Canadians are known for saying sorry—if you bump into a Canuck, chances are they’ll be the one apologizing. But, a new survey from TD Bank Group found the vast majority of Canadians (97%) say “thank you” more often than “I’m sorry” (54%).
The survey was part of this year’s #TDThanksYou campaign, an initiative that first launched in 2014. In the inaugural year, TD gave away cash on customer appreciation day, as well as a few life-changing gifts through an “Automated Thanking Machine.”
A video of the customers getting surprised at the ATM racked up nearly 24 million views.
For this year’s campaign, TD created the “TD Thank You Account.” The bank surprised millions of North American customers—at ATMs, in branches and on the phone—with personalized messages of thanks, as well as a few touching gifts.
For example, a Toronto woman is the sole caregiver for her husband, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The team at her local branch sent her to England to visit her daughter, while providing caregiving support for her husband. Another woman from Drayton Valley, Alta., who was diagnosed with cancer, received a special getaway to Jasper with her family.
A series of shorter videos tells some of the individuals’ stories in greater detail.
“We know the greatest customers in the world, and we wanted to do something to thank as many of them as possible,” said Teri Currie, group head, Canadian personal banking at TD, in a release. “Through this campaign, we used ‘TD Thank Accounts’ to deliver personalized gestures to customers to let them know that they are appreciated each and every day.”
Additional highlights from the survey include:
- Canadians are more likely to say thank you when offered unsolicited help (41%) compared to when they receive a compliment (14%).
- Canadians appreciate the power of personal (90%) versus digital (49%) when it comes to being thanked. For example, they like to be thanked in person (85%) rather than through text or emoji (22%).
- Canadians thank friends (60%) more than their partner or spouse (50%). They thank customer service professionals (48%) and colleagues (36%) more than children (30%) and parents (29%).
The survey of nearly 1,100 Canadian adults was conducted by MARU/VCR&C, formerly the Research & Consulting division of Vision Critical.
