They Drive on the Wrong Side of the Road, Too!

Via Tyler Cowen, a story in the Daily Mail (repeat: the Daily Mail) about Barclays bank testing a system in which wealthier callers get directed to a British call center, while poorer ones are serviced by employees in India. (The story implies the latter is intrinsically worse.) I find it weird anyone would find it weird that a company gives better service to customers who are worth more. But the take by a consumer protection person is even more striking:

Eddy Weatherill of the Independent Banking Advisory Service said: 'This is an apartheid system and certainly preferential to their wealthier customers.

'This is not intended to give the best advice, but a chance to make more money.'

Britain: It's a funny country. Here in Germany, customer protection organizations tend to assume that companies will trick and deceive their customers as long as they can get away with it in order to maximize profits. The Independent Banking Advisory Service, it seems, operates under the assumption that, as a rule, banks are charitable organizations that provide their services out of love for their customers. Maybe British consumers should get their advice somewhere else.