Conference 7.286::dcu

    
    RE: .0
    
    One question.  Have you read most of the notes in this conference?  If
    you haven't then I suggest you go back and read them before running at
    the mouth about "whiners".  There are many situations in which DCU has
    shown itself to be somewhat less than "our" credit union.  One persons'
    voice is easily ignored when that person has a valid gripe.  Placing that
    gripe in this file and seeing if others have had the same experience
    serves as a mega-phone to get DCU attention.  They had become a large,
    unresponsive institution.  Since this conference was started, I've seen
    some improvement in their procedures and policies.  But they could
    still improve in some areas.
    
    If, on the other hand, you have read all the notes in this conference
    and still have that opinion fine.  Just don't expect everybody in this
    conference to share it.  You have your experiences with DCU to form
    your opinion, and others have theirs.  And please don't make it sound
    like criticism of DCU in this conference hurts their "feelings".  I
    think that's carrying it a bit overboard.
    
    My $.02
    
    Phil

    Well, Gary, your certainly welcome to your opinion.
    
    Gee, if DCU were working at 100%, we wouldn't need this notesfile,
    everything about them would be in their little newsletters.  If
    your not having any problems, I wonder why on earth you'd ever be
    in this conference.
    
    But its not.  Right off the top of my head, I can point to the SECRET
    change of checking account min balance to draw interest.

    The people over there in the ivory tower on Parker street do not
    have an effective way to deal with problems.  Oh sure, if a person
    is a generic customer, there's no problems.  That probably covers
    a large majority of users.

    I don't think we're looking for something special, only to be treated
    like customers. I've only seen one complaint, and that of late that
    I had my doubts over.  That being of the loan of the car book.
    
    But if you sit back and carefully analize that situation, you just
    gotta wonder about that DCU person that turned down the request.
    Certainly an adequate explaination was not given.  No alternate
    method was explained to the requester.
    
    Certainly I have tried calling the DC|U office many times.  I have
    tried running for BOD.  But even thats stacked against us.  I've
    written open letters to the BOD here.  I have been turned DOWN on
    request to address the BOD personally.  Why don't they want to 
    listen.  Why wont they even acknowledge notes I write here? Note,
    they don't 'owe' it to me, but they do selectively answer other
    notes.
    
    And so some of us at the old electronic water cooler bash the DCU.
    Poor DCU.   Sorry if we bore you.  Certainly my attempt is to awaken
    a sleeping gaint in any means I can.
    
    regards,
    ed
    

    
    Gary,
    
    Have you heard the phrase, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the
    kitchen..."
    
    What I have seen in this conference is a LOT of questions and FEW
    answers.  As said before DCU (or someone representing the DCU) has
    selectively responded to certain notes, (IMHO ones that they could soft
    shoe on) and ignored ones that I personally would have liked to have
    seen an "OFFICIAL" response to.  While I may be FAR removed from the 3M
    area I still utilize DCU, thus my reason for being here.  I don't think
    the people that come here make up these problems just for fun.  They
    are problems (as they see it) and generally come here sort of as a
    sanity check.  It's one thing that I know about Notes, if you come here
    with a lame story people are going to poke holes, big holes in it. 
    That is generally not the case in this conference.  When someone
    experiences a problem chances are that "someone" has had the same
    problem and as Ed said when you get more than one person to complain
    about a problem you usually get a resolution.
    
    Here in America its a persons right to believe what he/she likes but
    that don't mean those around them have to agree.
    
    Harry
    

re: .0

Now, if you could only get DCU to subscribe to the same high standards that you
want members of this conference to be held to.

Bob

    Re .0:
    
    You're absolutely right.  A fair amount of DCU bashing DOES occur in
    this conference.  Some of it is due to unreasonable expectations on the
    part of na�ve members -- some of it is well-deserved.
    
    Speaking only for myself, I've found DCU to be much less obliging and
    more likely to enforce arbirtary (and sometimes incredible) rules than
    the two other credit unions (one a Federal credit union, the other
    chartered in Massachusetts) of which I have been a member.
    
    DCU has a monopoly on a few parts of its business, due to its unique
    relationship with Digital's payroll system.  Since there's no effective
    watchdog to assure DCU doesn't abuse that privilege, this conference
    will have to suffice.

    Re .0:
    Thanks for saying what I've been thinking all along. I entered this
    conference into my directory because I have always been very pleased
    with the DCU. I was stunned to discover that the conference's theme
    was totally negative. Even innocent notes end up with derogatory
    remarks about the credit union. But don't worry, I'll get out of
    the kitchen---I am deleting this conference from my directory.
    
    If I want to read a bunch of whining, nasty notes, I can always
    add MOANS to my directory.

Re .0, ,.5

	I believe that you have more support out here than you have evidence
of. I also have been very suprised by the overwhelming negative comments in
here. 

	I have been a member of DCU for 8 years, my wife has an account, we
have a common account, we have a CRT account, have had car loans in the past,
and have had 2nd mortgage loans. I don't consider myself a "generic" user.

	I have always had very positive dealings with DCU. Whenever I have had
a problem, I have been able to work with someone in the DCU office to reslove
it.

	I will continue to monitor this conference because once in awhile I 
learn something new and it keeps me aware of issues. Most of the negative
opinions in this file are so strong that I usually decide not to bother
responding since my impression is that it would do no good. The whining is
quickly dealt with by hitting "NEXT UNSEEN".

								Mark

    So, we say that this conference is not the place for people
    to express their feelings if they had a bad experience with DCU,
    or if they confront a DCU policy which they think is ridiculous.
    We also declare that DCU policies and operations are the best
    and DCU is the best place to do business with, and it needs
    no improvements. Is this the conclusion we come to?
    
    I know there could be some 'whining' but I think it is
    healthy if people air out their feelings about the good AND bad
    experience with DCU. That may help DCU to reach excellence.
    I never wrote anything in this confernce before. I recently
    confronted a DCU policy which I thought was ridiculous. So
    I took my business somewhere else where they had an excellent
    policy. In that case DCU was the looser even though it may be
    small loss. I don't want to write about it because it will
    take a lot to put it in words.
    
    Re: -1  Not all the people who stay quiet are happy with DCU.
    I wonder how many people who had bad experiences with DCU
    are not writing, or even don't know about this place. Personally,
    I appreciate people who have the courage to say that something
    is wrong when there is something wrong. A good business 
    organization will not be satisfied with 80% of the customers
    who are satisfied, but it will also want to care to know why
    other 20% of the customers are not.
    
    Raj 

re -.1

	Very well put. I agree with most of your points. I think though, that
the differences being expressed are a bit more emotional. There is a BIG
difference between constructive criticism and fanatical bashing.

	The former is where notes files excell. They provide a wide audience
with valuable information, provide information on services to avoid, and 
provide a vehicle for the expression of desires for improvements.

	It appears to me that many people in this conference have crossed the
fine line between the two. In their eyes DCU can do absolutely nothing right
and they seem to delight in constantly pointing that out. If they feel that way,
why do they bother with this conference and DCU?

	I do not mean to imply that my dealings with DCU are error free or
that I wouldn't want to see continued movement for improvments. I just think
this conference could use a little more objectivity and data, along with
a lot less emotion.

							Mark

    Re: -1
    
    All business transactions performed by humans have emotions
    attached to them. When a person is confronted by a ridiculous
    policy and also face the 'This is our policy and we don't
    care about the customers' attitude, the customer experiences
    lot of emotions of varying levels including frustration, anger,
    loss of faith in the institution, etc. Those are the emotions
    I believe people are expressing in this notes file because
    DCU is not responding to their constructive criticism in person.
    
    Raj
     

    
    I know that in a previous group that out of ten people 7 had nothing
    good to say about DCU and would have preferred something else.  They
    stayed with DCU cause it was close by.
    
    They did not say anything, because they had learned that nothing
    happened.  Sad to say, this is the other group of 'unsatisfied'
    customers.  This is not bashing just fact.  The numbers may be
    different in other groups.
    
    I have called Mary over 5 times about various things.  I have had
    hassles from local offices well over 15 times.  I compare problems to
    what would happen at a bank/savings loan.  If a bank/savings loan would
    not give me a hassle, then I do not expect for DCU to.  If they do,
    then as a member it is my DUTY to make sure things get straightened
    out.
    
    I feel I am getting to know the rules better then the DCU tellers any
    more.  Not that I want to, but just to make sure I do not get taken for
    a ride.
    
    	- mark

    my $.02.......
    
    Sure, there are problems with DCU; some get fixed some do not.
    People need a forum to do a sanity check (..."has this happened
    to anyone else?") and to voice complaints AND recommendations.
    For my 12+ years at DEC, I've always been located in the same
    building as a DCU office, and took it's convenience for
    granted. Now that I'm out in the field, I've sort-of changed my
    tune. Here in AZ, it's very difficult to find a bank that has
    NOT gone under or been taken over by the feds. And the banks
    that are still open, regularly charge a "service fee" of 9 -12
    dollars per month for interest bearing checking accounts and
    check guarantee cards.
    
    DCU really isn't so bad......
    
    pat