“If you’re helping someone and expecting something in return, you’re doing business not kindness.” Unknown
Recently I held the door for an elderly woman leaving a Wells Fargo bank as I was entering. She seemed preoccupied and didn’t return my smile. While I was being helped, this same woman came back to the counter and asked about her recent transaction. The employee was visibly annoyed that she had to remind the woman she withdrew $100 from her savings.
I read about Wells Fargo’s post scandal scrutiny and $185 million fine for opening more than 2 million bank and credit card accounts without customers’ permission. John Stumpf, the CEO, apologized and accepted full responsibility for unethical sales practices. The source for deceptive practices stemmed from incentives and goals meant to motivate their workforce.
But their values claim they have a Culture of Caring SM. They cared enough about that catchphrase to have it registered as a service mark. Here is this vision from their site.
Our success has as much to do with attitude as aptitude — what’s in our hearts, not just our heads. Our success depends on how much we care for each other, our customers, our communities, and our stockholders. Our culture is reflected in the essence of our brand: “Together we’ll go farSM.” We want our team members to feel proud of working for a company that truly cares about people, goes the extra mile to do what’s right — in good times and bad — and believes that “better” is possible for everyone. Central to our culture are the following mindsets: • Caring. Caring is core to who we are. We always want to be warm, welcoming, and humble; to take the time to listen and genuinely understand; to have empathy during the tough times; and to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
Perhaps Wells Fargo needs to do more training.
For the rest of us, this should serve as a wake up call. Are we using our words to teach and not demonstrating behavior that supports our talk? That is not a mixed message, but a very clear one. When raising children, they will do as you do, not as you say.
Have a great week!
Tina Nocera, Founder