TD - the Right Way to Play

People don't usually love their bank. Usually they don't even like it. But TD defies gravity on this one.  I've written about this before - TD is a loved bank in a very unloved category. What I didn't write was that I had been a customer of a major bank, grown very unhappy with its institutional feel and lack of flexibility. I disliked the personal interactions- because, at the time, it seemed as if the employees were counting seconds to coffee breaks. So, I switched to Canada's most loved bank. I've been happy ever since. And, here's another personal story why TD constantly knocks it out of the park.

Every year, students on university campuses across the country organize a Right to Play fundraiser. For those unfamiliar with the charity, Right to Play is an organization that helps disadvantaged kids in disadvantaged regions play sport.  The concept is that these kids learn teamwork, leadership, and receive all the healthy mind and body benefits that accrue with team sport. Right to Play helps kids in my city and around the world.

Right to play organizers                                  Tastiness of a pie

The event that the students organized at my school works like this.  The student volunteers get some profs, faculty members, and student leaders to donate 15 minutes to be pied in the face. A "pie-er" is then selected based on the highest donation targeted towards the volunteer pie-ee.  Its a lot of fun, especially if you like whipped cream. Embodied in this approach is a fun competition amongst the volunteers to have the highest donation level.  And this is where TD fits in.

I decided to ask for a few donations from some of the business that I frequent.  After explaining I the charity, and the friendly competition that I was in,  Right to play generosity of employees of different businesses.  But when I visited my local TD branch, the bank manager called me into this office.   He said, "Bob, we love to help out good causes... we love to help local causes.  And, we love you as a client.  Let's see what we can do. I'll see if I can shake the tree..."

I walked out with a $500 check made out to Right to Play and saw first hand the excitement of the Right to Play organizers. (This size of this donation is in another stratosphere). In the back of my mind, I couldn't help think of the contrast of my old bank. This is not just about the donation, but from the warmth and love from which it was given. Thanks TD!

Good luck Right to Play. And to the organizers of the fundraiser- well done!

And, to my pie-ers.... I'll get you back ;-)

Why I love TD

Years ago I was asked to be in a focus group on banking.  One of the major banks wanted the 20-somethings perspectives on banks, the various bank brands, and banking services.  This is before the time when I was a brand guy. But I remember very vividly the responses that came from the room. Not a lot were positive.  Canadian banks, at the time were, in the news for having record profits, providing record bonuses to the top execs, while being less than generous to their staff.  I remember my comment quite vividly:

"I don't like any of the major banks.  They open up after I go to work. They close before I finish my work.  And while they have record profits, their pens are always out of ink and chained to the desk. The environment is impersonal and so transactional."

This focus group, of course, was in the pre-internet banking era.

But still today, brands from the banking industry rank among the lowest of all industries.  The average Canadian banking brand according to 5 years of data I have collected on www.BrandMojo.org fares only slightly better than tobacco and energy brands- and about the same as telecom brands.

This is a shame.  Banks should not anywhere close to brands that kill and pollute.  

Most major banks in Canada don't get it.  I'm pretty sure most people are not richer than they think (Scotia Bank).  I'm also pretty sure that the little fellow in a banker's hat does not evoke the warm the fuzzy feelings that I suspect the agency is trying to deliver with the Royal Bank character.

The banks that have a significantly higher rankings according to my research is the TD- and some Credit Unions in Western Canada.  They do something differently.

What makes the TD a cut above, at least from my personal experience is that the bankers their understand that banking is not about finance.  Banking (and bankers) is what enables a person to follow and reach his dreams.  The bank helps an individual finance his degree not for education's sake, but for him to achieve his dream job. The bank is  the institution that doesn't finance a house, but it enables a nest for a mom, a safe home for junior, and a feeling of provision by dad and mom. The bank is company that helps family support long-term care for a loved one so that the loved one receives the best possible care possible. And finally, the bank is also the place to deposit the first monies of a bank account for a baby- not just a secure depository, but a jumpstart in life for the dreams that parents, Godparents, friends and family want for the blank-slate life.  In short, the bank ought be an emotional safe haven.  The trust of a bank is not just the security of "not losing my money" , but of  having a trusted banker guide you on ever step of your major life's journey's and dreams.  In this context, bankers should be as as much people people as finance people. Most major banks don't get this. But my local TD branch sure does. 

A few weeks ago, I popped in to my local TD branch to open up a bank account for our new baby. It only took a few minutes to open the account- but the staff greeted my wife and I with open arms and a gift-wrapped parcel.  "Here's a little something for your little daughter!" The staff had pooled together some donations, bought a baby-gift-pack and wanted to share in the excitement of our new milestone.  It was so touching. It still moves me thinking about it. I love my bankers. 

My TD branch understands me.  They get my family because they are, in a way, part of my family.  I'm not richer than I think. I don't want some dude in a bowler hat.  I want them around me to help me build my mortgage to build my home for my family and jumpstart a great life for our little one. I want my bank to be with me and my family on our journey through life.