On Monday, February 4, a little piece of Canadiana is no more.  Yesterday was the official date where banks and businesses would no longer receive  pennies.  Yes, that useless little copper coloured currency has gone the way of the Canadian one a two dollar bills – out of circulation.  The difference being that the one and two dollar bills were replaced by coins. Why? Because they were actually worth something.  The penny?  Not so much.

I like money, who doesn’t? But for most people the penny has become a nuisance. For most people it’s been like this for a long time.  How many times have you reached into your pocket to retrieve change and penny drops on the ground.  You look down at and say to yourself, “it’s not worth the effort of bending over and picking it up”. So you just leave it and walk away.  You do this not because you think you’re a baller.  You leave it be because it’s not worth the effort of bending all the way down to get it.  What would total strangers think of you if you we’re to ?  Not going to allow anyone to think poorly of you over a penny.  Nope, that useless, bacteria infested coin just isn’t worth a simple knee bend.

I suspect right now you’re thinking, “Soon the penny will be history, and I wish someone would provide me with some useless information about the penny which might come handy if I ever play Trivial Pursuit again”. Lucky you!  The penny was put into circulation in 1858.  The high cost of copper back in 1920 forced the government to make the penny smaller in size.   The Queens likeness first appeared on the penny in 1965. Shall I go on? No, eh?  What if I was to say, “A penny for your thoughts?”  Just dawned on me that “a penny for your thoughts” really means that you don’t put any kind of value to what the other person is thinking.  Finally! There’s some value in a penny.

 Until next time,

 Cheers.

“The greatest gift we can give our supporters is an opportunity to learn.”

I’m always on the lookout for way to bring value to our customers, beyond the standard products and services; not an easy task, especially if you’re looking for originality.  What’s original today?  See, it’s not easy.  In our industry it’s become common place to equate corporate customer appreciation with socializing events and off-site adventures.  I understand why organizations do this.  Saying thank you to your customers by taking them too far off destinations, mingling and bonding, has its merits.  But how do you come up with something just a little bit different?  My view on customers appreciation trips may be a little jaded but it’s my way of thinking and I just can’t shake it.  It goes something like this – MERIX pays our customers a lot of money in trailer fess.  My hope is that our customers earn obscene sums of money, and they can use some of that money to travel anywhere they want in the world, with people they actually like.  With that in mind how can we put our twist on a customer appreciation event?  Best place to start for me was to think of my own personal experiences, and what event or trip stood out for me; I kept coming back to one.

For a number of years Genworth Financial would invite a number of their customers to attend the “World Business Forum” in New York.  It was a trip I looked forward to every year.  I felt privileged to be asked to attend.  The invited guests were business heads representing the lending industry.  To be in their company was a privilege, but to be able to attend an event such as the World Business Forum was also a great educational opportunity for me.  It was an opportunity that I always relished, and is demonstrated by the fact that I continued to attended, along with the MERIX Senior Leadership Team, long after Genworth stopped making it an annual event.  The value I derived had nothing to do with the fact that the the dime was on someone else.  The experience is well worth the money, my own money.  Combine the fact that educational experience is held in one of the greatest cities in the world, New York, woohoo! 

So if this trip had such an effect on me, why beat myself over the head to come up with something totally original?  For years I wanted to do this, and this is the year.  We’re announcing that we’re going to be taking a number of our supports, who reached status with MERIX Financial, to the World Business Forum in New York this October.  The greatest gift we can give our supporters is an opportunity to learn; to open their minds to other ways of doing things.  The speakers at the World Business Forum are not motivational speakers.  The speakers at the World Business Forum are the champions of industries.  They don’t just teach, they do.  Presidents, CEOs, activists, authors, leadership of all stripes speak at this event.  They share their stories, their success’ and their concerns.  The best part of attending for me is the humbling experience I go through.  If I start to believe my own press clipping, well, being surrounded by that much success and brain power makes me realize I’m a guppy in the grand scheme of things.  At the conclusion of the World Business Forum I reminded that I have to up my game, and MERIX wants to help our supports up their game as well.  Oh yeah, and have a blast in New York.  To our loyal supporters, hope to see you in New York.

Until next time,

Cheers.

As I mentioned in my last blog, the purpose of my visit to Mexico last week  was to attend the TMG conference.  I was asked to take part on a lender panel, where I and a number of my esteemed lender colleagues,  would answer questions about our industry.  A question that was put forth to me was, “do I believe that regulators would make further changes to mortgage rules in 2013?”  My crystal ball was a little foggy that morning, it could have been the tequila, so I applied reasoning when answering.  I answered, “no “.  No one can say with absolute certainty what the government may or may not do.  But today’s reality leads me to believe that any further changes to mortgage rules may create unintended consequences, which could result in harming our economy even further.   My view is that of CAAMP’S, the most recent changes to mortgages rules may have over reached.  If the most recent changes to mortgage rules was intended to slow down home sales, then one would have to say mission accomplished.  Due to all the changes to mortgage rules over the last three years all of us are feeling an impact in some form or another.  This is the new norm, and time will tell if regulators went too far this time.  So, I’m less concerned about further changes to mortgage rules in the immediate future than I am about rhetoric.

There’s a good article in the Globe and Mail about what could possibly happen to the Canadian housing market when you cry wolf enough times.  Consumer psyche is a fragile thing.  If people in authority, and those supposedly in the know, say it often enough consumers will deem it to be so.  Good evidence of this came from the most recent Maritz survey on behalf of CAAMP.   Over sixty per cent of the general population believe Canadians have taken on too much debt.  Yet close to seventy per cent of the respondents do not believe it applies to them.  So how did they come to formulate this opinion?  Did they conduct a survey in their neighborhood?  Are they all qualified economists?  They form their opinion based on headlines,  and those that are responsible for fanning the flames.  It’s the rhetoric that I’m most concerned about now.  The mind is a powerful thing, and those in sales know how import their psyche is when it comes to success and failure.  Never would I suggest to ignore the facts as it relates to business.  That’s suicide.  Those of us in the industry can separate facts from hyperbole.  But does the consumer do the same?  Of course not.  They’ll form their opinion on sound bites and snippets of information.  Thus my concern about rhetoric, especially coming from those who have fallen in love with the sound of their own voice.

Here’s the link to the Globe and Mail article, it’s a good read. 

Until next time,

Cheers.

This blog is coming to you late because the last few days have been an “adventure” and my thoughts were somewhat preoccupied.  I write this blog at thirty five thousand feet in the air and my intentions are to share with you some of the worst services levels I have ever encountered while flying.  That’s truly remarkable given the hundreds of flights I have taken.  As an example I flew over seventy six thousand miles with Air Canada alone in 2012.  I thought I saw it all until my most recent trip.

The purpose of my trip was to attend the TMG conference in Mexico.  In no shape or form was my experience a reflection of the conference.  The conference itself was great.  TMG invited Kathy Gregory and me to attend, and to speak during the business session they held for all their brokers attending the conference.  Unfortunately Kathy had to cancel the trip due to circumstances beyond her control but I was going to attend because it was TMG.  The Mortgage Group is a valued customer of ours but more importantly because of my personal relationship with Grant and Debbie Thomas.  If they ask me to attend, I’m there.  I tried to do the right thing by supporting my friends but I also decided that I should get back earlier because plenty of work waits for me at the office.  Simple, no?  Clearly not.  

My Executive Assistant booked a new flight for me to come back last Saturday, meaning that I would only be in Mexico for 48 hours.  No problem, worth the effort for reasons noted above.  I was originally scheduled to come back on the following Tuesday, yesterday.  So there I am on Saturday bidding farewell to those who attended the conference.  Off to the airport I go, along with other conference attendees who were leaving a little earlier.  Of our group I was the last to check in at the Air Canada counter, and this where it gets nuts.  Here’s how the conversation went with the Air Canada employee who was supposed to check me in:

AC Employee:  I’m sorry sir but ju can’t go on de plane because ju name not on de list.

Bozic: It must be some kind of mistake, please check again.

AC Employee: No mistake,  ju name not on de list.

Bozic: (Holding up my iPhone to show him my e-ticket).  Is this an Air Canada confirmation?

AC Employee: Si

Bozic: Is it a confirmation for this flight?

AC Employee: Si

Bozic: Am I getting on this flight?

AC Employee: No

Bozic: Why?

AC Employee: Ju name not on de list.

Bozic: How do I get my name on the list?

AC Employee: Ju got to talk to Air Canada.

Bozic: Is this the Air Canada check in counter?

AC Employee: Si

Bozic: At this moment do you represent Air Canada?

AC Employee: Si

Bozic: Can I talk to you about getting my name on the list.

AC Employee: Si

Bozic: Will you help me to get my name on the list?

AC Employee:  No

Bozic: Why not?

AC Employee: Ju name not on de list.

I am not kidding, and they wouldn’t allow me on the flight.  To make matters worse I contacted Aeroplan, because I have a number that I can call because I’m a “valued” customer at Air Canada.  I call the number and the person on the phone says; “I’m sorry sir but there’s nothing I can do because you booked this trip on-line and not through Aeroplan”.  So Air Canada’s solution was to strand a passenger and not care at all about the damage they were doing to their own brand; strict adherence to an employee procedural manual trumped creative thought and problem solving by Air Canada employees.  I get it, people make mistakes.  But there’s something called duty of care, and in my case Air Canada failed miserably in this regard.   On the other hand, Best Points Travel who didn’t even book my flight back, we’re called upon to see if they could offer any assistance.  They worked the phones tirelessly, calling everyone they could at Air Canada to see if they could get me back home. When they realized that Air Canada didn’t care at all they immediately booked me on a flight with United Airlines the following day.  To Donna and Jennifer at Best Points travel, thank you for doing what Air Canada failed to do, actually giving a damn about a customer.

I have to say the following day got even more comical.  Back to the airport I went on Sunday, this was really starting to look like the movie Groundhog’s Day.  I said goodbye to everyone at the conference, again, jokingly saying I’ll see them at dinner tonight.  I arrived at the airport, checked in at the Untied counter, ecstatic that my name was on the list.  Boarding pass in hand I happily headed to the bar for a nice cold cervesa.  I had few…. because I waited for five hours before United finally announced the flight was cancelled because of bad weather.  Hand to go god I burst out laughing.  I can’t blame United Airlines for bad weather.  It happens, but I never should have been at the airport for that flight.  I was only there because of Air Canada’s total disregard for a customer, and ultimately their hiring practices.

Remember, I was originally booked to come back on the Tuesday, and even with all the changes made to my flights I didn’t cancel the original Tuesday flight.  I also never checked out of my hotel room early because I paid for it until Tuesday.  Thankfully that voice in my head told me not to cancel the original flight and hotel room.  I needed both to preserve some sense of sanity.  And thankfully Sunwing Airlines got me home, and they gave me five hours of flight time to think and craft this blog.  My little blog has had four hundred thousand page visits in just year and half, and now I got to share my Air Canada customer service experience with thousands of people.  I feel a little better now.

Until next time

Cheers

I feel like that old man slowly watching his friends die off; checking every day to see if his name has made into the obituary section, realizing it hasn’t he goes about his day.

In the short time that I’ve been blogging I’ve written a few farewell blogs to lenders who are no longer with us.  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we bid so long to ING in the broker channel.

Firstly, if the news that the ING brand will no longer be available in the broker channel, well, I’m surprised – anyone would be surprised.  Scotia Bank, who purchased ING Canada, is focused on franchising customers and their strategy is to enhance and grow their own brand.  So it was only a matter of time before orange would become totally red.  I guess the time is now.  The loss of any lender in our space is troublesome, on many levels. Competition has many benefits, pricing, product innovation, and credibility.  To think this announcement won’t create a dominos effect is a little naive.  Recently some lenders have announced a reduction in finder’s fee.  Why? Because they can.  That’s what happens when choices become limited.  Don’t believe me? Ask any broker in Australia.  I’m not suggesting there will be a mad rush by lenders to reduce compensation but with every announcement telling us another lender has exited the market the possibility increases.  It’s Darwin’s theory of business evolution.

For those who have supported ING you should take a moment to thank them for their support of your business.  They paid well, they had aggressive pricing, and from what I heard they made tremendous strides from a service standpoint.  If you were a supporter of ING you can’t complain, it was a good run.

Until next time

Cheers