Please note: my biggest issue was the underlying feeling and tone that we didn't have enough money for this J.Y. to be considered seriously. This is completly untrue and while I was passed over by him, Jeff and I wondered about those less fortunate then us and how they would be treated. Unfortunately for J.Y. I have some time to write a letter like this AND I am not into being pigeon holed as too young, or unknowledgable. I believe that J.Y. should treat all individuals with even $100.00 to their name as important enough to consider financial planning by him. So here's a taste of what J.Y. received in his inbox early Friday morning.
Dear J. Y.,
We spoke briefly today about the possibility of some guidance and support from you to help organize my family’s finances. I have had time to reflect on our conversation and I felt it was important that I inform you of my disappointment.
First of all, it seems to me that it was a waste of time to be introduced to you by A.N. if you
were not sincere in your offer to help us.You were more than willing to help us upon first being
introduced to us in person. You even offered to meet at convenient times such as weekends or early evening etc. to help us out. However, when we chatted today, you felt you could support me most effectively on the phone, rather than meeting in person. You felt you could answer my financial questions without my husband during a 10 minute phone conversation. This is not what we had in mind.
The one thing that changed between meeting us and our phone chat today was your gained knowledge of how much money we have in our bank account. I have to tell you that the moment you indicated how much money was in our bank account, it was as if we didn’t have enough money for you to consult with us. As well, you inferred much of your information based on the fact that I am currently on a maternity leave of absence for this year and my husband is making a salary in the 20-35% taxation bracket.
J.Y., I was looking for someone who could support us with managing our money most effectively at this stage of life. Your business card indicates you are a “Financial Planner” in addition to an “Investment and Retirement Planner”. We were looking for guidance for the next several years, not just right now. If you had asked more questions, or taken the time to meet with us you may have realized that we have plans, dreams and ideas for our money that
we wanted to discuss other than simply contributing solely to one RRSP right now.
In addition, we are two young professionals with post-secondary education, we own a house valued at half a million and we have excellent credit rating. We also have life plans, travel plans and two young children. Yes, we are at the “young family” stage of life but that does not mean
that our financial planning is any less important than someone in the “retirement” stage of their life. We have 'better than average' money knowledge, as well as some financial resources and still today, I felt that we were not “rich enough” to meet with you. The advice you offered me today was not new to me, nor was it earth shattering: “maximize our RRSP contributions, spend less than you make and save some money for yourself”. This advice is exactly the advice I would expect from a 10minute phone call. Perhaps there was a miscommunication or a misunderstanding but it is unfortunate that you weren’t willing to help us further.
While RBC is reported to have excellent customer service I was disappointed today. We have
been loyal RBC clients for several years and we have several accounts and investments with RBC. We will continue to search for someone who is willing to support us with a financial plan, we will continue to pursue other investment holders and we may move our financial services from your institution if there’s a better fit for us.
Thank you for your time and I hope that sharing my disappointment with this letter improves RBC service in the future. If a representative is interested in hearing my thoughts, would be willing to further discuss my ideas on how RBC can improve their "financial planning" services. Please feel free to forward this email to your branch manager if this is appropriate.
Sincerely,
Jillian Quigley