TD officials said customers are having to pay for the bank’s ‘unrealistic’ sales plans.
Three TD Bank Group employees (names withheld) have revealed what they call “tremendous pressure” to squeeze profits out of customers by signing them up for products and services they don’t need.
An employee with years of experience says their job has become unbearable, they need to get customers to spend extra to achieve growth targets.
“We’re in survival mode now,” says the banker, who has been with TD for more than 15 years, “because we have to choose between wanting to keep our jobs, feed our families … or do what’s right for the customer.”
“When I come to work, I have to put my principles and ethics aside and not do what’s right for the customer,” the bank employee says.
Documents on display to the public show that sales revenue has more than tripled in the past three years.
“You don’t realize what it’s like to go to bed knowing that your job now is to lead people into financial insolvency,” the employee says with a tremor in his voice.
“Clients are prey for me,” says the narrator. “I have to do everything I can to meet my sales goals.”
TD Bank Group declined an interview request but sent a letter that disputes claims that products and services are sold to ill-informed customers who don’t need them or don’t realize how much they cost.
“We only get things accomplished by doing the right thing for our customers,” Daria Hill TD Bank Group.
TD Bank Group posted revenue of $2.5 billion in its fiscal first quarter – up 14 percent from a year ago. Revenue rose six percent to $9.1 billion, making TD Bank Group the largest bank in Canada, displacing RBC.
Documents obtained by Go Public show workers who don’t meet sales targets are labeled “laggards” and placed on a “Performance Improvement Plan,” which includes daily coaching and monitoring by managers. If sales performance does not improve, the employee is warned “the employment contract may be terminated.”
In a statement from TD, Hill says “performance improvement plans are designed to have our leaders and managers help employees improve their performance.”
Go Public installed hidden cameras in a Vancouver branch to see what happens at the teller counter.
One employee offered to “activate” overdraft protection – without mentioning that they would have to pay a fee.
When a customer asked to open a “basic checking account” where the fees are $3.95, they were offered another account without mentioning that they would have to pay a $29.95 service fee.
All three characters in this article – TD employees – are now looking for work elsewhere, but what they would like most is for their employer to listen to their concerns – for the sake of their employees, and their customers.
