RealAudioA Moment of Sanity & Fun! VORTEX REALITY REPORT & UNREALITY TRIVIA QUIZ!
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It is in that light that we begin the story of goings on at one of California's biggest financial institutions, Well Fargo Bank. For those of you who aren't familiar with Wells, perhaps out of state, you might still do well to heed this saga; you can probably look forward to similar amusing goings-on coming to banks near you!
I've always tried my darndest to give Wells credit where credit was due. When they improved their phone service security through the implementation of user-selected PINs, I publicly applauded. But a fascinating (in a "Dr. Strangelove" sort of way) evolution that is now occurring in the banking industry (particularly Wells at the moment), which seems likely to significantly reduce privacy and increase errors, and it's all happening under the banner of the "customer service" credo.
For years now, we've watched as the big banks have gobbled up the smaller ones, creating mega-banks of enormous size and power. Regulators usually approve these acquisitions after assurances that the end result will be the oft-quoted "better service and lower costs" we hear about so often, but somehow never seem to see. As the choices that consumers have for banking are reduced (and for most people, not dealing with banks at all is an unviable option), the long-range logistical goals of the industry begin to take shape. In the case of Wells, arguably up until recently the most visible bank in California, that shape appears to be a desire to be less a bank and more a supermarket chain! And this is where the privacy problems rear their ugly heads.
In the Los Angeles area for example, Wells has been closing down neighborhood branches (and their attendant ATMs) at an alarming pace. In some suburban areas of the city, multiple branches which represented the only facilities for many miles have been closing one after another. Wells, however, has an answer for this, their exciting new supermarket banking centers (apparently the newest phase of joint ventures)--that's where they tell you to go if you complain about having no nearby branch anymore.
What's a supermarket banking center? Let's go visit one inside a nearby large supermarket. Be sure to bring the day's receipts along if you're a merchant! After pulling into the crowded parking lot and searching around ten minutes for a parking place, we finally find one and work our way towards the door. Oops, almost got run over by a guy racing out the door with a shopping cart full of beer! And watch out for that spilled milk on the floor. Hey, this is excitement in banking!
Stepping further inside, we're immediately greeted with the blaring announcements of the public address system, informing us of a special on one-ply toilet paper in aisle 12. Hmm. Where's that bank? Ah, here it is, nestled against the narrow aisle that runs behind the seemingly endless rows of checkout counters, replete with overflowing shopping carts, screaming children, and all manner of humanity that populate this chaotic funzone.
The "bank" itself is a miracle of compactness amidst the clutter. A couple of ATM units sitting closely side by side, a small low counter with a few CRTs, a couple of tired looking Wells employees, and a bored looking guard. All of this is conviently sandwiched between the much larger tobacco products section and the twenty pound bags of clumping cat litter.
One can understand why the bank personnel look so tired--people keep coming up to them (often while they're in the midst of banking transactions) asking for the location of canned tuna, navel oranges, and other delectables. Well, the need for concentration on a single task in the financial industry is overrated anyway...
With all this exciting activity packed so closely together, it shouldn't seem surprising that privacy must give way to the needs of nearby food shoppers. The folks using the ATMs are presumably unconcerned that their every touch of the screen and punch of the keyboard are visible to literally dozens of folks, from the checkout baggers and customers in line, to the BBQ king apparently studying the 50 pound bags of charcoal briquettes nearby.
And what's that customer at the bank counter saying so loudly over the din to the bank rep? It sounds like his name and Social Security Number! And why is that fellow standing around over there staring so intently at the form being filled out over at the bank counter? Just bored waiting for his food to be bagged I guess--can't really help it with so much concentrated action afoot! Luckily, we don't have to worry about people who might actually enter such establishments with the intent of collecting personal information. Who would sink so low as to use supermarkets, the cornerstone of our modern communities, for nefarious purposes?
Is it really this bad? Yes. Amazingly so. And what if you, for some perverse reason, would prefer to do your banking in a bank that is not an adjunct to a massive food sales operation? Well, it can be done, but given the falling number of banks and branches, it's going to get tougher and tougher, and entail further and further travel to ever more crowded remaining branches.
Let's be clear about this. If some persons wish to do banking when they go to the market, and don't mind the logistical inanity of the setup, they should be free to do so. Unfortunately many of these folks will also be oblivious to the privacy problems inherent in those locations, and will be easy prey for the prying eyes, but hey, it's convenient, right? It's another matter, however, when branch closings and general policy effectively force customers into this mode.
If you try complain about this trend, be prepared for the usual replay of "Family Feud" surveys. You'll be told that "most people like to do their banking in the supermarket." Well gee whiz, I guess I'm just out of step. And what of merchants or other businesspersons who visit the bank frequently, even daily--customers who might find the atmosphere of the supermarket decidedly non-optimal? The phone reps will imply that "special" branches for business may be opening over "the next couple of years," but they can't tell you where at this point.
"Gee, you certainly managed to close the branches faster than that!"
Ouch! Wrong thing to say. I was treated to one of the nastiest retorts from a Wells Fargo employee, or any phone service rep, I've had the displeasure to absorb. In fact, there seems to be a lot of touchiness with Wells' representatives on this topic if you ask about it. One begins to wonder if perhaps more than a few people have been complaining about the branch closings and their relegation to the brave new world of supermarket high finance...
Oh, by the way, Wells' phone agents tell me that there's no official mechanism to complain directly to corporate staff about these sorts of issues. You're supposed to send a letter to "any branch" you wish. They seem to discourage direct communications about these issues to Wells' CEO:
Mr. Paul Hazen
Wells Fargo
P.O. Box 63710
San Francisco, CA 94163
So the shape of the future becomes a bit more clear, and our little saga draws to a close. The bank buildings fade away, to be replaced by supermarket cubbyholes and online service screens (Wells' Internet access online service conveniently requires your Social Security Number and a password for access; one less number to remember, eh?) All those little branches taking up room scattered around the city can be transformed into parking lots and mini-malls, and we all move forward into a shining world of fruit, nuts, cigarettes, and ATM cards. It's a good time to be alive.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum ---
http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Host, "Vortex Reality Report & Unreality Trivia Quiz"
--- http://www.vortex.com/reality
However, at the same time, what authorities now term "shop 'n' rob" attacks are becoming increasingly common at supermarket bank branches, which by their very nature usually have minimal security. The risk to shoppers (who often of course include parents accompanied by children) from this new style of armed robbery may potentially be very great.
So it appears that as a consequence of the moves by the financial industry to convert banking into a phase of food shopping, customers might sometimes end up losing a lot more than their privacy.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum ---
http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Host, "Vortex Reality Report & Unreality Trivia Quiz"
--- http://www.vortex.com/reality
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