Today, after 120 years of existence, the Desjardins cash register disappears, a “sadness” for certain older customers who encounter it The newspaper.
• Also read: Desjardins’ cash book will disappear
• Also read: [EN IMAGES] The Desjardins brochure from 1900 to today
“We definitely liked the brochure!” says Denise, 78 years old and a Desjardins customer for as long as she can remember. “At our age you always have to get used to all sorts of things,” she complains.
Her husband, Jean-Pierre, 82, who worked for the financial institution as a teenager, will have difficulty dealing with the bank statement that is automatically sent by mail to customers who still used the famous booklet.
“With the brochure, we had immediate receipts for our transactions and didn’t have to wait until the end of the month,” he laments.
According to Desjardins, 270,000 people were still using the brochure, whose disappearance was officially announced last May.
Brochures have been used since the inception of the Desjardins credit union network. Photo provided by Desjardins
Some customers who stopped using the booklet still believe the financial institution should have kept it for older customers.
“There are people who never go online to make their transactions,” says Lucette, who met at Place Fleur de Lys in Quebec.
“It’s a multi-billion dollar company, what would it have cost them to give them a longer notice?” asks Danielle, a long-time Desjardins customer, next to her.
“Lack of respect” for elders
In an interview with TVA Nouvelles on Sunday morning, Quebec Association for the Defense of Retiree Rights (AQDR) president Pierre Lynch bluntly called this withdrawal of the brochure “the end of the world” for certain customers.
“These people don’t use electronic devices, they didn’t grow up in this culture. [Le livret] So it became a way to make sure everything they had acquired was still there and to visualize it,” Mr. Lynch explains.
The president of the AQDR believes that the brochure was part of the “social mission” of the Desjardins cooperative.
“Unfortunately they changed their mind and it’s really a lack of respect for this generation who were loyal customers,” he says.
“I will keep my booklet as a souvenir, but I have grieved,” says philosopher Jocelyne, 76, who says she “doesn’t agree” with Desjardins’ decision but will leave.
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