Great Caesar's ghost--a one-star average over seven reviews? Good grief. What a bunch of boners.
What have I stooped to here? Reviewing a bank branch? Sure, I've done several grocery stores, a few gas stations, and even a Walgreens, but now I've dragged my review-whoredom to a new low. But Cleophilosaurus's thread and the poor reviews inspired me.
First, I've never had any complaints about Chase, nee Bank One, nee First Chicago, nee Northern Bank of Detroit. My account goes back to 1995. I give them my money, they keep it safe from Mongols and robber barons and masked desperadoes and whoever else. That's about it. Oh, and they built a website that I can use to track my activity and pay my bills. Revolutionary! And certainly worthy of excoriation.
Second, I never need a branch except for two reasons: getting quarters for laundry and parking meters, or purchasing foreign currency. And for these two things, I have ALWAYS used the downtown Evanston branch.
So this was literally the only time I've ever set foot inside another Chase/Bank One/etc. And it was like a revelation. There was an entire legion of people tripping all over themselves to help me. All I wanted was a teller to give me quarters. But the setup (I'm used to old-school-looking banks, not these little tucked-into-an-urban-cranny jobs) was a little confusing--where were the tellers? There were several cubicle-offices and a few open desks, plus one counter labelled "Business Transactions" but the people in line did not look like business owners. They looked like scruffy college kids and Gap employees plus one delivery driver.
So in my moment of hesitation, one of the personal bankers, an adorable redhead, leaps up and leans around her cubicle opening to say, "Can I help you with anything?" PS.--thank you for not calling me "sir." I said, "Yes...do you have tellers here?" "Absolutely," and she indicated the "Business Transactions" area without an ounce of condescension. Oh, cool, thanks.
So then I got in line, er, not really in line because there WAS no line (just after 1pm on a Saturday) and an even MORE pleasant (but not quite as cute) teller asks cheerily "What can I do for you today?" I just asked her for the quarters, and although the transaction was brief, every little phrase of the exchange was uttered with a big smile from this lady. Wow, I was so impressed.
So then walking away, I noticed that the personal-banker lady was still standing up, watching me, but had moved back so as to be less obtrusive. It was the perfect social move on her part--attentive but not aggressive. She played it perfectly so that I felt taken care of but not threatened. Somehow these people are just brilliant with customers. So of course as I passed by, I gave her a big smile, a slight bow, and a "Thank you" which is a million degrees warmer than my usual scowl and grunt. I thought about going back to order some loans or whatnots just to get to chat with her. Plus if she works for the bank, she can see what a fatty-boombatty account I've got, so I'd be that much more attractive to her.
Anyway, for anybody who wants to hate on Chase, let's review:
1. Banks are banks.
2. This one branch has really friendly employees. read more