I work at a well-known bank as a teller. A customer comes up to my till.

Me: “How can I help you today?”

Customer: “I need to pay my credit card.”

He inserts his card, and he has an account with more than enough to cover the fees. Naturally, I assume he wants to pay with this account because most people will tell me if they want to pay with cash. I pay his credit card with his account and ask him if there is anything else.

Customer: *Slowly pulling out cash from his pockets* “What?! You paid it already? Did you pay with my account? Did I tell you to pay with my account? Who told you to touch my account?! It wasn’t me! Don’t you see I’ve got cash?”

I sincerely apologize to the customer and try to make it right. I am able to correct the account as it is quite easy to do so. However, he is still angry with me and refuses to let go of my mistake. 

Customer: “How dare you touch my account?! I never told you to. Honestly, I don’t think you’re cut out to be a teller. You should not work at this job if it’s too difficult for you.”

I get very flustered, so I keep my mouth shut. I’ve already tried to apologize, but he dismissed my apology. Every time I try to speak, he cuts me off and tells me I’m not good enough to be a teller.

The customer then goes on his phone to check his account, and he notices that I paid from his account but refuses to recognize that I have corrected the mistake. He then begins to call me a liar because I did not correct the mistake like I told him I did, even though I did.

The customer then asks to see my manager, and I go over to talk to him. My manager sees that I’m clearly stressed and asks me what happened.

Manager: “Did you fix the mistake?”

Me: “Yes, I did. Immediately after he told me he wanted to pay with cash, I corrected the situation.”

Manager: “Then why is he treating you so poorly?”

My manager goes up to the customer and asks him how he can help.

Customer: “Yeah, I just want to know what your hiring process is, because your teller just lied to me and said she corrected something but didn’t. She paid my credit card with my account when I wanted to pay cash.”

My manager goes to check my work. He notices that I did make a mistake but then corrected it, and the system shows that.

Manager: “Yes, well, when you told her you wanted to pay off your credit card, she paid with your account because that is normally where customers pay from. You have more than enough to cover it, anyway. If you want to pay in cash, you have to specify. Also, she corrected it, so she is not a liar.”

The customer left with his head down and tail between his legs.

CONTENT WARNING: Child Abuse

A customer comes into my bank one day in mid-August and tries to cash a check. Said check looks like it was written by a four-year-old. We go through the protocol as mandated by our organization, calling the issuer and verifying all data.

While we are going through this procedure, the woman goes off on a tantrum. She’s ripping the little pens with chains from the little desks, throwing deposit slips around, demanding to speak to the president of the bank, and verbally abusing all the employees. Likewise, she looks to have done enough speed to stay up for a week straight.

We are finally able to get ahold of the issuer of the check, and lo and behold, it’s a good check!

We cash it and thank her for her patience.

As she’s storming out cursing, two officers walk in. She has her car keys in her hand.

Officer: “Are you the owner of the [color] [Car] in the parking lot?”

Customer: “Yes? So what?”

Officer: “There’s a small child in your car. They don’t look older than two. They’ve been locked inside for more than twenty minutes — in August.”

Customer: “I… I’m on my way to him now!”

Officer: “Too late. Some good people called us, broke your car window, and rescued your kid. You’re under arrest.”

I hope to God that that little kid has found a new home or that their mom has cleaned up her act.

A customer came in to apply for a loan. He got approved, we did his paperwork, and we disbursed his loan. Then, he asked me for a note.

Me: “A what?”

Customer: “An excuse note — for my job.”

Me: “Uh… No, I’m sorry. We don’t do that, no. I’m sorry.”

Some time ago, I opened a savings account with an online FDIC-approved bank. That bank had a lot of “rules” concerning when savings accounts could be closed, but I read the rules and agreed to them before making my deposits.

Some months later, something came up, and I needed the money in the savings account. I double-checked the rules, and I could withdraw all the funds and close the account without any penalty or fee as long as I notified the bank’s online customer service representative (CSR) via Chat in a timely fashion.

I then activated Chat, and I was told to empty my account and get back to them. I emptied it later that day and went back to Chat.

There was a LONG wait until a customer service representative appeared. In fact, there were long waits between all of the messages here.

Me: “I would like to close [account number]. I have emptied that account as I was asked by another representative.”

Representative #1: “Please give me [lots of ID information].”

I gave her all the information she asked for.

Representative #1: “Read [the rules].”

Me: “I read them, and I qualify for a non-fee closure.”

Representative #1: “Please wait while I access your account.”

There was a long wait.

Representative #1: “Okay, I have successfully closed your account. You should be notified in a few days.”

Days went by, and I saw that account was not closed, so I tried again. I went through almost exactly the same delays and responses.

Days later, again, the account was not shown as closed. I went back to Chat for a THIRD time, and the tale repeated again.

Days later, I was now past the “no fee, no penalty” calendar period. The account was still open. Back to Chat again.

Me: “I’ve tried at least three previous times to close the account. Do you see it as closed?”

Representative #4: “No. I see no previous attempts.”

[Representative #4] repeated the tale, but I wanted to chat with a supervisor.

There was another long delay, but my phone’s battery is a good one.

A supervisor got on the line and read from the same script the representatives used.

Me: “When I started the closure, I qualified for a non-fee closure. Now I see that [Bank] wants to charge me a fee. You are the FOURTH person I have chatted with. Please close my account RIGHT NOW!”

Supervisor: “I cannot do that; my closure tool is broken. I will send you back to [Representative #4].”

Another long wait…

[Representative #4] again said the account was closed and reconnected the supervisor.

You guessed it… another long wait.

The supervisor read from the script yet again.

Me: “If the closure fails this time, I believe the FDIC has a complaint process. I do not want to wait another month for an email or something telling me the account is closed.”

Supervisor: “I will drop the fees. You don’t have to wait for an email.”

The Chat closed.

A couple of days went by, and I got an email from [Bank] telling me the savings account was “CONNECTED”! Not “CLOSED” but “CONNECTED”!

However, accessing the bank’s website showed that my savings account no longer appeared. Looks like it may be FINALLY closed!

Lesson: online banks give higher percentages because they have few or no physical locations and may impose severe communication burdens on clients. They also seem to have employees who have difficulty doing what they promise.

I work at an international money transfer service. A guy comes in that seems kind of out of it.

Customer: “I’m buying a dog via money transfer.”

We go through the process, and he is able to send the money, but afterward, he just sticks around. I wait about ten minutes before I ask:

Me: “Did you need anything else, or…”

Customer: “I’m waiting to pick my dog!”

I then had to explain to him that he had likely been scammed and that our computer could only print receipts and checks, not dogs.