3 hours at bank

All I needed to accomplish on Saturday was to prepare a bank draft (for my car). I was patiently waiting in line for service. A young lady in front was screaming her boyfriend, "Can't you just check?"

The drama made me take a quick look. The guy held his stance and refused to check. I thought, good for him, not bending to her evilness.

She was rude. I would never be like that. Just before I finished my thought, who knew I could be one difficult person too?

I stepped to the counter for my turn. I smilingly requested for a bank draft, thinking the process should take no more than 15 minutes. After a brief moment of checking on computer, the teller commented that my home branch is not with them. I agreed, and wondered if that would be any problem?

T = Bank Teller ; B= Me

T: Sorry, I would need a signature card from your home branch
B: Why?
T: Any request over $20 000 would require a signature card
B: What a signature card?
T: To prove your identification, and that you have an account with them
B: I have a few identifications with me. Isn't that good enough?
T: No, we would need that from your home branch
B: What if I have the form that I initially opened the account with them?
T: Yes, that would do.

(in between, the teller discussed with the branch manager)

So I sped home. How could any customer keep a paper form this long? It was a gleam of hope for me to find the form of years ago.

To my suprirse, I found it.

It didn't even take me too long to find it. It was probaby my freaky Saturday super power. Wonder if being a regular Google user actually helps the search. :-)

As I was getting ready to charge out of the house to the bank again, Mom remarked on how abnormal a person (like me) to keep things this long. I was little disbelieved, but I think the constant reminders in the upbringing made me keep important things for record. However I do prefer paperless billing and recording whenever possible these days.

The bank got a little suprised when I returned. "I got this" showing the branch manager the form. "No, " she said, "We would still need the signature card from your home branch." My voice went up an octave, "What?" Then why your teller saying the form be equally good ? Urgh.

I started to feel the teller never expecting me to return with the form. She only said to make me disappeared. I was getting mad and their Saturday could only get better if I could leave with what I wanted.

The branch manager was not being too helpful as I tried to be constructive. The manager asked if I could wait til Monday for my Waterloo home branch. Monday was the best they could do.

"I need it today." She started to inquire what the money was for and tried to mind my business for ways to leverage her end. As seeing how this story goes, the story could only go better with escalation.

"Sorry. I need to escalate this." I said. They opened a ticket as if something they do everyday. They felt there was no way to help me other than getting the signature card on Monday.

The teller read to me the complaint message she wrote. I helped her with a few words, "Your system is not centralized as the problem."

The money is mine and the money is there. If your system is not centralized, why do you put such a difficult process for employees to follow?

Closing the account came across my mind. But she explained that could only be done with the signature card. So getting your money out does not seem as easy as closing your account.

What's with this whole signature card thing?

What gets you to open an account in the first place? A few photo identifications which should all do. Why are they so stubborn in not taking my identifications as the alternative?

After two hours of dealing with them, I suggested if I could open an account with them today. They said yes. And that would allow me to transfer the money from my home branch to the new account, for getting my bank draft.

Thank you. After 3 hours, the Saturday stupidity had finally come to an end. I later shared my story with a banker. His comment, was that TDs are smarter!

At the end, I got ..

• my bank draft, and $6 fees waived
• a new account
• I got smarter, so did they (I hope!)
• oh .. and I got to blog about this too