Teller Rules at Bank of America

Here's a good resolution: switch to an internet bank. Salem Five
Direct (www.salemfivedirect.com) is a perfectly legit institution
headquartered in MA. They even have a nationwide depost program. Go to
www.nyce.net to see if they have "shared deposit" near you to see if
you can deposit as well as withdraw. Also, they give you interest
rates of 4.7% to 5.1% with no fees!

What is the problem with customer service these days. Not just in the
banking industry, but the focus of most companies seems to be to get
bigger, do more, make more money, get the highest customer count, get
them in and out. Customer service has fallen by the wayside in this
country I'm not talking about going the extra mile, I'm talking about
what used to be accepted as a standard of courtesy by business owners
to customers, clients and friends. Are we in the business world above
knowing our customers and connecting at a human level? I go to the
teller because part of what I am looking for is the human experience.
I eat at restaurants for the experience, not just the food. SERVICE
IS DYING IN THIS COUNTRY. YOu will get what you accept. Speak up,
take it up the ladder, be respectful, keep asking for their boss, and
in the end if you don't get the level of service you expect, take your
business elsewhere. People are quick to gripe (not specifically you)
but are unwilling to pay a little more to get a higher level of
service (hello, Walmart). Get it done right, get it done quick, get
it done cheap. You might get two, but you'll almost never get all
three.

I would have whipped out a crayon and made my own deposit slip on a
piece of bubble gum wrapper. But that's just me. I'm a little thrifty.

OH MY GOD YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD TO GO INSIDE!

You poor thing. What is the world coming to?

Be prepared. I know it's asking a lot of you to think of others but
try.

My husband doesnt have direct deposit at work so twice a month we have
to deposit his paycheck.

So we have a supply of deposit slips in the glove compartment of both
cars.

Two years ago we were on our way to a Halloween party and realized we
didn't have any. Did we go in the drive thru? No we went inside.

Funny looks we got since we were dressed as Anthony and Cleopatra.

I agrre with the policy....I used to be a bank teller and the worst
was having to run the drive-through window. What customers like you
don't realize is that when YOU hold up the drive-through line by doing
that, WE (the tellers) get yelled at by the other customers, AND in
some cases our Boss, because the line is moving too slow. Do you think
that is fair to us because you don't want to have all of your stuff
ready by the time you get up to the tube?

If you don't like their new policy then have your stuff ready by the
time you get up to the tube!!!!

They are trying to cut down on the time people stay in the drive
through. Simply put your not supposed to sit there and fill out all
your forms in the car. Ever wonder why the have the liitle table off
to the side in the bank? That being said, the ones that really tick
me off is the no direct deposit crowd. The drive through at our bank
is for account holders only. Love to sit there waiting while they
have their check cashed. Some businesses are going to the direct
deposit or atm card proceedure instead of checks. Makes a ton of
sense.

I say this as a bank teller; that is the most ridiculous policy I have
EVER heard. I cant even think of a good justification for that. I
actually am at a loss for words!

"Just another reason why I believe banks are run by $!#&*^%$ (not nice
people)." Hey, I dont know who runs BOA, but I usually not only give
customers one slip, I offer extras to keep in their glove compartment.
Secondly, I would just like to say that this line isnt really
professional or appropriate for a letter to a company, especially one
that you would like them to take seriously. Really, this could be an
awesome suggestion letter and really could help the managers open
their eyes about this policy, but that line clouds your message. So
does your last line "like they do those fresh new customers who have
yet to endure the bank's evil ways!"

The lack of customer service is only one tiny fraction of it.

The way they treated my son, was the reason I pulled our life savings
out in cash.. (you should have seen that bank managers face when I
demanded it in cash)

do yourself a huge favor, pull every cent out of BoA and put it into a
smaller bank in your area.

Its funny how BOA has this petty rules, but gives bank accounts and
credit cards to people without social security numbers.

Anyway, back to topic, I have been in the same situation, it happens,
and have not had a problem with asking for a deposit ticket. It wasnt
busy, so probably no big deal.

It doesn't sound so bad to me. The rules apply to you too, no matter
how long you've been going there.

OR...you can go to an ATM and deposit your money like that. Stop
complaining.

I am just as guilty, I get free checking and expect service as if I
had millions in my account. Reality is that the bank is doing you a
service for free and "banking" on your future business when you buy a
car, buy a house, need a loan, etc...

I used to bank at Norwest, but had a car loan with Nissan. I got a
flyer in the mail to refinance my auto with Norwest, so I went in and
filled out the forms. I got denied, so I called to find out why. I
NEVER missed or was late with a payment ( direct withdrawal is great
), the new loan would have been at a lower interest rate and lower
payments, but NO GO. I asked " do you have any reason to believe that
won't continue to make payments, especially now that the payment would
be lower?" They told me, that it was a computer decision.

Grab a phone book, there are too many other banks out there, I simply
took my business elsewhere. I suggest you do the same.

I am now with Wachovia, and they are great! There customer service is
almost over the top at times, but one only need to use their service
once to see that they emphasize customer service. The one time I went
to the drive thru without a deposit slip, the teller looked up my
account, gave me a card with my account information and a pile of
deposit slips and was very friendly when he did so. I am not a "whale"
of a customer, I only have $400 a month going into this account (my
slush fund), but I get treated very well.

Do this, take $50 and open an account at a Wachovia, switch all your
deposits to the new account, allow your BoA account time to pay out
all your checks, close the account, take the remaining money to
Wachovia and make a deposit.

BoA isn't going to miss your money, trust me. BoA isn't going to cater
to you either, unless you have a large amount of money in your
account(s). They are in a numbers game and the numbers we bring to the
table won't get their attention at all.

Don't like Wachovia, get a phonebook and choose another, too many
choices to worry about some schmuck at BoA.

Last thought - I cannot stand slow drivers, people who throw cigarette
butts out their windows and people who go to the drive-thru when they
are not ready to complete their transaction.

Clete

Both banks that I deal with have these silly rules at the drive up
windows. I usually make a mental note and just go in (with my own pen
because the ones they have chained to the desks never work), pick up
from a HUGE stack of slips, fill it out, and usually manage to get my
transaction completed without a problem.
There was one instance when the client in front of me was apparently
speaking to no one in particular about matters that were none of
anyone's business became agitated and had to be "escorted" out the
building by a security officer, that made my wait time totally
unbearable. But even then, it got done.

If the rule is "We don't give out slips" why add the "especially when
we are busy"? If they don't, they don't. You can't "especially" *not*
do something. Were they busy?

If they are so obsessed with saving the 90 seconds or so that it would
take to send a deposit slip, why not post a sign explaining the new
policy? Surely it took more time to explain the policy than it would
have to send the slip.

I'll buck the trend here and say that I would be unhappy with a bank
that did not provide deposit slips in the drive through. It's really a
bare minimum of customer service for a bank to provide its customers
with the tools they need to deposit money in said bank.

Yes, I can understand that when someone fills out their deposit slip
in the car, the person behind them has to wait a few more minutes.
Alas, waiting in line for services that our fellow consumers also use
happens, doesn't it?

We wait in line behind a person who is ordering several meals at a
fast-food drive through, we wait in line behind people in the grocery
store with fifty coupons, we wait in line at the movies behind an
elderly couple who ask the cashier to explain the plot of every movie
currently playing.

These are the natural consequences of sharing the world with other
human beings. Sometimes we have to wait our turn and the person in
front of us just isn't fast enough. Sometimes you are the person at
the front of the line who is just not moving fast enough.

Liz D. if it is not completely impractical for you to change banks
(and if you have these in your area), I would recommend Compass Bank.
No minimums, no ATM fees, early morning and Saturday hours and all the
deposit slips your heart desires - even in the drive through.

One of the reasons I happen to love BoA is that they don't put up with
nonsense at the drive-thru from people who have no business being in
it in the first place. If I have a deposit slip on me AND have it
filled out and ready to go, yeah I definitely use the drive-thru. If
not, I'm parking the car and going inside. Yeah it's slow....because
it's full of unprepared folks like me. ;)

First of all, the drive thru is for quick transactions. You didn't
even have anything filled out because you had no deposit slips left!
They can't have you sitting there in the car filling out a desposit
slip when there are others waiting and are ready. The drive-thru is
like an express lane in the grocery store.

I quit using Wachovia precisely because they do give out deposit slips
at the drive-thru. And pens. Separately. Then the person wants cash
back, so they have to send a driver's license because they didn't do
it the first time (even though they had to on each of their previous
34 visits). It is infuriating to prepare a deposit before leaving
home only to get stuck behind someone with a 10 minute transaction.

Oh, for chrissakes!

Seriously? This is all you have to complain about? Seriously?

Man, I want your life for just one day where a situation like THIS is
worthy of whining about.

Sounds to me like BOA handled this issue like mature adults. I'm
guessing you did not get what you wanted, because well, you handled it
like a spoiled overly entitled brat, and then had the audacity to call
them names. I think you need to grow up.

It doesn't matter where you got the money.

In what way are new customers treated better?

You are giving your earnings to the bank? You may want to revisit
that strategy with your financial advisor.

"The policy changed on date x. The new policy is y." Is there
anything here that is hard to understand?

Yeah, WOW, what is our world coming to, when people have such a
ridiculous sense of entitlement that they are having a hissy fit over
something like this?

wehhhhhhh wehhhhhhhhhhh cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get the
hell over it Liz!! You spoiled brat you.

No does not equal poor service, rude or anything like that. No equals
no. They instituted a new policy which says they do not give out
deposit slips at the drive thru. Makes sense to me. The drive thru
is for quick transactions by people who are prepared. I hate getting
behind someone, burning gas, and they are clearly not prepared.

BTW, no one cares where the money came from.

Not giving you what you want (especially when what you want conflicts
with what other people want) is not the same as not being nice people.


They've made a decision that the drive-through lanes are for people
who show up prepared. People who are ready to handle their
transactions quickly are going to be in lines full of people ready to
handle their transactions quickly, and they will get through faster
than if they had to wait behind people who needed to get a deposit
slip and fill it out while they are with the teller. They will spend
less time on banking than they otherwise would. People who have to
get deposit slips will end up parking and going inside and getting
their slips, filling them out, and so on, and that means that they
will spend more time on banking than they otherwise would. Naturally
the people who show up prepared are going to be happier about this
than the ones who don't, because the inconvenience of people showing
up unprepared falls on the people who show up unprepared.

And that's a business decision. It's not a comment on our world, or
an indication of what sorts of people run banks, or a way of
privileging newer customers over older ones. It's just a realization
that there are going to be people who want them to do things one way
and people who want them to do things another way, and they're going
to have to pick which way to do them. If you don't like the way they
do them, close your account and take your money to a bank that does
things differently and then write both banks to let them know why you
did that.

But there's no need to call people names.

The whole point of the drive through teller is to expediently process
your transactions with the aid of a teller.

HOWEVER, in order to be quick and efficient, you need to be prepared,
i.e. you need to have your paperwork ready to go, not pull up and ask
for one.

If you want to be devoid of paper and you're in a hurry, use the ATM.

Obviously BofA realizes that the drive-thru is supposed to be a quick
option, not for people to hold up the line because they don't have
deposit slips. The did provide good customer service to their
customers.....all the ones behind you that would have had to wait and
wait because of you.

I would never dream of holding up the drive-thru because I didn't have
a deposit slip. I hate getting stuck behind someone who comes to the
bank unprepared and then goes through the drive-thru.

Not only is it easy to pull a scam that way, but it holds up the line.