Do banks truly want customer service improvement?

Last month I was flying to Fort Lauderdale to my cousin’s wedding. On my lay over at one of the airports I decided to withdraw cash from the ATM. I put my card in, punched in my PIN and amount in the ATM and the machine made a lot of noises and nothing came out. I got a receipt indicating a withdrawal was made although no cash was released.

I asked the service person working close by for assistance and together we went through the steps of calling for assistance. Finally we were able to get cash payment on the phone, only to have them tell me to contact my branch in Canada.

I immediately called my branch to report the incident and they told me not to worry as the machine may correct itself and funds may be replaced in my account after 24 hours. That was not the case in my story, after two days the money was not replaced. Here I was in the USA, $580 poorer plus interact fees and my bank did not enquire if I had food to eat, money to pay for my hotel or incidental funds. I was shocked by the lack of care and concern my bank showed me, their customer who has entrusted my money to them for more than 26 years.  That is what annoyed me most.  I was then to learn it would take my bank 52 days to track and replace my money, if at all. Can you believe this? I felt absolutely let down and have plans to switch my bank but here is the catch. I have a sneaky suspicion that the customer service support would be the same no matter the bank I chose.

I think maybe we are giving too much power to these institutions to treat us any way they feel without consequences. In life there are consequences for every choice we make, whether we perceive them or not. Why do we let these large institutions get away with such poor customer service without consequences?

I think it is time we, as people, unite and take back our power from these institutions. They are banking on our disunity and individualism. If we unite and join efforts, we are better able to demand they make comprehensive customer service improvements.

It is high time we as consumers are treated the way we deserve. No one at the bank asked me how I was doing for money. They did not offer to replace the money while the investigations ensured, I believe that if the bank expected consequences they would improve customer service. Or at least have policies in place to attempt to do so.

If I had a business where I held my customers’ money I would have insurance in place to ensure against these kinds of incidents. It never dawned on me that such a thing was possible. I thought those machines knew how much funds they have and would shut off when they were empty. As a customer I feel very let down by my bank and yes it’s because I am still out $580 by my bank. I choose to share my experience because I believe it is the only way to take the power back and maybe at some point we will demand they improve customer service and that they treat us with the dignity and human respect that we deserve. By the way, do you know of a Canadian bank that would replace the funds while they ensued investigations? That is one of my qualifying questions for my new financial institution, because I do intend to switch institutions in 2015.

To Your Wellness

_______________________________________________________________________

Joyce Odidison is Canada’s leading Wellness Improvement Expert and Coach. Joyce is creator of the Wellness Improvement System (WIS) programs, which includes the Workplace Wellness Improvement Program (WWIP), the WIS Wellness assessment Instrument and the WIS Coach training Institute. Joyce support people and organizations to improve their well-being and the wellness of their workplaces. To get in touch with Joyce click here..