Wells Fargo was in the news over the last for days and they explained the fired over 5300 employees and were fined $185 Million Dollars. That’s pretty heavy duty and what caused this is pretty obvious for most anyone in the corporate world.
I went into my local pharmacy recently to pick up a prescription and they asked me if I wanted a flu shot. I explained that I have never had a flu shot in my life and also that I will never have one in my life as a result of the research. No big deal. My scientific reasons aside I also pay attention and it’s August, 90 degrees outside and no one I know has had the flu. I asked why they were asking so early. The clerk explained that the parent company required them to give 8 shots per day, every day and when they don’t it causes a warning from the head office and people lose their jobs!
It’s pretty clear to me that someone not wanting a flu shot in August or at all is a shitty reason for someone to lose their job or even be reprimanded. I wonder what happened at Wells Fargo? Doing minimal research I was able to find an interview with a previous Wells Fargo employee who was one of the 5300 who were fired and she said the pressure from above was so great that it was all she focused on and her actual job became secondary to getting a new account. All she talked about were Home Equity Lines, Credit Cards, IRA’s, Overdraft Protection and anything Wells made money on irrespective of customer need. This past employee had a child to feed and felt that to be pretty important.
Prior to writing this I reached out to several people I know who work at about the same level on the totem pole as a teller and was told stories similar to what this terminated teller told. Yes, this happens. Company Greed over Customer Need is not good for any of us and hurts all of us from a credibility point of view. I wrote recently about what to say and this is about what to sell. Trust takes time to build and moments to destroy. How much time will Wells need to rebuild what they lost with their corporate tactics? Is there that much time? Got an idea what your customer really wants? Selling them what they really need as opposed to what upper management forces you to sell? Start listening to them even more closely! What does your customer actually need?
My name is Steven Clauson and I coach people who want to come out of the stands and onto the field or are already on the field and demand to work to their potential. Are you in the stands or on the field? Winners are on the field playing full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.stevenclauson.com