Mergers are rarely perfect, and the process itself can often be messy, but it has been awhile since I have seen such interesting back-and-forth commentary tied to a news article on the subject of a credit union merger and resulting member service. Welcome to the world of user participation, where your words and actions as a financial institution can be used against you in a very public way.
While this is a minor example, it serves nonetheless as a classic example of the "reputation risk" brought by Internet comment boards. California Coast appears to have managed it well, but these comments will take years to go away, if ever. This means that potential members looking for information on the credit union could turn this up in a search. I wonder if the comments would influence the decisions of such potential members?
If you haven't done so lately, it is worth visiting the major search engines for a quick query on your brand. Hopefully everything you find will be positive!
