Poor service at Capitec Bank

<div>I had the worst experience of customer service at the Woodlands Mall Pretoria East branch of Capitec Bank, yesterday (08.02.2012). First of all, they do not have a policy to give preference to senior citizens. My wife (80 years of age) and I (83 years of age) were standing in the queue at the entrance and I asked the consultant on duty if she could let us in since my wife was sick and could not bear the standing. The consultant had to go to all the others in the queue and apparently had to ask their "permission" if she may grant our request. When we were at the FNB branch in the same shopping mall some days before, we were also awaiting our turn in the queue when the manager came out and invited us to his office to attend to our business. Now that is service! Secondly, I found the same consultant not people friendly, leave alone customer orientated. As we entered the bank, we found benches with three seats but only one allowed to sit on. The consultant insisted that I take a seat on one bench and my wife on another bench, some distance away from me. I explained to her that my wife suffers from a chronic illness that makes het very anxious if I am not at her side. However, she insisted that we take a seat in separate benches a distance from apart and I asked to call the manager who resolved the issue. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect that the first person who meets you at the entrance should be trained in good customer relationships and to be sympathetic to customers' needs. I will surely not visit that branch again. Prof John Higgins</div>