It is sickening how much money credit card companies make on interest. And they are getting greedier. With stores now establishing their own banks (think Starbucks, Canadian Tire, Sears, Superstore) they all have their hand in your pocket, hand in your pocket. The front line employees, who are responsible for promoting these little squares of plastic, are told to get the customer to upgrade to a major credit card, like Mastercard, so that they can use it outside of the store and are more likely to rack up a balance.
Let's say the customer does not necessarily want an upgrade but they have amazing credit...Too bad. They will be receiving their new credit card in the mail in two weeks. They can deal with it then. What is the big deal? you may ask. The customer gets a lower APR and is responsible for their credit and it's their fault if they don't make their payments, right? Sure. BUT just getting an upgrade will automatically affect their credit rating as well as many other factors in life. http://www.newcreditrules.com/ is an example of how credit can get screwed up (although it is based on an American credit card company, the process also applies to Canadian credit cards).
Today, yours truly, voiced this concern to a particular manager after a customer very loudly and sternly objected to getting an upgrade. After a lengthy discussion, I was told in a very nice and not-at-all threatening way that disciplinary action would be taken if this procedure was not followed. The customer is not to be given a choice. I am good at this as I have a very high rate of upgrades and people generally are good at accepting news when it is delivered in a cheerful way and they are not told the details. Which may not be such a good thing. My conscience is nagging at me.
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