The bottom line is, the banks don't want to reach out to the masses. They want more and more bigger customers. Even if FleetBoston's efforts are all real, some of the reasons for its crumbling service reputation are purely emotional. As FleetBoston got larger, traditional banking customers had fewer alternatives. FleetBoston in the past 10 years swallowed much of its New England competition, and made itself a target of consumer groups that serve as watchdogs of large companies.
People love to hate the big banks.
That's a decline from last summer, when the commission collected about 50 a day. FleetBoston has pledged to fix some of its current service problems, and defends other programs. In response to Nader's complaint that customers were being deprived of the right to class actions, FleetBoston spokesman Steve Lubetkin said customers are better off going through arbitration because it is faster, less complex and less expensive. Regarding problems with Fleet Mortgage customers, who say they are being charged for services they never ordered, Murray pledged to have that resolved. Customers Not Convinced Still, not all of FleetBoston's customers are convinced.