Absa stubbornly refuses to listen to clients in every way

I'm currently awaiting account closure letters from Capitec (credit card and separate savings account for specific purposes) because they refuse to listen to clients, have absolutely awful communication skills, and messed me around so much that there was reason left to stay. I've had my daily banking (including receiving my income streams) with Absa for over 20 years - literally opened my first account with them when I was still a teenager. I went to Capitec for the credit card and side savings because Absa never bothered to answer my queries about these at the time. Now that I've left Capitec, I need a new bank for a credit card and my side savings, so I decided I may as well make things nicely simple and easy for myself, and just move those to Absa so I only have to deal with one bank.

In my regular experience, whenever I go into an Absa, there is only one person qualified and experienced in whatever it is that I need doing, and they always just happen to not be working that specific day. I've often wondered if these people even exist. I live far from town, am extraordinarily busy as a freelancer, and have a compromised immune system (making COVID a very dangerous time for me - and ignoring this was the hair that broke the Capitec-camel's back) so repeatedly standing in queues outside Absa is just simply a reckless option for me. So I did the responsible thing and contacted Absa to make an appointment with the relevant consultant for Saturday 21 August 2021. And so the drama began.

I clearly stated that I live in an area with dreadful cellular reception, so calls seldom ever ring through to me, and when they do, the line is so bad that it is impossible to communicate. I requested that all communication be reduced to email. Ignoring this was another strike against Capitec, so I hoped that Absa would do better. There is actually a secondary reason for this too - thanks to Capitec lying to me over the phone so many times and me wasting weeks of my time demanding recordings (which always proved me right), I no longer trust banks to communicate honestly over the phone because they always go back on their word after the fact. What did Absa do? They sent me the phone number of the branch (Shelly Beach) where I requested an appointment. It was a virtual slap in the face.

I gave them a chance to make it right and repeated what I'd already said (something that I DETEST because feeling unheard as a customer is insulting) about requiring email communication and asked that they either send someone there my email address to contact me or provide me with the email address of the applicable person and I'd make contact. I also actually admitted that I was using this situation to test whether Absa would listen to me because that is a non-negotiable element to me and if Absa cannot listen to me about something so simple, how could I trust it to take care of my money and banking needs as they're rapidly growing? Then the Shelly Beach branch manager, Lindani Jula, phoned me.

Yes, he phoned me. With such an immense attitude from the getgo that I immediately felt irritable. I repeated YET AGAIN that I had REPEATEDLY requested email communication and that I would not continue the call as he had a responsibility and duty to respond to clients as they request if a particular request is made. He got so sarcastic and passive-aggressive towards me that I firmly believe he owes me an apology. It was not me who didn't listen. It was not me who ignored the instructions and information provided. It was not me who failed in attending to my clients. I stated AGAIN that I required the appointment for Saturday 21 August 2021 to be arranged via email. Lindani hung up on me. I waited for an email from Lindani, or anyone at the Shelly Beach branch or Absa as a whole, but it never came.

On that day, I went to the Shelly Beach branch anyway (it was my singular monthly supply run into town and specifically why I'd needed the appointment for that date). The staff member inside the branch who assists people with where they need to go was extremely helpful (he's an asset and should be appreciated) dropped a bombshell on me - the consultants don't work on weekends. Not even once during any of the preamble to this mess did ANYONE at Absa mention this to me - despite the fact that I said all along that I needed the appointment for the Saturday. Why would NO ONE tell me this would be impossible? And, why is this even so? Absa typically handles the money of people who work to earn an income. People who work in the week and have to take care of their own business over weekends. If a bank is open on a Saturday, there should be consultants available on Saturdays. This is honestly an absurdly ridiculous policy. I understand that no one wants to work weekends, but it is very standard if you choose to work in a profession that involves any form of customer service (as in, serving the customers/clients of the business). I don't know quite when banks started to consider themselves so high and mighty, but perhaps they should remember that without their clients, there'd be literally no reason for them to even exist.

It was suggested by this helpful man that I speak to the specialist manager who was on duty - apparently a customer service manager. I explained this entire situation to him and although he couldn't actually do anything, he gave me a little bit of helpful information that he happened to know about my many queries, and then took all the information to pass along to the relevant consultant today (Monday 23/08/20321). I believe he said her name is Karen and that she is very good at all the international ins and outs. I don't dispute this as I've never dealt with her but, as I said to the specialist manager, I cannot choose a bank for my upcoming needs based on a single person. She may not work there in 6 months' time, and then what? I need to be able to trust the bank as a whole to take care of my money and banking needs, regardless of who ends up assigned to it. I'd already said this was a test and Absa, so far, had failed miserably. I expressed these serious concerns to the manager and even explained that Capitec has once caused me to almost become stranded in the US, so I have legitimate worries about my bank letting me down when I'm out of the country. I honestly lost count of how many times I stressed the importance of my bank needing to listen to me about communication channels and my very important and non-negotiable need to have everything reduced to writing (via email). The specialist manager took all my details, printed out the necessary details of my existing Absa account, and made a note on it about my cell reception and (I assume) the need to email me, and promised to make sure that it was passed onto the person he recommended and that she would likely contact me today (Monday 23/08/2021) so this could finally be attended to.

I've just received text notifications for FOUR missed CALLS from the Shelly Beach branch of Absa.

I'm not even kidding.

Honestly, how the hell am I supposed to EVER trust Absa with my money and banking now?! This has literally pushed me to the very verge of the tiny bit of patience I had left for Absa. Every instinct is now screaming at me to move EVERYTHING entirely over to one of the other banks (there are other options besides Absa and Capitec, you know) and abandon Absa as it has abandoned me. I feel so incredibly insulted by this. If you can't be bothered to assist your clients, please at least have the decency to just say that so we can go elsewhere without having so much of our time and energy wasted first. It really isn't fair to actively insult us by treating us as though we are not even worth being listened to. I would honestly have had more respect for Absa if someone had physically slapped me in the face than I do for this offensive treatment. Absolute shame on you, Absa.