Mistreated by Teller at Bank of America

ATTENTION EVERYONE! What ever happened to the concept of "the customer
is always right"? If your job is in "customer service" then that is
what you do as long as you're there. Whatever happened to the concept
of "going the extra mile"?? That's one of the many things wrong with
this country, no one wants to do that "little extra" thing anymore. As
for the dirty looks and rude finger pointing, there is NO EXCUSE, I
don't care what time it was or how bad of a day she had!! If your job
is defined as "customer service", just do it! If you can't handle the
various types of customers, good and bad, you don't belong in a
customer service job and should follow another concept..."if you can't
take the heat, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN"!!!!!! Nate is 100% correct in
his complaint!!

The job of a teller is to make the bank richer. Giving you rolls of
quarters doesn't make the bank richer.

BoFA (aka Fee of A) has NEVER been known for good customer service. It
has always been part of their corporate culture to discourage
consumers from taking up the time of paid staff unless you are a
revenue generating client.

From my understanding, tellers trial balance a little while before
closing. That way, when the bank does close, they don't have to spend
time counting down their drawers. Even if the customer just needed a
roll of quarters, the teller would probably have to balance again just
for that denomination. Audits are performed regularly and all
employees must have an accurate count of their money including amount
and denomination.

As other people have stated, even if it wasn't a posted transaction,
it was still a service. I do agree that the employee should have not
refused service in a rude way. No one deserves that.

Sorry but I do not believe you have any complaint here other than the
fact she did not accomodate you once the bank was closed. And rudeness
on her part was most likely brought on by your persistance in getting
her attention and wanting her to speak to you again, your knowing the
bank was closed.

Get the coin rolls when the bank is open or go buy them from the
dollar store.

I'm not really sure where I stand on this issue. You, yourself
acknowledge it being 4:59 which is by all accounts 5:00pm.
Any type of service (whether monetary or not) is still a transaction,
and requires service.
However, they could have been nice about it and informed you nicely
that they aren't able to help you.

Even if she spoke to you in a polite fashion to tell you that she was
closed I would find it hard to believe you would have accepted that as
being ok and left happy.

First, if you knew the bank closed at 5pm, why did you cut it so
short? Also, the tellers need to count their tills and this can take
some time.

Let me put this in to perspective.
I manage a free hotel buffet in the mornings on weekends as a part
time job while I am in school.

This morning, a lot of customers cut it close to the closing time of
9:30 due to the time change. At 9:30, we put the buffet food away
immediately, so therefore some people were potentially left stranded.

An elderly woman came in as I was taking food back in to the kitchen,
I did not shake my head no and storm off in to the lobby and point to
the sign that say "BREAKFAST 6-9:30 DAILY". I would get fired in an
instant.

Sure I want to go home. I have to be at work by 6:00 AM. I want to get
the place cleaned up so I can go home and get a little bit more sleep.
But that doesn't matter when our valued guests are in my presence.
Just because of how I feel doesn't command how I treat our guests.

At this point, a woman asked me for a muffin (Which are Sara Lee
pre-wrapped) at around 9:32. She didn't ask me to cook more bacon or
scrambled eggs. I would have said no to that. But to her reasonable
request, slightly after closing, which required me grab something and
hand it to the customer, I was able to accommodate it, with a friendly
"Here you go, how was your stay light night? Was your room alright?".

Banks and hotels are both service industries. Requesting that this
teller make a deposit for me would be asking me for more bacon and
eggs.
Requesting some quarter rolls is like the muffin.

I could have told the guest, sorry, but breakfast is closed, and she
could have accepted it. However if I gave her an annoyed look, shook
my head no, and stormed to the sign in the lobby with the hours and
pointed to it, I would no longer have my job. Verbal communication is
the minimum, even if it is a polite no.



If I can put how tired I am and how much I want to get out of work
aside to help a paying customer who is a couple minutes late and has a
reasonable request, this BOA teller can do it too. If not, she should
find someone else to fill her job, as I know I am not the only person
with this skill, and there are likely many people who have no job that
could do a lot better than her.

It's interesting to see how various commenters have approached this
letter.

1. We have gone through the letter repeatedly and, while it's clear
Nate would have liked to have gotten his empty rolls, that was NOT the
basis of his complaint. His complaint completely revolves around how
poorly he was treated by the bank employee.

2. Several commenters have justified the teller's actions by
referencing phantom examples of how employees are poorly treated in
general by customers as if that makes it ok. Nate did nothing other
than drive up at closing and not leave right away after she tried to
wave him off. He wasn't rude to her. He did nothing to deserve her
treatment unless one considers driving up to the window at closing to
be "rude" which, frankly, is ridiculous.

3. There are rude, obnoxious, creepy, overly demanding customers in
the world. Despite what some believe, they don't represent the
majority of customers. In fact, overall, they make up a very small
minority of customers out there.

4. Good customer service means treating each and every customer with
fairness and respect. There is no room in good customer service for
waiting to see if the customer is nice to you before you decide to be
nice to them.

It has everything to do with representing your company in a
professional manner which means you find out what the customer wants
and do your best to give it to them. If you can't give it to them, as
in this case, then you explain so in a dignified manner. If we owned
this bank, all drive through tellers would be trained to politely
respond to any customer who drives up to the window after closing for
as long as that teller is still at work. The response would be simple
- "Im sorry, the drive thru is closed for the evening". If the
customer pushes the issue, re-iterate the closing message. If the
customer gets mad or ugly - "I'm sorry I can't help - let me give you
the branch manager's number."

An employee who treats every customer as if they're part of the small
minority of rotten customers does the customer, their company and,
ultimately, themselves, a disservice.

I have to agree with you on this. If she could take the time to look
at you, she could talk through the speaker and ask you what you
wanted, then could have simply stated that the bank is closed. She
could have just communicated with you. Even if she couldn't get the
rolls for you at that time,letting you know she could get some for the
morning for example, would have made you feel like a valued customer.

I'm sorry, but I really do feel I have to take the eomployees side
here. She probably won't be paid for any work past closing time, and
it's unreasonable to want people to work for nothing just to serve
you.

I realise that this was a simple request that could have been dealt
with quickly, but the fact is that the employee couldn't have known
that, and rather than run the risk and perhaps spend half an hour
unpaid, I sympathise with her adhereing strictly to the procedural
closing times.

Perhaps she was wrong not to tell you over the speaker, but it ought
to have been enough when she told you 'no' the first time, and you
should've come back the next day. They open at 8:59am.

how would u like if u had tostay late to deal with angry customers
like your self

I've been one to shoot people dirty looks when they repeatedly pulled
on my door past closing...especially if they had a return in their
hand...
Bank people probably get people trying after hours to get service all
the time, and they probably get sick of being yelled at too when they
can't provide.

Nate, were you needing the rolls to facilitate a deposit of the
coinage, or were you just wanting to roll them to make it easier for
you to determine the total? The reason I ask is, it is becoming more
and more commonplace for banks to refuse deposits of rolled coinage.
They are beginning to prefer that the coin be brought in loose, in
whatever container you have been keeping them in. This way it is
easier for them to simply pour the coins into their mammoth coin
counting machine to sort and count the coin. Otherwise they have to
unroll all the coins that are brought in, then put them in the
counter.

You know, I think alot of the responders here on PFB are retail
employees themselves, because everyone seems to get real up-in-arms
about customer service people serving customers after closing time.
Even FIVE MINUTES after closing seems to offend them greatly. I've
been in customer service for a good long time, and I tell you I have
never had a problem with dealing with people a few minutes after
closing.

Some employees seem to think they're *entitled* to treat you like crap
after closing time, like they've just turned into a pumpkin and are
offended that you're bothering them with (gasp!) a customer service
request!

So I say you're ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! That teller was way out of line by
treating you the way she did. And honestly, this isn't the first time
I've heard bad things about Bank of America's "service". My husband
has to go cash his paycheck at a Bank of America, and they always
fingerprint him on the check!!! Talk about paranoia... Then they
inevitably ask why he won't get an account with them! Gee, let's think
about that one. Maybe because they have terrible customer service and
treat everyone like a felon?

Since you claim that your complaint rests with how you were treated
and not that you didn't get what you came for, I'm going to say that
I'm on your side. I think there were better ways to handle the
situation such as her using the speaker to politely tell you they were
closed, you stating your request, and her politely reiterating that
they were closed.

I do have to ask, had she served you past closing, would you have
written a compliment letter thanking her for helping you?

Your clock might have read 4:59 PM but that doesn't mean the bank
clock read that.

To further extrapolate things... Imagine that I set my car clock ten
minutes slow. By that reasoning... I could claim it's 4:50 and the
bank has to serve me.

Or 4PM.



Yes, you were annoyed that they wouldn't serve you right at closing.
That doesn't mean they had bad service. That just means they wouldn't
serve you at closing.


Personally I suspect you wanted her to say "sorry we're closed" more
because you were mad that you couldn't get what you wanted.

But you already said you knew they were about ready to close.


I suspect the real question is....
Is a bank - or any other company - obliged to serve you when they've
closed. Yes, some places will, but for the most part... most
companies realize they are staffed by humans who want to get home
sometime.

Sure you can say, "But I only wanted this small thing."

They don't know that. As far as they know, you could end up asking
for something long and complicated that could take at least half an
hour.

Then I know you could say, "But they could have asked"
Even then, it just puts them on the losing end of things often.

Say the customer DID want something long and complicated. Then the
bank teller would have to say, "Sorry we don't ahve the time to do
that, please come back tomorrow during our posted business hours"

Nine times out of ten, they'll STILL get yelled at and told they're
providing bad service.



The thing is... the bank might close at 5pm but that doesn't mean the
employees get to go home at 5pm.

They still have to finish a lot of closing work, so... letting
customers do transactions after they're closed just means they have to
stay at work even longer.


And yes, some people will say "So what? Make them work longer, I
deserve it."

But... well that's not very good.


I would suggest, try showing up ... before they're closed.

And yes, your clock said "60 more seconds" but... I'm talking about
"try showing up at least 30 minutes prior" so you don't get stuck like
that again.

And if you can't show up before that - I know some people can't get
out of work before that, then it's good to find alternative methods to
get quarters...

1) Some grocery stores will let you - though it's best to ask first
and not be upset if they say "no".

2) Arcades or Bars. Yeah... it's not going to be in a pretty roll
but, there's always a change machine.

3) Lastly, try not to be so harsh on them for not wanting to work past
closing. Most of us here don't want to do that either, so it's pretty
silly to expect others to do it.

What did the bank manager say when you brought the teller's conduct to
his/her attention?

I would have gotten her point if she never came over... but the angry
huffing and dirty looks of annoyance sent me over the edge. My
complaint rests primarily with her attitude and body language, not the
fact that I didn't get rolls.

Personally, if I were working in a bank and someone drove up to the
window and then refused to leave after I indicated we were closed, I
would be very alarmed. For all the teller knew, if she came to the
window you would have pulled a gun and made her hand over all the
cash. If you'd stayed there any longer, she might have called the
police.

Try to have a little consideration. If you can't get to the bank a few
minutes earlier, at least accept the employee's response that you can
not be served now and come back during the bank's posted hours.

What I fail to understand is how you were "mistreated"? Even you admit
you were cutting it extremely close by rolling up at 4:59pm. I'm quite
sure that the only time that matters to the bank employees is the time
on their clocks. I do not blame the bank employee for not finding out
what you wanted. In my experiences, last minute customers are ALWAYS a
problem. Granted, your request seemed rather simple but she had no way
of knowing that and since it was 5pm on her clock, she wasn't under
any obligation to find out. With that said, I'd just chalk it up to
one of those things in life that happens and show up to handle
business at an earlier time instead of cutting it so close.

Sorry Nate, I'm not with you here. It was past closing and she had no
idea you only needed coin wrappers. Also, what happens if she helps
you and then another car pulls behind you? Then we see a complaint
how you were helped but not them. They have to draw the line
somewhere and that somewhere is closing time.

I think my bank actually has a shade on the drive through that is
lowered at least paritally when they are closed.

I don't blame you for getting these rolls free. I would never pay for
them. I always thought it was silly for someone to buy a bag when they
could get them for free at their bank.

I guess in this case you just cut it to close. The teller apparently
felt the head shake was good enough. If she walked over to point to
the closed sign she could of just as easily told you sorry can't help
you were closed on the intercom.

I noticed someone else said you might hand a note or have a bomb.
Well you could of left a bomb without talking to her at all. Blowed
her up for bad service! She had just as much protection inside the
bank as she had when you drove up. I would think those windows were
bullit proof. If not that might be a bad idea to approach the window,
but really no more worse than working behind it during business hours.


I remember when my bank use to make you write your account number and
last name on each roll of coins you turned in.

I save coins for years at a time. The last time I went to turn coins
in the cashier laughed when I asked her if I needed to put my account
number on them.

I thought with ID theft and all the frauds it would be a bad idea but
wanted to make sure. It is easier to write the numbers before you
fill the rolls!

Sorry, the bank doesn't run on your car radio time and was closed.
I'm sure they have strict policies about after hours procedures that
you have to appreciate since they are a bank.

I'm sure after you didn't leave the first time the teller motioned
they were closed she became a little uncomfortable that you were still
sitting there staring at here. I'd image if you would of stayed there
a little longer they might have called the cops.

Perhaps this lady had a horrible day and was not in the mood for 1
more customer, she did not know that you just needed rolls, for all
she knew it could have been a big ordeal.

When I worked optical these people would come around my closing ropes
asking if we are still open (like the ropes and the lights half off
weren't enough to answer their question) and it turns into a whole
mess with insurance (what insurance companies are open at 9pm?) so I
end up taking all info to do in the AM and a customer who is pissed
they have to stop back. When what they said is they don't need
anything, just looking. I got burned one time when a customer called
wanting to pick up contacts and I told them we were closing in half
hour and they said Oh, I'm on my way. So 15 minutes after closing I'm
still there and they no show and I leave. I go out of the store and
there they are outside all pissed that I locked up. This teller could
have had an experience like this and said forget it, I'm leaving, no
more people!

You can go to ANY of the branches in a supermarket that are typically
open until 6 or later and get these. You don't even have to be a
customer and they will give them to you.

You can buy those quarter rolls at almost any store.

Her obligation to serve you, the customer, ended at 5:00 PM. After
that, she didn't HAVE to do anything.

It would have been nice if she would have helped you, but I understand
why she didn't. I've helped people with "simple" and "easy" requests
post closing and it never is simple or easy. Always some sort of
catch.

You state that even IF she came over and politely told you that they
were closed you still would have made your request...ugh!

then what are the odds he would have thought it ok to go back at
closing time another time and try to get other small items he may need
like deposit or withdrawal slips.

Sorry, the bank was closed. You and your car's clock will have to try
again tomorrow at 8:59 am.

You know darn well that if she had gone to the window to tell you that
they were closed, you would have kept her there for 10 minutes arguing
that "all I wanted was some coin rolls" and then you would have
written a letter here about how she wouldn't do this one, simple
transaction.

Not trying to criticize your position, but clocks do run differently,
the clock in your car might be a minute slow, that bank might be a
minute fast, i personally think the look was uncalled for but when the
teller shook her head i would have taken the hint and left. i work
with the public too and after a long days work i am ready to leave
when the clock strikes 5, not 501.

speaker to tell you they were closed, you were still going to request
the transaction (because it *was* a transaction).

She could have been a bit more gracious, but she had now way of
knowing that you only wanted some paper rolls(I'm assuming that what
you mean). She would have had to open the mike to talk to you, and
since you were being very insistent probably didn't want to have to
explain that she was closed. I'm sure it's happened before.

She did tell you the bank was closed. At 5:00 she probably was in no
mood to come over and explain to a potential customer why she wasn't
going to serve them. Some people, unlike yourself, don't know when to
give up and come back another day.

This may be old now, but some banks do not pull rolled coins in the
tubes, it apparently messed up the equipment.


Good Day