TOO BIG TO CARE ???

Too Big To Care?

This is a true story!  Yesterday, while running errands, I stopped at a stand-alone Chase Bank branch in an affluent neighborhood to make a deposit and get some papers notarized.  I have banked at Chase for years, particularly due to the convenience of its many branch locations.  As I entered, I was greeted by a young girl standing by the door in order to greet me with an exaggerated “Hi, welcome to Chase!” chant.  There were no other customers in the bank.  There were five employees present, doing absolutely nothing.  I indicated to my greeter that I needed notary assistance and that I was a Chase customer.  I was instructed to sit down, instead of directed to the obviously available notary.  So, I said, “Well, before I do anything, I need to use the restroom, please.”  The greeter girl responded, “We don’t have a public restroom.”  I retorted, “Well, I can see the restrooms right there, one for men and one for women, are you telling me as a Chase account holder that I cannot use them? Other branches have allowed me to use their restrooms.”  Without hesitation she stated, “Well, then you should drive to another branch or go over to the strip center and find a public restroom at a restaurant.”  I was incredulous!  Noticing the look of utter dismay on my face, the notary came over to inquire.  She also responded, “The restrooms are only for employees and are in a secure area that you are not allowed to enter.”  (The restrooms were staring at me; not near the tellers, nor a vault, nor in a restricted area)  Now I was angry and insulted! 

The so-called manager, Rosa, came out of her glass cubicle to join our conversation and I related the following, “So you mean that a paying customer has come into a financial institution’s office to transact banking business and I cannot reasonably expect to be able to use a restroom during the process, as I would be able to do at any other business office?”  With no change in expression, Rosa said, “That is correct.  Corporate will not allow us to let you use the restrooms.”  I answered, “I really find that hard to believe, that when your profits and salary are earned from the deposits of your customers, your superiors have told you to deny these customers the right to pee in the midst of applying for a loan from the bank or waiting to speak to an officer?”  Rosa was incensed at what she deemed my ‘rudeness’ and told me I needed to go to another branch.  I pressed on, “I have never been to any office in my life where I was conducting business, but there was no available restroom.”  The manager quickly responded, “That’s because they are in an un-secured area.”  Me – “Huh? I’m confused –is it because the restrooms are in a secured area or un-secured area, this makes no sense!”  Rosa – “It is because Chase never put cameras outside the bathroom doors to monitor the area, so if someone wants to use the restrooms we have to stand outside the doors while they are in there.”  Me, almost about to scream to the heavens above – “So, why didn’t any of you immediately suggest allowing me to use the restroom while you stood outside the door?”  They were totally perplexed.  Chase Bank just raised their salaries from $11.00 per hour to $13.00 per hour.  I left the bank!

Customer service is now an oxymoron.  ‘Too Big To Fail’ corporations, many with the aid of taxpayer monies, have become ‘Too Big To Care’ monopolies with no competition and no incentives to worry about keeping the customers happy in order to retain their loyalty.   Unfortunately, the story above is not an anomaly, but merely emblematic of the trend today with Chase, Apple, ATT, and other large corporations.  And, the behavior of the employees represents the lack of corporate common sense in America today.