Chase Banks come in one of three Neapolitan flavours, it seems. Plain vanilla features bland walls and tellers trapped in 1994 behind the desks in what often might be a converted call center. Swanky chocolate brings the hip updates, personal touches of wood and digital monitors galore, and many tellers who probably moonlight at Sugar House as servers. Strawberry belongs to those rare banks where customer service is wedded to a less corporate feel, restricted almost entirely to quieter suburban communities.
This Chase on Telegraph falls into the chocolate category from the interior and the quality of service. I was fortunate to find next to no wait when I flitted in at lunch time, a surprise given my former local Chase Bank could be counted on to feature god-awful wait times between 11 am and 2 pm. Score for those of us trying to use our lunch hours for purposes other than food, refreshment, and relaxation.
I had my choice of three tellers. Was this the start of a delicious banking experience replete with unexpected caramel chips and espresso swirl?
My business was fairly straightforward to make a one-time deposit of my pay cheque. Gotta love the hazy period when you first start a job and direct deposit doesn't come online. I asked whether the teller could waive the customary 72+ hour hold on a cheque I have encountered before with Chase, given the cheque originated from the same employer I've had for several years. The teller looked at me blankly, gawped like a confused fish, and proceeded to curl her lip and toss her hair before she told me no. What?
I have no problem having a request declined, but attitude definitely bothers me. The young woman seemed offended and disgusted I'd dropped my litter in front of her little booth, and almost went as far to eyeroll. If she asked whether there was anything she could do to help me, I wanted to laugh. "Help" apparently isn't in her vocabulary.
I'll still probably deal with this Chase on occasion, but the inclusion in my ice cream was a bitter nugget of something unpleasant. read more