Do banks even pretend to be service oriented anymore?

I don't know if all banks are like this, but I'm getting pretty annoyed with RBC. While my husband and I normally deal with other banks, our mortgage and first son's RESP are there.

I went in mid-morning on a weekday, hoping to talk to someone about changing to a family RESP, and was told that nobody could see me. There were no customers waiting, and it looked from the schedule that most of the staff had time blocked off at different times that morning (and many of them overlapping) for "PLANNING" (all written in different individuals' handwriting) It happened that I had the 3-year-old at daycare and just had the baby with me, and our appointment elsewhere had ended early, making it a good time to see someone at the bank. I was forced to return the next day with both kids! Shouldn't they always have someone available to see clients, even if people have to wait half an hour?

Anyway, the next day, the task that needed to be done took all of fifteen minutes. At the end, the guy looked at the computer and said, "Oh, you have your mortgage here.... there's lots of room there. Do you have any other debts anywhere else? Car? Credit card? Are you planning to buy anything big? We could always add it to your mortgage." I couldn't believe what I was hearing... I had gone in to deposit money into the kids' RESPs, not take equity out of the house! (And no, I don't have any other debts to consolidate!)

The last time I was in to open a savings account (to put money away for a few months for taxes and pension buyback), the process took almost an hour. They wanted to assess my "risk tolerance" and try to convince me to put the money into mutual funds!

I realize that banks are businesses, but it would be nice if they had clients' best interests in mind and would act more like financial advisors than salespeople. It's no wonder that people get into trouble!

Do others experience the same things at the banks they deal with?

Yup they are all the same.

Its not really the the fault of the bank retail employees , most of them are underpaid and are forced to upsell .

They have a quota system and constantly pressurized from the upper management to try and sell you products , its not even like they ( lower level employees Like tellers etc ) make a great commission on it or anything , but its due to the constant pressure from their superiors who force them to present these useless products to their customers.

They are told its a part of their job and they can be fired for not meeting their quotas. Even if they don't sell you anything they are still forced to present it to you atleast all these LOC, Credit Cards etc.

I went to BMO last week to just deposit a cheque and the teller was asking me if I wanted a LOC ..lol..next time I will deposit the cheque thru the ATM instead :)

I get told by my bank all the time that I have too much money "just sitting there" and that I should invest it...um hello I am unemployed and a college student paying tuition so I need the money that is "just sitting there"...

I'm with PC, and couldn't be happier. I do almost entirely all online banking, and use the CIBC ATMs. The last time I went to speak with a financial planner from CIBC I felt he just wasn't listening to me, and kept pushing mutual funds. I ended up just opening up a TFSA with PC for now, once I have all my ducks in a row and my debts paid off I may go see one again, but they just wanted me to get a LOC to pay off my debts, blah blah, don't want more credit.....

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Originally Posted by tjthemanto

Yup they are all the same.

Its not really the the fault of the bank retail employees , most of them are underpaid and are forced to upsell .

They have a quota system and constantly pressurized from the upper management to try and sell you products , its not even like they ( lower level employees Like tellers etc ) make a great commission on it or anything , but its due to the constant pressure from their superiors who force them to present these useless products to their customers.

They are told its a part of their job and they can be fired for not meeting their quotas. Even if they don't sell you anything they are still forced to present it to you atleast all these LOC, Credit Cards etc.

I went to BMO last week to just deposit a cheque and the teller was asking me if I wanted a LOC ..lol..next time I will deposit the cheque thru the ATM instead :)

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Very true. It's all about "them" . . not you. You schedule appointments to suit them and they just sell you whatever they can because they are , in fact, under intense pressure to sell.
Your best bet is to get yourself a financial advisor, who can analyze your individual needs and goals and advise you accordingly.

I bank with RBC, and I have to say, they've been really good to me. I always make an appointment ahead of time...I have gotten in to see someone at the last minute, but it isn't something that I expect. People at my branch know me by name and it is always a good experience. Sure they try to upsell on some things, but for the most part, they leave me alone.

They are obligated by the government to do risk profiles on their clients who invest with them. Depending on your answers, they make suggestions that fit within that assessment. Imo, a financial adviser is not for everyone; they also do their share of pressure selling.

Weve just started dealing with cibc and its a very small town one 1500 people population. Yes their trying to rework some things etc but weve never been helped out before or offered to come up with a savings plan etc.

If anything Id say ive been very unhappy with the 2 mortgage brokers ive dealt with in the past. Very rude and pushy.

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Originally Posted by Sally888

Weve just started dealing with cibc and its a very small town one 1500 people population. Yes their trying to rework some things etc but weve never been helped out before or offered to come up with a savings plan etc.

If anything Id say ive been very unhappy with the 2 mortgage brokers ive dealt with in the past. Very rude and pushy.

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Are you referring to independent mortg. brokers Sally, or bank mortgage reps?

I think it matters who you deal with.

I bank with all 4 major banks...but my mortgage is at RBC. I could not be happier with them. Everytime I need to have a meeting they make time for me and are always on time. They seem to go the extra distance for me too. They are even willing to lift my 10% annual principle payment to a greater percentage on my next payment without any penalities.

I really seem to enjoy what they are offering me thus far.

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Originally Posted by kanewtz

I think it matters who you deal with.

I bank with all 4 major banks...but my mortgage is at RBC. I could not be happier with them. Everytime I need to have a meeting they make time for me and are always on time. They seem to go the extra distance for me too. They are even willing to lift my 10% annual principle payment to a greater percentage on my next payment without any penalities.

I really seem to enjoy what they are offering me thus far.

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I think your experience is definitely a reflection on your Branch Manager. Usually the whole branch is a reflection on the management. I'm sure he/she would love to hear your opinion. It's nice to hear the "good stuff" too. . . or better yet, send it to Head Office. :)

I'm about to say something profane for this first time..I sincerely like my bank right now. I'm with ScotiaBank and DH and I have a financial advisor there. We think he is great and we have a friendly rapport with him (and he is great when we can't get sitters and have to bring the kids in to appts too.). Like a doctor or dentist, etc, we book appointments to see him; there is really no "dropping in" to see a financial advisor (like we drop by to see a teller) - you may have a longer wait or not even be seen at all. I can understand your frustration because I have small kids too, but that is exactly why I'd rather make an appt - to know I *will* be seen and on time. Since we go to the same FA over and over he is familiar with our financial history and how much he can suggest things to us, but he's also very non-pushy as for upselling. I would recommend to anyone, if you get a good rapport with a FA, do it and stay with the person. As for other banks, I've also tried CIBC (don't like), RBC(don't like), Bank of Montreal (seemed okay but I think SB is better). If you're not happy with your bank service you might want to think about shopping around to others.

Side note: My experiences have not all been good - I did have another FA at the same bank who I didn't have a good gut feeling about - turns out my gut feeling was right - I had been in with her several times, even made phone calls and she had STILL failed to process paper work and follow my instructions. I found out about her screwup a YEAR later. Silly me, assuming she knew how to do her job (she was not a newb to it.). She's lucky it was fixable, but it's prime reason why I stick with my new FA who I like and he knows how to do the job.

I'm pretty annoyed with RBC lately too. I've been dealing with some stuff for my mom, I have a power of attorney for her and she is in the hospital. When I wanted to make use of the POA document, they asked me to make an appointment. Fine, did that, only to find out that they needed other things that they didn't feel the need to tell me about ahead of time. I got the thing they needed, scanned it and sent it via email as they requested, then they decided that they needed me to deliver the original to them. I did - with a letter telling them what I thought of the whole process. You'd think no one had used a POA before there!

TD is just as bad. Someone close to me went in to get a loan to cover some credit cards because this person is a spender, not a saver and needed a way out (which they let the bank know the reason for the loan and so on). They gave this person the loan, plus a line of credit and 2 more credit cards, which they then maxed out as well. So this person is up to their eyeballs in debt. The banks are just manipulative enablers with their practices....because they make a fortune off of people with the interest payments.

My DH and I have been with RBC for 7 years. We've had mortgages, loans, cc. etc. I have also had my own account, with scotiabank for about 10 yrs. DH and i went to RBC to get a new mortgage (we were moving) they messed up on our application, said it was our fault and were denied our mortgage. (they added our then existing mortgage twice on the application) we went to rbc a while ago to renew our current loan so that we could just make one payment a month instead of 5, they said we had an E rating and were a high risk. Now with scotia bank i have no complaints (other than their hours) They said we can have a mortgage no problem, offered us a good interest rate as well. We went into get a loan so we are only making one payment. They said yes, since I have an AA credit rating, and DH has an A rating. The lady I deal with there is amazing. She calls me just to check up. Always goes above and beyond. She knows my child's name, and always ask's how he's doing. And she's one of those ladies who actually listens when you talk. I love scotia bank. And today DH and I are going to RBC and closing all our accounts there.

LOL! With what I've experienced, I've ceased to consider them professionals I should be required to make an appointment to see (unless I'm needing to do something time-consuming, like applying for a mortgage, looking for financial advice, or investing money in more than GICs). To me, they're simply salespeople. I really think they should make staff available on a drop-in basis for simple things like opening accounts. My husband was at a teller last week and asked about opening a joint savings account. He was told he'd need to make an appointment.

I think this particular branch may be particularly bad, though.

I don't trust many Financial Advisors from Banks.

Personally knowing an ex FA from a major bank...he would often have to "push" their product (even if it means it isn't necessarily the "Best" option for the individual).

There's obviouly always exceptions to the rule. I just prefer a financial advisor that doesn't sell for just one company (much like a mortgage broker- Big Surprise! lol) Generally, the rule of them is that they're compensated pretty much the same from every company. . .which makes them comfortable to pick and choose products just for You.
Way back when. . .when I had a few less wrinkles, I worked for a bank. Even people shopping for a mortgage were taken in as soon as possible to meet an advisor. . .let alone opening a bank account! We called it the "side counter" back then. . .and there were generally a minimum of 2 people available for walk-ins.

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Originally Posted by kanewtz

I don't trust many Financial Advisors from Banks.

Personally knowing an ex FA from a major bank...he would often have to "push" their product (even if it means it isn't necessarily the "Best" option for the individual).

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True, so how was your meeting with the FA
are you happy with the meeting; did you learned something?

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Originally Posted by ashedfc

True, so how was your meeting with the FA
are you happy with the meeting; did you learned something?

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It isn't until tomorrow night. He lives about 5 houses down from me so he is willing to come over to my house at night and discuss with my wife and I.

I will keep you in the loop when I find out tomorrow night.

Funny. I found 2 x great TD Canada Trust banks in Durham region and 1 TD Canada Trust bank I had to report to head office. All three bank branches are in Durham region.

The great banks had great reception staff -friendly, gave great customer service and were good problem solvers. At one bank, they opened at 7 AM! Whaaa?!

The bad bank made a mistake, called me the next day and left a threatening message on our answering machine. It was the teller's mistake but the answering machine message said that they could reverse our transaction and close our account if we did not come in that day.

Well, I called them, told them I did not appreciate the tone or threat in the message and their attitude was that they could do what they want and didn't care about what I wanted.

Well, after speaking with head office and head office security (another part of the story), I got an apology from head office and two apology phone calls from the bank's branch managers.

We don't use that branch any more. Funny, our friend warned us not to use that branch but I ignored her.

That's why I am with PC.

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Originally Posted by aemi

That's why I am with PC.

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I think that there are some good brick and mortar bank branches still out there. We have PC but have also found good TD Canada Trust branches (see above post) and even some good Scotia Bank branches.

For some reason, we have not had good luck with CIBC. And the Royal Bank - don't get me started...:mad:

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Originally Posted by Shwa Girl

I think that there are some good brick and mortar bank branches still out there. We have PC but have also found good TD Canada Trust branches (see above post) and even some good Scotia Bank branches.

For some reason, we have not had good luck with CIBC. And the Royal Bank - don't get me started...:mad:

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I had a personal bad experience with CIBC and also my best friend works for them in middle management and I watch how they suck every last drop of blood out of their employees so the executives can take home their big bonuses. They disgust me.

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Originally Posted by MortgageQueen

I had a personal bad experience with CIBC and also my best friend works for them in middle management and I watch how they suck every last drop of blood out of their employees so the executives can take home their big bonuses. They disgust me.

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True, this is the reality of Capitalism, tax the poor to pay for the rich... this model isn't sustainable now (we all are learning by experience). Foe example, JP Morgans, CIO's division London whale makes wrong bets costing $2billion loss (estimated initially), which has now growun probably close to $3-5billion USD. This is mind boggling number bu, the CIO gets a package of 15million USD & retires. What great job she has done to get 15million package to walk-off. This is like you make the company loose 5billion (& still the position is open, means more losses are expeceted) & on top of that you are rewarded a 15million $bonus..
Employees are paying for everything; we as tax payers are paying for all this losses by high taxes & less pay..

I think gradually a return to socialism is required (or probably the only way to save us from a disaster). Where we take from the rich & give it to the those who need. For example, the entire bonus of CEO's should be clawed back & distributed among employee's family welfare fund.

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Originally Posted by Shwa Girl

I think that there are some good brick and mortar bank branches still out there. We have PC but have also found good TD Canada Trust branches (see above post) and even some good Scotia Bank branches.

For some reason, we have not had good luck with CIBC. And the Royal Bank - don't get me started...:mad:

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I think you are right and I also think that there are only a few of them out there. I did not receive a very good service from CIBC and Royal Bank either in my few encounters with them. I don't know why, sometimes they were just not friendly and it freaked me out.

I don't know about you, but I am tired of negotiating with big companies, because they are not doing things right and I have to get a fair price. I had to call a mobility company every month because they were charging me roaming by mistake. They also did not give me a fair deal after 5 years being their customer and now I am switching to a smaller company and they will give me a cheaper plan, no contract, full features.

I got tired of going to bank branches and tellers not being helpful so I decided to switch to PC. That and the no-fee account.

My point is that smaller companies can sometimes give us better deals then those big ones, like the 5 big banks. For example, with life insurance, I learned to talk to a broker and I got a much better deal from a smaller (at the time) canadian insurance company then what I've found from the big ones out there.

@ashedfc, good example with JP Morgan. And the CEO is Jamie Dimon -- he's also the chairman for the New York Federal Reserve bank. Not a good example of how to lead a financial institution.

@aemi, there are still some branches that are good. Sometimes we need to go in to a branch to do do transactions that a virtual bank like PC, ING, or Canadian Tire Financial can't do. Like buying U.S. dollars for a quick shopping trip south.:-)

For those who can afford to buy a share or so of their bank (preferred costs more but you get more perks than with common shares), you will get invited to the annual shareholders meeting where you can discuss the year with the board and executives (unless there is a loud protest going on). Basically the board of the bank will hire someone to be CEO and the candidates who can name their price and options and walking away money get those conditions in their contract--so there are built-in incentives (a.k.a. golden handshake, guaranteed parachute) to be the main person responsible, even if corporate returns/income is not so hot.

If you are into community, I think you will find credit unions more about the group and members than headlining CEOs and their perks.

I used to work for RBC and I quit because you were forced to push their products on customers. When all a customer wanted to do was deposit a paycheck, we had to then ask them if they were interested in a line of credit or mortgage etc. ...you got bonuses depending on how many people you got to sign up.

I like sometimes how when you go into Scotia Bank or TD they just make small talk and you don't feel like you are constantly trying to be sold something. I love the employees at the TD bank I go to now. They are friendly and seem as though they gueninely want to help.

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Originally Posted by ilovecoupons23

I used to work for RBC and I quit because you were forced to push their products on customers. When all a customer wanted to do was deposit a paycheck, we had to then ask them if they were interested in a line of credit or mortgage etc. ...you got bonuses depending on how many people you got to sign up.

I like sometimes how when you go into Scotia Bank or TD they just make small talk and you don't feel like you are constantly trying to be sold something. I love the employees at the TD bank I go to now. They are friendly and seem as though they gueninely want to help.

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BMO is the same . The teller tries to sell me a LOC or a Credit Card everytime I go to them .

Not really the teller's fault as there is constant pressure from their supervisors , managers and head office from them to do so .

They don't even have to sell you anything, but they have to aka forced to atleast present all these useless products to you otherwise they get reprimanded by their superiors. Whether the customer falls for it or not is a different story , but that sales pitch is almost mandatory for the BMO tellers otherwise they get into trouble.