Calling an Angry Customer - Curious Update, Post #30, #47

[Girlie]

Well... The issue seems to - very strangely, and completely unexpectedly - have been resolved.
The manager simply told my co-worker today that she no longer has to make that phone call.

We don't know what happened or what was said... The lady did at one point threaten that she had been to see a lawyer about it (about the balance being printed on the receipt. Crazy, right?!!), so I don't know if that has something to do with it... Then again, maybe the manager just had a change of heart. Or maybe the lady regained some of her senses.
Honestly have no idea, but plenty of speculation...

[JenJay]

I wonder if someone contacted manager's boss on your friend's behalf and manager ended up on the wrong end of the "your behavior was inappropriate" conversation. 

[Melle]

Or her lawyer enlightened the customer that her giving her account card to a third person was a liability and she won't get away completely blameless in the matter. Assuming the person falsely receiving her balance receipt had to have her card to make that deposit.

[ChiGirl]

The manager was out of line, and I'm glad it was resolved without further groveling...

Something similar happened at my previous job (not a bank): innocent error, outraged irrational customer, manager throws employee under the bus and demands groveling to placate the un-placatable.  (Is that a word?)

One of the outcomes was that many of the employees lost a great deal of respect for the manager.  There was a general sense of "what is she getting paid all that money for if not to deal with difficult situations?"  And, I suspect, there was more reluctance to tell the manager when things seemed to be going wrong, because who wants to get tossed under the bus?

[siamesecat2965]

The manager was out of line, and I'm glad it was resolved without further groveling...

Something similar happened at my previous job (not a bank): innocent error, outraged irrational customer, manager throws employee under the bus and demands groveling to placate the un-placatable.  (Is that a word?)

One of the outcomes was that many of the employees lost a great deal of respect for the manager.  There was a general sense of "what is she getting paid all that money for if not to deal with difficult situations?"  And, I suspect, there was more reluctance to tell the manager when things seemed to be going wrong, because who wants to get tossed under the bus?

Exactly!  I work in retail, and while I can handle most unpleasant customers and their issues, sometimes they are just unreasonable, and no matter what you say or do, they are not happy. THOSE customers, I will hand off to my manager. Because many times the difficult customer WANTS a manager, and many times they might be able to bend the rules slightly, where I can't. Or tell them sorry, we can't do that, and coming from a manager is "better"

Thankfully my managers are good about taking the heat for us, but if they were not, I can tell you I wouldn't have much respect for them.

I'm also glad this was resolved, and also wonder if the manager perhaps wasn't spoken too and told having the employee call the customer was not appropriate in this situation.

[WillyNilly]

Or her lawyer enlightened the customer that her giving her account card to a third person was a liability and she won't get away completely blameless in the matter. Assuming the person falsely receiving her balance receipt had to have her card to make that deposit.

Why would anyone need a card to make a deposit at a teller? 


I'm glad its resolved but I do understand why the customer might have mentioned their lawyer.

I know a guy who for whatever reason never had checks specifically available to pay his child support.  But he had the money and loved his kids and had no issue paying on time, sometimes even paying more.  So he would go directly in person to the bank and deposit the cash into his ex-wife's account.
I can certainly see how, in case like that, the account holder would be very upset to have the depositor know the account balance., and why perhaps it could be a legal matter requiring a lawyer's intervention.

(After years of this she one time threatened to sue him for not paying child support.  She knew he had no cancelled checks or transfers out of his bank account to prove he'd paid.  Of course, he calmly let her know he did have years worth of receipts from the deposits showing he not only paid, but paid more then he'd be ordered to. She let it drop. But none of his receipts, to my knowledge had her balance on them.)

[Melle]

Why would anyone need a card to make a deposit at a teller? 

That's the normal MO at my bank.

[GratefulMaria]

Or the manager is on eHell.

[camlan]

My landlord once had me deposit my rent check in her account. She gave me a deposit slip and I just went up to the teller and deposited it. No card involved.

[dawbs]

I'd imagine the idea of the teller putting the company under the bus and/or correcting what may have been told to appease the customer (what?  we had NO IDEA that was the default setting!) could contribute to the change in plans

[Girlie]

Any of those ideas are entirely possible.

[NyaChan]

I'm wondering how the customer even found out about it.  If I made a deposit on someone's behalf and noticed that the receipt had the balance on it, I'd maintain a polite fiction that I'd never seen it to avoid embarrassing the friend that I'd made the deposit for because I now knew the contents of their bank account.  Or maybe the friend thought of it as a security breach and felt she should report it?

[Queen of Clubs]

^ Maybe the depositing friend gave the receipt to the account owner?  Then they'd see for themself their bank balance was on there.

[WillyNilly]

I'm wondering how the customer even found out about it.  If I made a deposit on someone's behalf and noticed that the receipt had the balance on it, I'd maintain a polite fiction that I'd never seen it to avoid embarrassing the friend that I'd made the deposit for because I now knew the contents of their bank account.  Or maybe the friend thought of it as a security breach and felt she should report it?

The person making the deposit might not be on good terms with the account holder.  Upthread I posted about a guy depositing money directly into his ex-wife's account as child support.  In a situation like that, ex-spouses aren't always on friendly terms, and sometimes there are legal proceeding going on centered around money and assets.  I know the week before my DH (then DF) and I bought our truck, I had over $8k in my checking account, just waiting so I could get a cashiers check.  In no way was that a normal amount for me to have liquid and not all of it was even mine - he'd saved up half of it.  But if someone saw my account that week, they might have come to their own - incorrect - conclusions about my financial state.

There have been times when I have made deposits on behalf of employers as well.  I can see why an employer would not necessarily want such financial disclosure to an employee as well.

Banks will usually let anyone deposit money into anyone's account.  Security really only comes into play with giving out (money, or in this case information), taking in, they tend to be much more lax about.

[LadyClaire]

My husband frequently makes deposits for me and for my mother (we bank at the same place) because my bank isn't open when I leave for work and is closed by the time I get out of work. They always print the balance on the receipts. It should be clear he isn't the account holder, since he has two different deposit slips and both accounts are under obviously female names, yet they do it every single time.

I finally complained to the bank this past week about it. I don't care if he sees my account balance, but I know my mom wouldn't like it. I was polite in my complaint, though.