2 Banks, 2 Mistakes, 2 Entirely Different Responses

I visited two banks in the same day with two difference problems and the reception was very different.

Both banks had made major errors with my accounts. But they seemed to approach things differently.

The teller at the Blue bank searched her records on the computer. She asked me a few questions and then stated, “I think I see what happened.” She then asked me to wait a few minutes while she went to speak to a loan’s officer. She apologized.

She returned a few minutes later and said that the loan’s officer asked for me to wait a few more minutes because he wanted to see me.

Sean, the loan’s officer, invited me into his office and explained what had happened and how he would fix it. He apologized. He showed what he did on the screen and gave me a printed confirmation. He handed me his card and suggested that I call him if there were any further questions or problems.

I left the blue bank thinking, Wow. They fixed their mistake quickly. They apologized. And I felt like they were on my side.


Contrast that with the red bank.

Their error was older and not immediately apparent on their computers. So I relayed the details. It was clear to me that the teller did not believe me but at least she spoke to another person about my issue.

The other person – I don’t remember her name or title - met me in the middle of the lobby. She seemed intent on flipping through an outdated paper file. I stated my case. She repeated what appeared in her file. I stated that the file was wrong. Her reply, “I highly doubt it.”

She had just called me a liar.

I ignored her slight and the conversation continued.

“There is an error in your files and I want it corrected.”

“That can’t be done.”

“If the error was made it can be corrected.”

She did not apologize.

But she did offer to give this matter to the branch manager who would not see this file until Tuesday next week. Curious choice of words.

None of that was encouraging. Let’s see what happens on Tuesday.

I left the red bank thinking that I have a battle ahead of me. I hunted for a business card of the branch manager and flipped it over. It said, “Service Excellence”. Let’s see if they mean that.

Do Banks Make Mistakes?
Of course.

How quickly do they admit those mistakes and fix them?

It depends on the bank. So far the score is blue bank one and red bank zero.