Why are Big Banks Pitting Millennials Against Restaurants?

If you want to know what pisses me off in this world, it’s when corporations moralize over the behavior of regular Americans. Lately this seems to be the bailiwick of the big banks in the US. The object of my ire in this instance is an incredibly offensive ad that laments the struggles of the Averys (a fictitious couple in this Wells Fargo commercial) to save money. We’ll unpack the whole ad in shortly, but suffice to say, the condescending tone of ads like these from big banks is both inaccurate to the truth of Millennial behavior and perpetuates this myth that this generation is their own worst enemy.

This is relevant to restaurant operators, because it always appears this moralization targets Millennial spending in our industry. So, not only are they wrong about the discipline of this generation, but they are encouraging a key consumer group for our industry to stop spending at your restaurants -- and that should just plain piss you off!

How Banks’ Messages to Millennials Hurt Restaurants

Take Barclay’s Bank who determined Millennials can save upwards of $4000 per year if they just give up their coffee habit. The problem with that inane logic is that is has no basis in reality. Sure Millennials might be a caffeine-addicted, drowning in educational debt enduring and underachieving consumer group, but that has nothing to do with whether they are capable of disciplined enough to save money --cuz they actually are really good at it.

An annual study done by Bank of America found that Millennials are as likely to save and plan as Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. This fixation on the shortcomings of a generation that we have saddled with their own college debt and our insane national debt isn’t the problem when it comes to them amassing wealth. Quite the contrary, they are far better savers and far more fiscally conservative than either of these older generations. Unfortunately, they lack the opportunities afforded those earlier generations and their net worth is reflective of that and not some nebulous irresponsibility on their part.

As restaurant operators, it’s hard enough to attract the broke & woke Millennial. Having mass media discouraging them from visiting our businesses seems like a low blow. Should we be messaging our customers to dump their big banks and all the fees, so they can spend more on their pumpkin lattes and avocado toast? It’s just such a combination and condescension and gaslighting. The banks are supposed to love us because we make them their transaction fees on all those credit cards we accept.

The Main Takeaway for Restaurants

Ok, I’m done, but you have to admit it’s a bit maddening. There is a lesson in this discussion that I wanted to share. We all need to stop judging people no matter their age. Millennials are currently the largest consumer class in the country, followed closely by the cohort behind them, Generation Z. If we want to sustain our businesses in the long term, we need to attract every generation. Count on Millennials and Gen Zers having money soon enough as their Boomer parents pass it to them in what will be the largest transfer of wealth in human history.

You are already equipped to do that by following the relevant cultural trends. From Impossible Burgers to live-streamed gaming and eSports, these generations also clearly have a different expectation about how they are served. Big marketers need accept their own necessary changes instead of reflecting on anyone else’s choices (oops, sorry didn’t mean to return to that).

In the meantime, full-service restaurants aren’t going to disappear anytime soon. Remember those folks under-40 will be our customers for the next 40 years, so all restaurant operators should be siding with them.

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