I sent the following letter to Citibank corporate about the branch manager here, and thought it might be useful to post it.
To whom it may concern at Citibank corporate,
I'm writing to you today in regards to an interaction my partner and I had with one of your branch managers on Friday August 14, 2015. We came into our local branch to open a new joint checking account.
We arrived at approximately 4:30pm, with about 30 minutes left before closing. We signed in and waited for our name to be called. It was slightly busy but nothing too crazy for a Friday afternoon. It appeared that there was only one personal banker working at the time, and he was currently helping another party. When the branch manager finally called our name, she asked us to confirm that we wanted to open a new account. Once we said that we were, she alerted us to the fact that the party before us was also opening a new account and that the bank would be closing soon. She said that new account openings can sometimes take up to 45 minutes to one hour.
She gave us a choice. She said, "You can either wait for the people before you to finish up, or you can come back another day." Because I work nights and often find it difficult making it to a branch by 4pm, I had no problem waiting, so we decided to go ahead and wait. Once I said we'd just wait, the branch manager appeared a bit surprised. She said, "Really? You want to wait until 7 or 7:30 before they finish up? We are closing in 30 minutes," which I didn't quite understand since it was only 4:30. Nevertheless, I asked if there was anyone else working at the moment that could help us. When she confirmed that there was only one, I just shrugged and said again that we would wait. An exasperated look came across her face. Her body seemed to deflate, she rolled her eyes, and she walked off without a word.
Incidentally, the party ahead of us finished up rather quickly and the personal banker on duty at the time took great care of us. We opened our joint account in a timely manner and he was very friendly. However during our meeting the branch manager interrupted us several times, asking him to let customers out, as the door had been locked at 5pm. While I understand that coming into the branch just before closing time on a Friday to open a new account isn't the most convenient time for the bank, I believe it's the bank's responsibility to make the customer feel comfortable and welcome. I have never opened a joint account before, and felt that this small life event was met with an air of unwelcomeness.
I understand that the staff have their own personal lives, and that maybe having to stay a little while longer would be a slight personal inconvenience. But to allow one's self to openly reveal that to the client is unprofessional at best. I've been a Citibank client for 11 years now, and have been coming into this particular branch off and on over the past few years. My interactions there have always been met with professionalism and respect until yesterday. Incidentally, this is the first time I had met this particular branch manager.
To make sure I was referring to the right person, I found her Linkedin profile. In it she writes of her job at Citibank, "...provides a superior level of customer relations and promotes the sales and service culture..." Frankly, if yesterday's interaction was her example of superior customer relations and the promoting of sales and service, I don't want to catch her on a bad day. I was given a choice to wait or to come back another day. I chose one of the options presented to me. When this choice was met with blatant indignation, I suddenly wasn't so sure I wanted to continue my 11 year relationship with Citibank, or to open a new account at that. Any trained banker must realize that when new accounts are opened, they present the company with an opportunity to start a long lasting relationship with the client. To be greeted like this was a turnoff.
Nevertheless, the account was opened and we were satisfied with the level of service we received that day other than from the branch manager. read more