WalletPop

"Big business" gets a bad rap these days. Want someone to blame for harming the environment, or not paying enough in taxes, or not offering high enough wages... big corporations are the perfect scapegoat. They seem naughty.

Their profits are huge. Well of course the profits are huge. They're huge corporations. Little company, little profits. Big company, big profits. If they're lucky enough to turn a profit, that is.

I always preferred to bank with a smaller regional bank. I thought that they cared about me more. That they would take care of me better. That they were invested in the community and wanted to provide good customer service.

Until they stopped returning my calls. They were too busy and said my accounts were too small. And then they sent me shreds of paper that used to be my canceled checks. Every time I turned around, it seemed they were sending me a message that they didn't want my business.


And then I moved my office to a new building.... one with a big bank downstairs. How convenient! All I have to do is run downstairs to make a deposit or transfer money. But I was afraid. Afraid that the big bank might chew me up and spit me out. After all, I'm tos small to matter to them.

How wrong I was. I have received some of the best customer service I have ever had at a bank. I now have access to an extensive online banking system that makes it much simpler to check a balance or see if a check has cleared. The bank's staff is calling me to see if they can help me. They're checking on my deposits and making sure my money is available to me right away. All the frustrations of the small bank's archaic website are gone. In its place is pure bliss at the hands of a big, scary corporation. And I love it.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.