No, this is not a sexually-themed post. That would be too enjoyable.
I'm talking about how the many companies out there are doing their best to screw their customers.
Airlines, credit card companies, banks - you name a place, they are doing their best to find any way to get that extra dime out of you.
Take the airlines. Just less than two years ago, there was no extra cost to check a single bag on your flight. Now almost every single US-based airline charges at least $15 for the first bag (some as much as $50 for the first bag). I could almost understand a charge for a second bag, but for the first? No wonder why people are trying to travel lighter or using the carry-on method. I'm heading to Hawaii in a few weeks and I don't plan on taking more than one checked bag (I've got my laptop bag and a small carry-on that I'm taking).
I understand the gas costs went up and that more weight on a plane means the plane gets less mileage. But it just seems like they really didn't care when they jacked up the price.
How about banks. Beside the fact that a lot of them have failed, interest paid on regular savings accounts went from about 4% to well under 1%. Not only are they using your money to get more interest, they are now paying you much less. And overdraft fees are almost $35 per incident. Check caching fees. Monthly online bill pay charges. A extra fee for going over the number of transactions you have on your accounts. It's just insane. Again, the double whammy with a lot of the banks was that they lost their shirts on the mortgage side of things, and now are taking it out on the regular customers. Hey, I never had a mortgage with your bank, why come after my money to pay for your short-sighted mistakes.
Credit card companies, like the banks, are looking for every penny they can get. The APR percentages are rising and not only quickly, but at almost double-digit rates. Take Capital One. I've enjoyed a nice 9% APR on my purchases. Not too bad. But starting in April, that goes up to 17.4% - more than an 8% jump. So what did I do to deserve that - miss a payment? Nope. Not a single payment missed in the 6 years I've had this card. Is that anyway to treat a person who's been ever so loyal to you, paid your bill on time and has already given you more interest than I wanted to pay? I don't think so. And my other cards are doing the same thing. Taking on an extra 4% and 5% to my previously-enjoyable low APR rates. Guess I need to rethink carrying any balances.
So where does all this stop? Who knows. I just listed three common industries that seem to not care about their customers. There are multitudes of companies out there that have adopted this raping of the masses. They are only interested in gouging each every nickel they can.
And the sad thing is that it may not even help their bottom line. Layoffs and cutbacks are still going to happen. These guys are bleeding billions.
All I can say is that they need to watch what they do and who they are "doing". The day may soon arrive when their customers are doing better and don't need the services of their high interest rates and carrying balances from month-to-month. And when that day hits, the pillage practices and the extra buck or two they net from that will come back to haunt them.
It's not too late to turn back. Rescind your rate hikes. Drop the first checked baggage fee. Give your customers an extra percentage of interest on the money they keep in your bank. In due time, you will see more than just increased earnings. You will retain loyal customers. And that's worth more than any extra buck or two you will get today.
