I recently got swayed by the promises of HSBC Premier. The premise is, if you are willing to devote your finances (or at least a large chunk of them) to be held by HSBC, you get great benefits, like free ATM withdrawals in the US, free international transfers, commission free foreign card use, etc etc. If you have international finances, the package should be perfect.
The idea is great - HSBC will lay on a much better service for the members that it can potentially eke more money out of. I have no problem with that - capitalism at its very finest.
However, HSBC don't really seem to understand customer service. It's as if the entire company just skipped the training seminar on customer communication, and went to the bar instead. In my job if I left emails unanswered for days on end, I would (and should) be reprimanded for doing a slack job.
Some examples:
- You are assigned a "Premier Relationship Manager" (PRM) - someone who will answer your calls and emails and do what you need doing. Only emails go unanswered for weeks on end, and your chances of not getting voicemail when you call are so infinitesimally small, we'll just call them zero.
- When you first sign up, an account opening 'specialist' deals with all the paperwork, before you are given your PRM. But your PRM does not seem to get any handover communication at all so you have to go over everything again.
- There's no welcome pack, no welcome letter. Just a slow trickle of letters, cards, check books on a daily basis. In the last five weeks I've probably had something from HSBC in the mail 90% of the time, but there's never any structure to it. Some key pieces you need for some accounts may take weeks longer to arrive than they did for other accounts. 2 months after first trying to open my account, I'm still missing the debit card for my checking account. There doesn't seem to be any logic to when it does or doesn't go smoothly.
So if you're thinking about applying for HSBC, it's not that I would actively recommend against it, but you should set your expectations right. This is not a "Premier Experience" from a customer service point of view. The products might be worth it, but expect your timeline to look something like mine:
August 2nd, 2010: Apply online for HSBC Premier Account
August 16th, 2010: Send a chaser email as I still haven't heard anything back whatsoever from HSBC
August 17: Finally hear back from HSBC "Client Sales Officer"
August 18: Ask two really simple quick questions via email back to HSBC Client Sales Officer
August 23: Still no answer, chase again
August 23: Finally get answer, submit signed paperwork needed for application
At this point you get no contact from your CSO or indication of a PRM. You just seem to be cast into 'drift mode', where you gradually drift toward having the accounts you need over a period better measured in months than days.
August 25: First automated email from HSBC regarding activating eBanking arrives. This is your first indication that your account is being opened.
August 25: Miss call from PRM. That was quick. This seems almost efficient.
August 26: Call PRM back. His voicemail says he is in the office today. Try several more times, never get call back.
September 8: (Two weeks later) Finally get call back from PRM. PRM was actually out for two weeks, despite voicemail message specifically saying he was in
September 9th: Point out to PRM that only half the accounts required have been setup by CSO, and the international ones have also not been set up.
September 13: No change, no response, no contact. Chase again.
September 15th: No change. Chase again.
September 17th: Told missing US accounts are 'progressing', will be called regarding international accounts that week.
September 27th: Chase again. Still missing checks, debit card from missing accounts. Still no word from international accounts.
September 29th: No response from PRM, but get a call from someone to set up the british HSBC accounts. Miss that call, call back but get VM.
September 30th: Repeat missed call, voicemail loop. Still no word from PRM. Still no personal account debit card that was meant to have been fixed September 9th.
September 29th: Received email from HSBC asking for an MDA form, which I sent in to CSO months ago. Email PRM to check all is well. Receive no response.
So, 2 months after I first apply. I'm still waiting for my check card. I'm still waiting for my international accounts. I never received any kind of welcome letter or explanation of premier benefits. Even things like how to pay checks in (when you don't have HSBC branches near you) are unclear - turns out you have to mail them in (on your dime). And of course I have many many unanswered emails, voicemails left with no call back...
HSBC Premier...it's a great idea but WOW can they screw up customer service.
[Update 10/5/2010]
- October 4th, receive email from PRM saying he called me got VM. Ignores my email queries re missing Australian Accounts, missing checking card, missing welcome pack. Ignores sentences like "A colleague asked me today if I would recommend HSBC Premier to him. I struggled to give an outright recommendation as to date it has all seemed fairly haphazard. I can't quite tell if I am just unlucky, or if this is typically how HSBC operate. It hasn't seemed like a Premier experience to me so far."
- I reply by email, repeating the three things I'm waiting on, and include this sentence "Sorry I missed your call. I think email is probably fine anyway. Please do reply to this email ASAP though. I was somewhat offended and disenchanted to have my email of September 27th completely ignored (and still unreplied to) by you."
- Receive a reply the next day, completely ignoring above sentence. He does at least reply to each of the three points, though not in a way that actually solves the problem.
- Still no reply re MDA form, of course.
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