I've been a Chase customer for over 20 yrs- at various points having mortgages, credit cards, personal and business checking/savings, and investment accounts. Over the years due to impersonal service, I've done more and more of my investment and personal checking account banking elsewhere, but still have always maintained other Chase accounts. I've banked at this branch for about 9 yrs for various things- children's checking, mortgage applications, etc. and occasional items related to my Chase credit card. They have always said "Since you are already a Chase customer..." whenever I have come in for business at this branch. Today, I needed a cashier's check. I was informed if I didn't have a checking account, I was no longer considered a Chase customer as of Aug 1 policy changes. I asked to open a checking as I needed the cashier's check and was told no one would help me today. Staff would not direct me to another nearby branch that was better staffed to open a checking account for an existing Chase customer. (Mind you, I only recently no longer had any Chase checking account when my son turned 18 and his account stopped being joint, but I still have other Chase accounts). For all I know, I could still be joint on some of my 4 kids' accounts, but no one even looked me up.
I was the. trying to pursue self-service and open the checking through my Chase app which only takes a few minutes since I am an existing identity-verified customer, but had to deal with being harassed while trying to use self-service options, being approached and told repeatedly that no one could help me today and I would need to leave and make an appointment for tomorrow. I was not at the counter bothering employees. I was just sitting in the seated waiting area on my Chase app figuring things out. (Other nearby branches, whether it could be done online, etc.) Another walk-in was then helped by the woman that supposedly didn't have time for anyone but appointments until tomorrow.
Their refusal to redirect me to a better staffed branch even when directly asked and failure to suggest I use the online tools (which I figured out on my own) was astonishing! I asked them to please stop harassing me to leave due to lack of appt availability so that I could finish opening the checking account through my app. I had an account open online within 10 minutes (only took this long because I was now flustered and logged out a few times- process was maybe 1 or 2 minutes), made a deposit to the new account with the teller, and then bought my cashier's check. Because suddenly I was a customer, even though the only reason I was able to open an account in the Chase app was because I was ALREADY a customer.
But the impersonal, frankly hostile service at this branch demonstrated EXACTLY why I stopped keeping my primary personal checking account with Chase long ago. They miss out on so much private investment banking, etc. by being rude!
Thankfully ETrade and Fidelity are courteous and professional places to invest my assets and a credit union (unfortunately with no branches near my current house) maintains that personal "we know you've been our customer for decades" experience. read more