Banking customer service

[seaboy4hire]

Yesterday I finally got the chance to sit down and send off a compliment to my bank, I've never complained because they've been good to me. Today when I checked my email I use for banking they sent me an apology for being unhappy with using the ATM's for my deposits while in Chicago. I find this kind of odd since in the original email I was actually praising them for the new fancy auto cash verifying ATM's. Is customer service for banks so low that they automatically send of I'm sorry letters?

 

Hugs,

Greg

seaboy4hire@yahoo.com

http://seaboy4hire.tripod.com http://www.daddysreviews.com/newest.php?who=greg_seattle

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6707/lebec084a9ad147f620acd5ps8.jpg

SF Nov 15-17? It's your call.

[+ purplekow]

I think it is probably so rare for a customer to praise a bank or most other service providers, that they just assume a letter is a complaint. In my office, letters of complaint and complimentary letters run about 50-50 but whenever I get such a letter, I cringe before opening it because while a complimentary letter can make your day, a letter of complaint can ruin your week.

 

I have never seen a purplekow;

I never hope to see one;

I can tell you anyhow;

I'd rather see than be one

 

Help there is a purplekow in my mirror

[edjames]

You probably received an "automated response," and not one from a real live human being.

 

While it was nice of you to send your bank an email, next time, stop by the branch manager's office and say "thank you," and if possible, specifically mention the name of the teller or platform assistants who were most helpful or courteous. Sending an email to the bank will not do any good. It's better to handle these situation in person and to praise the individuals to their bosses directly.

 

ED

[+ David-SF]

well i have to say I Hate.... yes I hate those new atms

it takes three times longer at least to deposit money

and almost every time some money is rejected even if its in perfect shape and placed perfectly in the tray.

the problem with those machines is that there is not a secondary option for rejected cash and checks.

which is about the most ridicules thing i ever encountered with a bank why would you force your customers to come in the branch for a old bill or a slightly wrinkled check when they could have just made a secondary deposit option for that very reason arrrguh!!!!!!!!!!! just reliving the endless times this has happened to me only to be forced to go stand in line at the bank to complete the other half of my transaction makes me want to jump out the window of the hotel i am in.

well i ....i....i ... am going to change banks when i get home thats it i have had it !!!

i swear if every bank gets one of those damn machines i will start stuffing money in my ass what are they thinking

i have to find a way to stop them .....whats happening to the world today.... i am not going to stand for it..... why do we have to do it their way. WHATS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!!!!...........

i for one will not be ignored

i will be heard!!!!!!!!!!!!!

these banks have not heard the last from me i will not be ignored !!!!!!

oh oh........ sorry i got carried away

i must be really bored i have a surf lesson in an hour i better get off this computer

having a great time in Hawaii

Got to meet Patrick Bogan (sooooooooooooo beautiful )

and his very charmming and hot Boy friend Jamie

they are both perfect gentlemen and have shown me a great deal of support and friendship

during my stay here

hope everyone is well sorry for the long post

but those atms big banks and corporate brew ha ha just kill me

}( david/sf

[Guest zipperzone]

RE: Banking customer service (or lack thereof)

 

We all have bank horror stories, I'm sure. My most frustrating one was when a frined in Germany, sent me a 500 Euro bill as a present.

 

I took the bill to my bank and asked for the equivilant Canadian dollar amount (which came to around $700) to be deposited to my account. All well and good.

 

About two weeks later I recieved a debit memo in the mail saying that they had reversed the transaction and were now taking the $700 out of my account. The reason being that the serial number on the Euro was half obliterated and therefor they would not honor it.

 

I went to the bank and demanded to see the bill in question. When they showed it to me it became obvious what had happened. The bill I had given to them was a pristine new bill. The one they were showing me was also new looking, however 1/2 of the serial number was indeed missing. But... it was missing because when my branch - which I'm sure see very few 500 Euro bills - had forwarded it to their foreign exchange office at the main branch, they had stapled a transmission slip to the bill. And the idiot clerk at head office had ripped the slip off causing 1/2 the serial number to come off and presumably end up in some garbage can.

 

So - for their sloppy handling of the bill, they were going to debit me $700 and I was supposed to accept the loss and shut up? I don't think so!

 

I finally got them to admit their fault and get my money back, but it took many days and many many phone calls. Do I still bank with them?

NO. That's a no brainer.

[Guest bighugbearphx]

RE: Banking customer service (or lack thereof)

 

I've had more battles with banks than I can count, mostly on behalf of my (tax) clients, who are constantly being given "the IRS requires" MISinformation by tellers and other bank staffers.

 

"The IRS says we can't take a check payable to 'cash' without the ID of the person who wrote it." Wrong. The IRS could care less about such matters.

 

"If you want to open a business account, the IRS requires that you get a taxpayer identification number with a Form SS4." Wrong. That application (for an Employer ID number or EIN) is only supposed to be used if your business will operate as some entity OTHER than a sole proprietorship, will have employees, or will be required to file excise tax returns that require a separate ID number. Otherwise, your taxpayer identification number (TIN) is your Social Security number, and the IRS specifically DOESN'T WANT YOU to apply for a EIN!

 

"Because that is an out of state check ..."

"Because you want a joint account with someone who isn't related to you by blood or marraige ..."

"Because you don't have direct deposit of your wage check ..."

"Because you closed the account within a month of opening it ..."

... Similarly, each of these is followed by some "rule" that supposedly comes from the IRS, but is, in reality, a BANK POLICY, which they are presenting as a government mandate to deflect your anger away from them for their stupid policies. I delight in bursting their bubble and making them admit it is their own policy.

 

I've been with the same bank (through three mergers and acquisitions) for the past 25 years, which is unheard of here in Phoenix. I have a "DBA" (Doing Business As) account for my business that is technically a personal account but allows deposit of checks made payable to my business. In each subsequent merger/acquisition, this has been challenged, then "grandfathered", by the existing banks that no longer offer that service (since business accounts generate more fees). But, after the latest takeover last year, I got tired of arguing with them, and agreed to open a business account. To my surprise, they then refused to do so, since my business "DBA" wasn't registered with the state (because there is NO such legal requirement that it be done, and such listings generate a lot of junk mail), so they said they couldn't verify that the DBA "was really me." I pointed out that they can verify I am listed as such on my business cards, my listing in the local business phone book, on the phone/utility and other business bills I pay through that account each month, and ... DUH! ... they have been accepting and cashing checks payable to that DBA for me for the past TWENTY-FIVE YEARS!! Sorry, the branch manager said, "the IRS won't let us do that." KABOOM! After a scathing letter to their (NYC) corporate offices, in which I promised them that I would not be shy telling my 600+ business clients about my experiences with them, I received written apologies from all concerned, and my old account was again "grandfathered" under my DBA. Until the next merger, I suppose.

[Guest zipperzone]

RE: Banking customer service (or lack thereof)

 

I really can't deal with the stupidity that comes from the banks - such as the ones you describe in your post. I comletly loose it and can't even reply with any kind of logic. I now deal with a credit union and find that they have a much more customer service oriented mentality.

 

It's the little annoyances in life that I find more difficult to deal with than the big ones. Case in point.... I was looking yesterday at a book I thought I might want to buy. It was in one of our large chain bookstores - "Chapters" - I don't know if you have them in the US or not, very similar to Barnes & Nobel.

 

The book was tightly wrapped in cellophane and had a price sticker of $98. I was about to remove the wrapping when a young female clerk wandered by and asked if she could help me. I asked her if I (or she) could remove the wrapper so as I could see the contents. The stupid bitch then said that that was not allowed. I asked her if she really thought anyone in their right mind would lay down almost $100 for a book without having any way of knowing if the contents were of interest. I received a blank stare. I then told her that i had been buying books at that store for years and had always been able to view them before purchaseing. She then said she would have to find her manager to ask if she could remove the wrapper because she didn't want to get into trouble. I said to her "You're new here, aren't you?" and as a reply she thrust the book back into my hand without comment. I said "What?" and she replied, "Go ahead and open it"

 

I did and after looking through it decided that the contents didn't seem all that interesting and certainly not worth $100 to me. So I put it back on the shelf, picked up the four books I was buying and headed to the cashier. I passed her on the way and she looked at me and said, "I knew you weren't going to buy it"

 

I think I took about 30 seconds to decide if a 2nd degree murder conviction would be worth it. Deciding against it, I allowed the bitch to live.

 

I could have complained to the store manager, but as she looked all of 19 and was totally engrossed in her gum chewing, I decided that to ask for additional frustration wasn't my best option.

[+ ArVaGuy]

RE: Banking customer service (or lack thereof)

 

I would have handed her the four books I was about to buy and told her that she'd succeeded in losing a customer on a permanent basis after a comment like that.

 

We don't have Chapters stateside that I know of but I have always liked their selections. Usually BN and other stores here will open a copy of such wrapped books and mark them "Display Copy" for the express purpose to allow people to browse them before making a decision. On occasion I have offered to buy such copies from various stores at a reduced price. And depending on the store I have been taken up on the offer by the manager.

 

No doubt about it, customer service has become a dead concept on every level in every industry.

[Guest zipperzone]

RE: Banking customer service (or lack thereof)

 

>

>I would have handed her the four books I was about to buy and

>told her that she'd succeeded in losing a customer on a

>permanent basis after a comment like that.

 

Believe me - I certainly thought about it - but I really wanted the books I had chosen and didn't feel like cutting off my nose to spite my face, so to speak.

 

But it has deepened my resolve to make much more use of Amazon.

[+ deej]

RE: Banking customer service (or lack thereof)

 

>I would have handed her the four books I was about to buy and

>told her that she'd succeeded in losing a customer on a

>permanent basis after a comment like that.

 

She would have shrugged and gone about her clueless life.

 

I would have handed the books to her and said "please bring your manager to me so I can explain to him why he's just lost a long-time customer. I'll wait."

 

There's no point and no message in taking it out on the front line. Tell the manager how poorly trained his staff is.