Nationalcity just emailed me to remind me that I can stop getting my paper copy of my statement and check everything online. Discover card says it to me all the time. Alltel (opps Windstream) includes it in everyone of their bills they send me and GM reminds me every month that I can get my payment automatically deducted and they won't have to send me a slip.
You know what none of them ever say? Why I would do that. If I decided to not get all this stuff in the mail what does it save me? Nothing. I still have to go to the mailbox to get the rest of the mail, I still have to put my trash out.
What does it save them? Printing costs, mailing costs, cost for the paper, the envelope, the fliers and junk they stick in there. Then if I send something back they have to pay for the process of opening the envelope and getting the contents out too.
So if I decide to not get all this stuff in the mail, I end up saving them money. Money that they have no intention of sharing. All of these people provide a service to me and I am under the impression that the reason I pay them is that it costs to provide that service. If I am doing my part to lower their costs, then they should be doing their part to lower their services price.
For the bank they could bump my up a tenth of a point on my interest, Alltel could lower my bill by a little. Discover could give me 1.5% back on purchases and gm could lower my interest rate a little. I save them money, they save me money.
Instead they want to be greedy little piggies and act like there is no saving if I do this. That they are just offering it to help me. Look other people may buy into that, but I am not going to. It is easier for them to just send an email than it is to go through all the stuff to send paper and it is cheaper too.
Share the savings.
Sprint will offer a one time $5 discount, or something.