Coping With Negative Response

AKRON, Ohio - Some members got mad when Buckeye State CU here started asking them to authenticate themselves online using the Passfaces three-step, face-recognition process (see related story).

"I got a lot more hate mail than fan mail," admitted Charles Stanfield, information systems director at the CU.

But the CU prevented a "public relations fiasco" by carefully addressing members concerns as they arose, according to CEO Sue Preston.

Buckeye State CU contacted members who were frustrated to offer them small gift certificates and explaining the logic behind the system, said Preston.

In addition, the CEO shared a few tricks with members for making Passfaces easy to remember. "For example, my Passfaces link together as a story," she said.

Stanfield takes it one step further, nearly bringing his Passfaces to life. "You can name your faces, and treat them as part of your extended family," he said.

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