Bankers getting to know the customers - revolutionary!!!

I saw a report yesterday morning on high street banks and how they're going back to rewarding current and loyal customers by giving them better interest rates, mortgage and insurance deals etc.  A good example is the Halifax and the £5 per month campaign for current account holders. The rationale behind some of the benefits offered to existing customers is that if the bank has access to your current account activity they can better assess what you can and can't afford in terms of mortgages and loans.  Is it just me or was this how we used to do banking business years ago????
The report also mentioned Bank Managers are now making a concerted effort to get to know their customers individually and to better understand each persons circumstances.  Again....didn't this make sense years ago???!!!  It seems crazy that it has taken decades of technological advances, investment and understanding for businesses to see that what ultimately matters most is the customer and what they actually need and what works for them (for banks surely that means long-term more than short-term customer needs being met).

Perhaps the internet and indeed the social media revolution has finally made us understand each other again!  Everyone complained that new barriers were being built when we all started emailing and texting instead of talking.  Is it only now though that we are actually listening to each other again, and not just online,? With the explosion of citizen journalism we're actually appreciating the importance of talking and engaging with people and trying to create something that people actually want.

This new era of understanding translates directly to the workplace.  We're now better educated and connected than ever before and if we don't like something (and sometimes someone) we can shout about it to a listening audience.  This is the same for employees, people in general want to have a say, have input and to be a part of what is supplied to the customer.  And do you know what?  This actually works better for business.  We have to treat people and indeed staff with the respect they deserve and also to expect them to respond in an educated, intelligent and responsible (and this is key) manner.
At the end of the day we all want to feel like we're doing business with people, and we all want ultimately to feel loved!