How It Works!
At All First Bank in Baltimore, only those slotted as top customers get the option to click on a Web icon that directs them to a live service agent for a phone conversation. The rest never see it.
First Union, meanwhile, codes its credit-card customers with tiny colored squares that flash when service reps call up an account on their computer screens.
- Green means the person is a profitable customer and should be granted waivers or otherwise given white-glove treatment.
- Reds are the money losers who have almost no negotiating power, and yellow is a more discretionary category in between.
- ''The information helps our people make decisions on fees and rates,'' explains First Union spokeswoman Mary Eshet.