Alan King: Banks Friendly Banker
on Monday, March 9, 2020Alan King Money Quote saying if bankers were just a bit friendlier, they wouldn’t suspect all customers to be pen thieves. Alan King said:
“Banks have a new image. Now you have ‘a friend,’ your friendly banker. If the banks are so friendly, how come they chain down the pens?” — Alan King
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In this quote, Alan King seems to be satirically critiquing banks’ marketing of themselves as consumer-friendly institutions. By noting that banks now portray themselves as having a “friendly banker” as “a friend,” but then asking “if the banks are so friendly, how come they chain down the pens?,” King implies there is a disconnect between banks’ public relations efforts to appear personable and approachable, and realities of their business like securing valuable pens and documents that customers must use and sign under supervision.
The quote conveys King’s perspective that banks’ “friendly” branding is disingenuous propaganda that downplays their underlying priorities of protecting proprietary assets and information over fostering truly open, trusting relationships. Overall, King appears to be jokingly pointing out that banks’ self-promotion as allies clashing with experiences like restricted pens that maintain control and distance between banks and customers in practice.
Birthday: December 26, 1927 – May 9, 2004