What always puzzled me was the company’s lack of introspection. Rather than attacking the root of the lack of the production (high rates, high fees, poor customer service), upper management always shifted the blame on the sales representatives. Employees were told that they were not aggressive enough, or that they did not sufficiently “break down” the customer to the point where the customer felt that a HSBC loan was their last and only option.
Lots of time, effort, and money was spent on figuring out new ways to trick the customer into taking applications over the phone and to ultimately sign their equity away on the dotted line, but very little emphasis was ever placed on developing better programs and products that could really truly benefit a customer and yet still remain profitable. To me it was a reflection of the hubris of the company’s executives, who refused to admit that a problem they were directly responsible for had anything to do with them.
Editor’s note: Are you wondering about HSBC plc’s dedication to HSBC Finance, or HSBC USA’s support for HSBC Finance? what is HSBC’s plan for the former Household International division? The next article in this series will address that issue.
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