Garth Rattray | From Sagicor to Saggy Core

First, I need to make a correction to my last article, ‘Politicians, listen to the deafening silence’. My year reference should have been to the general election of 2016, not 2011.

Now to the matter at hand. I sat in the parking lot of the New Kingston Sagicor Bank waiting patiently on my wife. I ruminated on the numerous problems that we were facing with that institution. We have been with that bank since 1990. Although we have our personal and company accounts there, we feel as if we are being treated like mendicants. However, we are not alone, the long lines outside the bank tell the story of other ‘customers’ suffering the same fate.

In today’s world, it is essential to have a bank account. But banking is a very arduous undertaking for many citizens. If you want to enter Sagicor, be prepared for the possibility of waiting for a very long time. If you are going to the ‘customer service’ (truly, an oxymoron), be advised that it is understaffed, requires the patience of Job and the strength of Sampson – especially if you are elderly. The seats reserved for our ageing population are quickly filled. It is obvious that the staff members are doing their best, but the top managers are so far removed from the common people (the ones who fuel the engine of banking) that customers are suffering.

I was forced to present myself to the bank because my credit card was taking several years to arrive. Yes, several years. After almost two hours of standing outside, then inside the bank, and after much signing of documents, investigations revealed that the bank did not send the card to me by mail or by courier (as they usually do). Further, they did not inform me that the replacement was ready. Consequently, they destroyed the undelivered, uncollected card. Through no fault of my own, I had to begin the process all over again. This time, I was assured that it would take five working days and that they would contact me. Well, that was in early February. So, my wife went to check and there is still no card there.

POS MACHINE

Our little business uses a point of sale (POS) device. Sagicor has left us without the use of this essential machine for four to five months on several occasions. I did not sit idly by. Desperate calls to Sagicor Bank were a total waste of time. On two of those long stretches, I had to take the useless machine in and leave it. The second to last time that the POS device went down, I took that one in and asked for contact information for the relevant department. That was flatly refused. So, I wrote a letter outlining the hardships being suffered for months with no end in sight, and it was hand delivered. But there was no acknowledgement or reply. I wrote a second, similar letter. It, too, was totally ignored. It was as if I did not even exist!

I researched “Sagicor” and learned that the word has two roots – ‘sage’ (meaning wise), and ‘cor’ meaning heart or judgement. They say that they reflect their dominant philosophy of wisdom with heart. Obviously, the years and changing times have warped whatever mirror they use to see their reflection, because what many customers are seeing is that, at its core, Sagicor is sagging. They don’t realise that it’s unwise to be cold-hearted.

Banks were once institutions for depositing your money and earning enough interest to, at the very least, help to pay some bills. However, in today’s Jamaica, anything that you deposit in a commercial savings account loses value. If you withdraw your deposit and the interest one year later, it cannot buy what you bought with that money last year. Between the fees, the ridiculously low savings interest rates, taxes, and the inflation rate, customers lose the value of their money. Banks have become places where your money has limited insurance (thank God for that anyway) and also where your account can be remotely accessed to fulfil the demands of modern living.

NOT TO CUSTOMER

Now, the only financial benefit of banking is to the bank, not to the customer. They put you through the ringer so that you can deposit your money, then they use your money to invest in loans and other businesses. They rake in billions in profit, then they turn around and give ‘customers’ useless pittance.

It is unconscionable that banks can declare so much profit every year. They pay their top execs many tens of millions annually, and make their big investors very happy, but the people who they depend on to feed into that money-making factory are only rewarded with measly scraps. I find their business practices to be ethically deplorable. They can afford to pass on more of their profit to their customers.

They make us believe that, when we save, we will earn some useful interest. That fallacy leaves people feeling disappointed, duped, disillusioned, and desperate. Consequently, some people seek out alternative sources of income. Some even engage in illegal activities because big businesses are not setting good examples with equity and morality.

This article became necessary because the ordinary folk, like me, are unable to communicate with the people who can get things done and make positive changes in the bank. We are blocked, and the promise of ‘escalation’ is only used to calm distressed customers.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.