Sneaky Call
I got a call while I was out. It was from my bank, Chase. The young gentleman on my voicemail sounded like a respectable bank representative. The message went something like this:
"Hello, Mr Peters. This is Tim from Chase bank. I'm calling because we have a few questions about your account. Please call me at 123-4567."
Great. So what did I do now? Did I forget to make a deposit? Are we overdrawn? Did someone get hold of our checking information and drain our account of all it's funds?
As panic settled around my heart, I tried to dial the phone with one hand while the other was attempting to login to my online banking account. I hear the phone ringing in my ear as I'm fumbling with my password.
"Hello? Chase Bank. Bruce speaking."
"Is Tim there? He left a message on my voicemail."
"One moment..."
My password is entered and the screen goes blank in preparation to show me my account information.
"This is Tim speaking. How may I help you?"
"Hi, Tim. This is Greg Peters. I have a message on my voicemail that there was some sort of problem with my account?"
The screen pops up. Everything looks fine.
"Oh, no, Mr. Peters. There's no problem. I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about some great deals we're tunning right now on our home equity line of credit..."
Needless to say, I was relieved that there wasn't any real problem. Also needless to say, I was so irritated with this over-eager manipulative buffoon that I wouldn't have taken his line of credit if he had offered to pay me to do it.
I'm in sales training right now. I understand that sometimes you have to do something a little extra to get past the electronic gatekeepers.
But there are lines you shouldn't cross.
If the salesperson is attempting to start out our relationship with duplicity he is doing both of us a disservice. Even if I desperately need what he's selling, I won't even consider it. If we've already got an existing relationship, he's gone a long way toward damaging it irreparably. I don't think I'm quite ready to pull my funds out of Chase just yet, but it certainly wouldn't take much to push me over that edge.
So, what do you think? Am I overreacting?
3 comments:
I get those "call wolf" voice mails all the time. I am so dulled to them, that if someone did leave an important message, (and by that I mean, "We just found $50 grand that belongs in your account!") I wouldn't know about it because I delete before the end of the message.
He should have left a message that said we are offering some specials right now to our loyal customers and you qualify. If you are interested in hearing more about these special offers please call us back.
Permission marketing.
Jacki, will you please call my bank, my cell phone company, the dealership where I bought my car, the credit card company, the ????? and leave that message for them. It would REALLY make me happy.
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