fivepoint's dashboard

1) Some people are complaining about interest rate changes which aren't coming often enough! Complaining about a large jump down in interest rate percentage, all at once instead of smaller drops spread out, seems like a silly thing to worry about. Had the rate been lowered more often, you'd end up with less returns over the same period of time. I for one am thankful that the folks at SmartyPig waited as long as they possibly could to make the changes.

2) According to Bankrate.com today:
SmartyPig is at 2.01%
AIG is at 1.71%
E-Loan is at 1.55%
FNBO is at 1.50%
State Farm is at 1.17%
Bank Direct is at 0.1%

How in the world are you guys seriously complaining about Smarty Pig's rate
(which has a better website, with better features, unique social savings, and the ability to save for specific goals...) when their rate is so much higher than these huge (and hugely popular) conventional banks!?!?!

3) I for one... am staying with the Pig. In simplest terms, it still has some of the most competitive savings rates in the nation, it gives me features and usability which simply can't be duplicated elsewhere.

"I didn't realize I had to figure out how this bank works because after banking for decades, they pretty much all work the same."

Exactly! You made assumptions, and those assumptions were drop-dead-wrong. SmartyPig never promised to be a simple online savings account. They do things differently, and it's what makes them unique (and award-winning). Anyone who calls SmartyPig's social functions "fringe features" clearly doesn't know what they're talking about since that's a CORE FUNCTION of their site.

"I dont have time to read all fine print for every bank account I open. You dont understand because you are not investing hundreds of thousands of dollars like I am."

Except that it wasn't just in the fine print... like it has been pointed out to you several times already. It was in the terms of service, the FAQ's, and even the marketing verbiage. It has nothing to do with the 'fine print' and everything to do with your false assumptions.

"So I have to open a lot of bank accounts throughout the month with many different banks to get the top rates and to keep all my money working."

For someone who relies on online banking so much, you SHOULD be paying better attention. SmartyPig isn't doing anything different than exactly what it promised it would do. To the "T."

"If it's not a problem for you, great, but you work for smartypig, and I know what you're up to, so put that in your pipe and smoke it."

I don't work for SmartyPig. I found SmartyPig about 6 months ago through www.consumerist.com, and currently used it to save for a Lawnmower, a Europe Trip for my wife and I, and a 6 month salary savings goal. I'm a person who actually uses this Get Satisfaction site to post POSITIVE advice to the owners of SmartyPig. (several of which have been solved by their excellent team)

No one here would has a problem with you posting questions, but jeez man... they were trying to be helpful and to honestly answer your questions, and in return you compared their top-rated service to Nazi training camps and Madoff! (how ridiculous)

Anyway, that's all... I don't plan on responding anymore. Good luck with your future investing! – fivepoint, on April 16, 2009 02:00

I'm not one to normally attack the intelligence of others on the web... but honestly, "highsavingsrateisallthatmatters" how stupid do you have to be to be putting thousands of dollars into an online bank without even knowing how the bank works. Jeez, talk about dense!

SmartyPig is very simple and very straight forward with how it's supposed to be used. It's not a normal savings account, because it's not designed that way. You idiotically act like the company ran one by you or something... and even make comparisons to Madoff which is patently ridiculous since your funds are in an FDIC insured bank which has been around for over 100 years.

Here's a recommendation, the next time you decide to throw thousands of dollars around on the web, read the FAQs, read the Terms of Service, heck... you could have gotten away with just reading the marketing verbiage. SmartyPig is a highly lauded website with thousands of fully satisfied customers all across the country.

I for one am glad that SmartyPig doesn't try to be everything to everyone. It does exactly what it says it will do, easily, quickly, securely, and even beautifully. It offers a customer experience you simply can't find anywhere else... and because of how it's setup it actually gets people to save for things before they buy. SmartyPig gets it right where other companies get it wrong. This Get Satisfaction page is an excellent example of that.

Your idiotic rants are pointless, hurtful, and just a plain waste of space. If you don't have something constructive to say, then don't say it at all. You're not giving suggestions, you're just being a jerk.

But then again, what do I know!?!? – fivepoint, on April 16, 2009 01:00

Most banks and other organizations are SO rigid when it comes to how and when you can get your money deposited or withdrawn. How great would it be if you could select dates in a month (similar to making an appointment in Outlook) where you set recurrances for the "first thursday" of the month or the "20th of the month" or "every other monday"... The ability to have complete flexibility on when your personal withdrawals take place.

I'm sure this is much more complex that it seems from an operational point of view, but it could be one more thing that truly sets SmartyPig apart from the crowd.

Boom!
http://blog.smartypig.com/read/smarty...

Great job Mike, and the rest of the SmartyPig team. I realize that it's not an iPhone "APP", but it's the next best thing! Looking forward to using it more... looks great so far.

Imagine that, a company that takes advice, responds to it quickly, and actually implements the good ones!

-tip of the hat-

Mike,
On this same note... you mentioned that interest rates are always changing. This is something that gave me pause when I first signed up for Smarty-Pig. The promise was 3.25% (maybe 3.5% at that time?) but, the percentage was built into the graphics, like it was a static (non-changing) statistic.

To me, on the front page... the interest rate you're currently getting should be shown, but shouldn't look like everything else on the page. It should look like a ticker, or something that adjusts with the markets, as I'm sure this does. The static percentage seemed 'odd' to me, and made me question the honesty/integrity of the promise. Does this make sense?

Also, on that same slide the page states: "most competitive interest rates in the country", it would be great if this text linked to some other page or pdf which stated SmartyPig's investment policy or something like that so I could better understand, appreciate, and share that information with others. If it's relevant, I'd also like to know historical rates, or how you compare to "normal" banks currently. You say that it is "good", but how good is it? Can we qualify that remark?

Both pretty minor points...

Mike,
I wanted to say again how refreshing it is to have a company that publishes this type of content online, and responds directly to user concerns. It's quite a contrast to how the majority of companies are run. To be honest... when I started this 'idea' I did not expect much of a response. Boy was I wrong.

Although there will always be people that think changes aren't happening fast enough (I'm sure it can be frustrating to you at times as well), and there will always be complaints... the main point here is that you ARE listening, and ARE implementing changes as proposed by your user community (often times the most devoted "brand ambassadors", "brand evangelists", or "raving fans".)

That, alone, I think... ensures your chances of success will be much higher than they would have otherwise been.

-Fivepoint

BTW, I'm back!!! Didn't intend for the hiatus, but I've been extremely busy with some personal projects I've been working on. Planning on attending your presentation with Mike Wagner in April if I can. Looking forward to meeting you in person.

A fantastic update! The addition of a "Mark all as read" button make this update PERFECT!

Got the "consolidated statement" this weekend. Simple, straight-forward, just as advertised! It looks great! Thanks.

Mike, will the site retain the capability for receiving single emails as notifications? To me, as much as I personally want consolidated information, some people may be the opposite, wanting information as quickly as possible with separate notifications for each transaction.

A choice would be good. Anyway, thanks for the update! It's good to see that SmartyPig has the capability of acting quickly, and isn't too caught up in red-tape. It's hard for growing companies to stay lean and quick-to-act. But the good ones hold out as long as possible. ;)

Ahhhh! Ok, now I've got it. Here was my problem... I thought each of the icons onder the "option 2" section were individual links. Depending on which icon I clicked I would be sent to a different place.

Ignore my comments earlier about the icon being wrong. That is the Dashboard icon. It is fine. The problem, I guess now is from a usability perspective. The first page isn't clear enough for me that you click the group of icons first, and THEN decide which widget you are going to be using. It seems as if you must make a commitment right there.

Anyway, kind of my mistake here... Thanks for your help, Mike!

Mike, I just got off of the phone with your customer support staff, talked to a few separate individuals... neither of whom would tell me which icon represented the "Mac Dashboard" widget. If it is there, I can't find it... maybe it should be an image of an apple, or the "finder" icon. Not sure, but whatever it is now, isn't doing a good enough job. – fivepoint, on August 26, 2008 18:05

Mike, perhaps you could shed a little more light on the topic. I'm pretty good at this stuff, and I can't find it anywhere! I see the facebook widget icon, and the blogger one, google, myspace, etc. but where is the mac/dashboard one?

Also... separate but related topic... How about some iPhone love? :)

Very good news! Color me "excited" to see the upcoming updates. – fivepoint, on August 26, 2008 15:56