It’s about all I need at the moment.’
‘Well we also noticed that you earn quite a high salary, have a company car, and an annual bonus. These factors qualify you to take advantage of one of our special privilege accounts for people who are above average achievers.’
‘I see, and how much will it cost me for the privilege of having one of these accounts?’ In Hamil ton’s experience banks were all thieves, trying to find new ways to siphon off their customers’ money, with numerous diverse service fees, exorbitant interest percentages, and many other commissions for things you wouldn’t normally expect to pay.
‘Nothing.’ he laughed. ‘In fact it will save you money in many ways. For instance we see you have a mortgage bond with us. If you have one of these accounts then the bond rate drops by half a percentage point for you. There’s no service fee if you keep a minimum of five hundred rand in the account, and your cheques are guaranteed to a thousand rand.’
‘Sounds too good to be true. Where’s the catch? Banks don’t give things away for nothing.’
Winder ignored the hint of sarcasm and cynicism in his client’s voice, and carried on as if he hadn’t been interrupted.
‘We’ll also give you a new loan account, for three times your monthly salary, and a credit card with a ten thousand rand minimum limit.’ So that was the catch. Put temptation in the form of easy loans in the way, and people would spend money they didn’t have, and the bank would make money from the high rates of interest they charged. It was institutional mugging. The customer was being relieved of his money just as surely as if he had been hit over the head on some darkened street, by a thief in the night. The only difference was that the thief in the street was probably more honest about it.
‘And what do I have to do to take advantage of these benefits?’ He had to admit it was a tempting package and it seemed stupid to pay more for his bond than he need. If he managed the credit card and the loan option in a disciplined fashion then they shouldn’t prove to be too costly.
‘Just come in, sign a few forms, and it takes about a week to process. I’ll notify home loans to give you the reduced bond rate from today.’
He went into the Bank at lunchtime and signed the forms, and found that Michael Winder was in fact a very accommodating and pleasant bank manager. He seemed to be able to grasp the whole picture and not get stuck with little technicalities. Over the next three years Hamilton and Winder developed a very good working relationship.
When Hamilton started doing freelance consulting, in the evenings and at weekends, he needed to purchase a computer and software. Winder arranged a loan for these expenses and offered valuable advice concerning the setting-up of a small business.
A marketing director’s job, as any incumbent will be more than happy to testify to at great length, is by its very nature an extremely busy and pressurised position. In order to maintain this image of overburdened non-stop work, it is normally necessary to make an appointment weeks in advance, but such was the reputation and prestige of Ackermann Public Relations that James was able to arrange a meeting with Colin Hurd within twenty-four hours of his call.
He arrived promptly at eight in the morning and was impressed by the number of staff who were already working at that early hour. Although he hadn’t specified the nature of his business over the telephone when he had spoken to Colin Hurd, it was obvious from the beginnings of their conversation that he thought James was there in order to discuss their advertising requirements.
James had formed an opinion of Hurd prior to the meeting. From the information he had in his possession he thought Hurd to be highly intelligent, quick thinking and concerned with his own well-being. The manner in which he had conducted business with Knight over the years exemplified this. Therefore he
‘Well we also noticed that you earn quite a high salary, have a company car, and an annual bonus. These factors qualify you to take advantage of one of our special privilege accounts for people who are above average achievers.’
‘I see, and how much will it cost me for the privilege of having one of these accounts?’ In Hamil ton’s experience banks were all thieves, trying to find new ways to siphon off their customers’ money, with numerous diverse service fees, exorbitant interest percentages, and many other commissions for things you wouldn’t normally expect to pay.
‘Nothing.’ he laughed. ‘In fact it will save you money in many ways. For instance we see you have a mortgage bond with us. If you have one of these accounts then the bond rate drops by half a percentage point for you. There’s no service fee if you keep a minimum of five hundred rand in the account, and your cheques are guaranteed to a thousand rand.’
‘Sounds too good to be true. Where’s the catch? Banks don’t give things away for nothing.’
Winder ignored the hint of sarcasm and cynicism in his client’s voice, and carried on as if he hadn’t been interrupted.
‘We’ll also give you a new loan account, for three times your monthly salary, and a credit card with a ten thousand rand minimum limit.’ So that was the catch. Put temptation in the form of easy loans in the way, and people would spend money they didn’t have, and the bank would make money from the high rates of interest they charged. It was institutional mugging. The customer was being relieved of his money just as surely as if he had been hit over the head on some darkened street, by a thief in the night. The only difference was that the thief in the street was probably more honest about it.
‘And what do I have to do to take advantage of these benefits?’ He had to admit it was a tempting package and it seemed stupid to pay more for his bond than he need. If he managed the credit card and the loan option in a disciplined fashion then they shouldn’t prove to be too costly.
‘Just come in, sign a few forms, and it takes about a week to process. I’ll notify home loans to give you the reduced bond rate from today.’
He went into the Bank at lunchtime and signed the forms, and found that Michael Winder was in fact a very accommodating and pleasant bank manager. He seemed to be able to grasp the whole picture and not get stuck with little technicalities. Over the next three years Hamilton and Winder developed a very good working relationship.
When Hamilton started doing freelance consulting, in the evenings and at weekends, he needed to purchase a computer and software. Winder arranged a loan for these expenses and offered valuable advice concerning the setting-up of a small business.
A marketing director’s job, as any incumbent will be more than happy to testify to at great length, is by its very nature an extremely busy and pressurised position. In order to maintain this image of overburdened non-stop work, it is normally necessary to make an appointment weeks in advance, but such was the reputation and prestige of Ackermann Public Relations that James was able to arrange a meeting with Colin Hurd within twenty-four hours of his call.
He arrived promptly at eight in the morning and was impressed by the number of staff who were already working at that early hour. Although he hadn’t specified the nature of his business over the telephone when he had spoken to Colin Hurd, it was obvious from the beginnings of their conversation that he thought James was there in order to discuss their advertising requirements.
James had formed an opinion of Hurd prior to the meeting. From the information he had in his possession he thought Hurd to be highly intelligent, quick thinking and concerned with his own well-being. The manner in which he had conducted business with Knight over the years exemplified this. Therefore he
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