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WHIITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26,1988,PAE1 - - - - - - - - - WAI ER QUAL3Y coensultant on the LASCO *experimental berni, Paul Bowen, wvasone of the consultants available for information at the LASCO berm open house held last lhurday at the Centennial building.I Mai*nstream. Canada Banks torced to get down to biz By A n,,M Snith Canadians aren't usuaiiy a vindic- tive lot.- Or so we always thoughit. It was curious, then, to watch our reac- ion to the public humiliation being hanided to the banks thcse past severai months over the much pubiicized issue of bank service charges. No tnatter how many black eyes were thrown their way, most Canadians just couldn't get enough. In fact, the situation got so out of hand (from the banks' point of viewv, anyway) that tliey were eventuaily forced by the federal government's f ina nce comniittee to offer their cus- torners a few conciliatory scraps of meat. No big deai, the bankers said. They would simpiy njake up the lost revenue by skimming the missing nickels and dinies from any one of their dozens of untapped reserves. But the in-bred arrogance of many within the upper-echelons of the bank- ing community led their officiaIs to seriously underestiniate the depth of anger felt by many Canadians on the issue of costiy and seemingiy arbitrary service fees. The governrnent's original Band-Aid announcernent liad faiied to address the concerns of one of the banking community's iargest and most abused consumer groups-smail busi- ness. Excluding sniall business owners from the protections subsequently offered to consurners was not only a very serious error in judgemient, but an insuit to the most vital sector of' the economny as weii. As John l3ulioch, president of the 80,000-meniber Canadian Federation of Independent Business puts it: "The banks had absolutely no intention of deaiing fairly with their smaii business customers on the bank service charge issue." CFIB's research ciearly shows _that bank service charges are a major irri- tant to smaii business owners and, following the consumer-oniy announce- ment, asked the government for an extension of the consumer regulations. Sm-ail businesses, Bulloch said, deserved the same considerations that consumners had received. "When we first began taiking to the governiment, representatives frorn the banking establishment liaU to be dragged kicking and screaming into the competitive marketplaceÎ. Their attitude is still so antiquated that, for exampie, they were reluctant to pro- vide their customiers with the most basic business standards such as price lists and advance notification of price changes. " Trying to get a commitment from the banks, Buiioch said, took weeks of heavy pressure from opposition MPs, government officiais and hundreds of smali business owners from across the country. Even then the government was forced to draw up legisiation in order to ensure that the banks would comply with the new measures. The governnent's new package wiil force the banks to: notify their smali business customers of changes in service charges at least 30 days in advance; make public al account-reiated service fées; eliminate its policy of charging sinali business customers for errors made by the banks; and to coniply with the newiy- formed mediation procedure. These changes are just the first step in a very long process. But the gains achieved by both consumers and snial businesses are evidence that mud caîi stick to even the most poiished exterior. Sony expandls Distxibuting electronic prod- ucts such as televisions, cameras, radios and broadcast equipment to Durham dealers, Sony of Canada (Whitby), is undergoing a physical expansion of its warehousing operations. Sony set up the Whitby operation in 1983, and is in the process of building a 1,000-sq. Rt. addition, according to Chuck Maxwell, general plant manager. Sixty-five people are employed by the Whitby operation. "We're distributing electronic equipment and produets such as televisions, radios and cameras to area dealers," Maxwell said. Sony is located at 1602 Tricont St., Whitby. LIG HIER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN THE COMPETIT ION, NOW THAT' PERFORM4A NCE Whitby Chamber of Commerce presents a SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOP Increase Your Productivity Through Your People" Tuesday, November 1, 1988 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Garden Gate Restaurant (upstairs) Cullen Gardens featuring Vic Tyn'ell, licensed sponsor for Dale Carnegie courses in Ontado Cost: $20 per person A Continental Breakfast will be served For reservations oeil 668-4506 AN/CU CREDIT UNION INC.! * BOND-BEATER * or iTERM DEPOSIT CERTIFICATE I Choose the Smart Investment Alternative! * COMPARE! ICANADA SAVJNGSI BONDS e %l :.BOND-BEATERvnsBds ' I*Redeemable at 9.50% A1FTER 31 Jan. 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