When the calendar turned to July last week, it marked the 6-month anniversary of Wells Fargo and Wachovia joining forces to become One Team, Twice As Strong. It also represented the same milestone for our blog!
It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyways) that we hope you've found the information provided here over the first half of 2009 to be helpful, informative and maybe even a little entertaining.
But what you may not realize is how useful the last six months of hearing directly from all of you has been for us. Your questions and comments have provided us with a unique insight into how to better help all of our customers understand how the merger impacts them directly.
Today we've updated the Wells Fargo and Wachovia FAQs posted on the Wells Fargo-Wachovia Information Center to clarify and add details about the topics you've told us you want to know more about. In addition to an overall refresh of both the "Q's" and "A's," we've spelled out the FDIC's expanded account insurance coverage, added information to let you know if and what types of checks you may be able to cash at our bank stores, and even explained why Wells Fargo calls its banking locations "stores."
We thank you for your readership and look forward to another great 6 months of blogging with you. And, as always, keep the feedback coming.
I logged onto Wachovia Possibilites Rewards and saw that the program is changing a little bit on August 1. Are the credit cards of Wells Fargo and Wachovia about to integrate?
Any chance of an ATM being added in downtown Annapolis,MD? in the near future???
As a customer for 25+ years (First Georgia Bank + Decatur Federal -> First Union -> Wachovia) - some observations:
Corporate ego aside, the re-branding of Wachovia to Wells Fargo is an amazing waste of resources, especially in this time of economic uncertainty. The expenditure of tens of millions of dollars in new signage alone is absurd.
Add to that, the reprinting of everything from checks & deposit tickets to brochures & other promotional materiel. And, for what benefit?
Essentially, the two brands now complement each other on opposite sides of the Mississippi. With few exceptions, the Wells Fargo name is foreign in Wachovia markets and vice-versa.
Unlike the purchase of Wachovia by First Union and subsequent retirement of the tarnished FU brand, Wachovia remains a trusted and respected name in the areas it serves. To coordinate internal systems and ensure compatibility within is desirable and to be expected. Yet, it would take years for the economies of scale to recoup the exorbitant cost of wholesale re-branding.
To the Customer [Investors should know what is behind the facade], the transparency of a well-known brand will encourage continued business. To a client in the East, the only thing Wells Fargo means is perhaps a stagecoach or the Pony Express. All that is needed to convey the solidarity of the company is the four word tag line already in use: A Wells Fargo Company. That's all! It would also help cement employee loyalty.
Brand strength has always been paramount to major organizations like Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and Kraft. And, regardless of whether or not government funds are allocated to the proposed changes, it will speak volumes about the financial philosophy behind the merger.
Nationwide brick-and-mortar convenience is no longer a mainstay in the financial industry. Wells Fargo can avoid making a serious, egotistical mistake. By rethinking the complete re-branding of Wachovia, you can retain many customers who now realize they can get more personal attention and better returns on their investments elsewhere.
When will WF customers, who have Wachovia Home Loans, be able to be recognized (for online payments) by Wachovia?
The management of Wachovia destroyed the brand, and it should be sent to the junkyard.
It is actually more expensive for a company to maintain multiple brands. While it is a large expense to complete the changeover of brands initially, it saves millions of dollars in the long-run.
Your personal experience with Wachovia notwithstanding, the brand has garnered impressive rankings in Customer Service and Customer Loyalty.
One of the best ways for a company to command market share is for it to 'compete with itself', as evidenced by the powerhouse names I mentioned. But, perhaps you've never heard of them.
Again, in the current economic climate, short-term viability is a high priority. As time passes and the economy stabilizes, gradual modifications of the marketing model can be implemented. Nothing in Wachovia's history justifies a rush to change and complete break with the past. At this time, the risk of diluting an existing customer base far outweighs the cost of conversion.
My personal experience has nothing to do with the Wachovia brand. My family has banked with Wachovia for over 50 years (and that is the real Wachovia, not just the First Union that calls itself Wachovia). Which by the way, management ran that brand into the ground, too. They seem to have a precedent for doing that, don't they?
If you search for Wachovia on Google News, you will find that brand is associated with fines from its regulatory bodies, telemarketing schemes, and the whopper of them all, Golden West. I would consider a bank that forced to sell itself a damaged brand (and sell itself at a bargin price, at that). But, perhaps you've never heard of Google News.
The comparison of the marketing of Tide laundry detergent and Dial soap to the marketing of a bank is absurd, in the least.
Looking forward to another 6 months of great blogging! Good work!
@ Karen | Thanks so much for your kind words! We will definitely continue to do our best to inform and assist as the merger moves forward. Keep reading and commenting!
When will Wachovia branches in New York City open on weekends? I find it really bad, that all other banks are open on Saturdays, and the Wachovia ones aren't.
I respect that WF is a fine companya and that mergers take a long time. I am concerned as a long time Wachovia customer that my first experience at trying to secure a loan with WF was less than satisfactory. I can understand that credit criteria may be different but what is not acceptable is the way my deal was handled. We were suppose to close on 7/1 and on 6/30 I was told that the closing couldn't happen before 7/2. Not the end of the world. We didn't close however on 7/2 and I was told on 7/10 that I had not been approved for the loan. The deal was complex in that I was in essences taking a condo in trade on a house that I was selling and fortunately for me I was in a position to close on 7/1 without the loan but I am still preplexed at how we went from delaying the closing one day to not being approved 10 days later. Totally unsatisfactory and will result in me taking some of my business elsewhere.
I am very frustrated that I cannot find the information that I want to know as a Wells Fargo customer neither on this blog or on the Wells Fargo website. I currently live in a state without a Wells Fargo branch but a Wachovia on practically every other corner. I delayed changing banks in the hope I would soon be able to bank locally as my ability to do any banking other than online transfers is greatly restricted, but I have yet to be able to find anywhere a schedule of conversions or even what states you plan on doing first. I have been a Wells Fargo customer for 10 years but am started to get frustrated with the lack of information and my ability to do more banking servies other than getting cash from an ATM (which I can't deposit when I have too much) or deposit checks in my account, or a variety of other things. Please provide some sort of conversion schedule so I can start making better informed decisions!
Hilary, sorry for your frustration. I'm not sure where you are located, but the full conversion schedule has not been finalized yet. The first state to convert will be Colorado, and that will happen in November. We posted that news on June 30. You can bet that as soon as the rest of the conversion schedule is final, we will post it here first.
an update needs to be made regarding deposits made at ATM's between wells and wachovia.
@ Anonymous, as soon as we have something to update, we'll let you know.
I live in a state that has wells fargo but no wachovia and I have been a wachovia customer for over a year now. I would like to know if or when I can make cash deposits into the local Wells Fargo bank and how long would it take to reach my wachovia account. I have direct deposit but I am still looking for the comfortablilty to be able to go into a branch and make my transactions.
Sharon, I am not sure what state you're in, but until you receive your information about the conversion in the mail, you should continue to conduct business with Wachovia like you do today.