believe that the way we introduced the fee did not align with our commitment to put customers back at the heart of our business,” he said.
“It is now clear to me that introducing this fee across our existing plans was the wrong way to encourage customers to move to electronic payments.”
This follows a decision last month by National Australia Bank to scrap account-keeping fees for two of its popular accounts, and cut or slash various credit card penalties.
Announcing the move, an NAB spokeswoman reportedly said: “We are listening to customers, we want to improve our competitiveness and we want to be looking at and abolishing fees that customers see as unfair.”
Could this be the start of a big business revolution? Is it possible we could see a return to the days when the customer was (almost) always right, and when people power could result in unpopular policies being overturned by executives who gave a damn about more than just their bottom line?
Let’s start by getting rid of those money-grabbing charges for using automatic teller machines.
Banks firstly encouraged us to use ATMs by imposing fees for too many over-the-counter transactions, but now it can end up costing us big-time when we visit the hole in the wall.
Some financial institutions impose a charge once a fee-free withdrawal allowance is surpassed.
And if the only ATM at hand is that of a rival bank or private operator, you can get slugged by them as well, making a $20 withdrawal barely worthwhile if it attracts up to $4 in costs.
Another of my bugbears is having to pay to drive on a toll road at a time when ongoing roadworks cause regular congestion and long delays.
We’re paying for a service - quick and unimpeded travel - but if we’re stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic while upgrades, resurfacing work and further developments are carried out, we are not getting what we are paying for.
Major retail chains have also introduced recent policies and ‘innovations’ that I take issue with.
Take those self-serve check-outs, for instance.
Granted, they should theoretically save time and reduce queues, but despite what the companies involved might say, they are taking the place of real living, breathing, working people.
I have used them a couple of times, but not without having to call the supervisor for assistance because the screen had frozen, or the scanner was malfunctioning, or my load was too heavy or too light for the baggage area and had caused the computer to become confused.
I despise waiting in queues, but unless I’m late for a very important date, give me a check-out operator any day - especially one with a friendly smile and a pleasant demeanour.
The trend towards coin-deposit shopping trolleys is another that I loathe, primarily because I never seem to have a $1 or $2 coin in my wallet when I go to the supermarkets that use them.
I usually end up having to buy something small to break a note before I start to gather groceries.
An attendant at the information desk of my local store said recently she was sick of people asking for change to use the trolleys.
OK, I know the coin-deposit system has its merits and helps reduce the 60,000 or so trolleys that disappear from Victorian stores each year, and it also forces people to return them instead of leaving them lying around where they can roll into vehicles in the car parks.
So my annoyance is also directed at the hoons who pinch them and push them over the edge of the Bendigo Creek, as well as the lazy sods who, until it cost them money, could never be bothered walking that extra 20m to put them back in the trolley collection racks.
Finally, I find it quite ironic that one retail giant is now so environmentally friendly that it has stopped providing free plastic bags for its customers - but it is not so concerned about the issue that it’s willing to pay the cost.
You can still get your goods in a plastic bag, albeit compostable - you just have to pay for it.
I recently saw a senior citizen leaving a store that had this policy, her hands clutching several items of underwear she had just purchased.
She turned to her friend and commented that she was not about to pay for a plastic bag for her goods on principle.
“It’s just a bit inconvenient when you’re buying your smalls,” she said indignantly.
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