Pathetic Service (or lack thereof) - Vangate Mall Branch

<p>I received a phone call from Amber, a consultant at Standard Bank's Vangate Mall Branch on Friday, the 10th of June 2016, from a private number. She informed me that I needed to change my bank account type from student to cheque account because I'm not studying this year. She also said, if I didn't change it, they would close my bank account. I explained to her that I had already gotten a phone call from another consultant about this matter, and that when I advised that I would be studying honours the following year, she said I could keep my account type as Student. Amber then said, even if I would still be a student next year, the cut off age for that account type is 23. So I would have to come in to change it.</p> <p> </p> <p>I went in Sa****ay 04.06.2016, arriving at 11 'o clock and waiting for two hours before I could be assisted for something as simple as opening a new account. Amber then informed me that she would only be able to change it on Monday after getting authorization from her manager because my name on my I.D is hyphenated whereas my name on my proof of residence shows as two names and not one. I signed documents saying I agree to the closing of the student achiever account, and Amber told me that she would e-mail me my new banking details, after she closed my old one, and opened the new one for me. She said she would first give me a call before e-mailing me, that this would happen on Monday morning and that all my settings (such as MyUpdates) would be automatically the same for the new account. Amber gave me a new card which she would activate on Monday.</p> <p> </p> <p>Monday came and went by, Tuesday came and went by and I received no communication from Amber. Wednesday, I googled the phone number for the vangate mall branch, and an operator first screened the call before I could get hold of Amber. She said that she had not forgotten about me, and that the system had been down. She then said she would call me back later that afternoon because at that moment she was assisting another client at her desk.</p> <p>Amber phoned back and informed me that I needed to come in again. I couldn't understand why I needed to come in, when on Sa****ay she told me that she just needed authorization from her manager, she could not give me and explanation as to why I needed to come see her again and I just didn't feel like wasting another two hours of my time. When I told Amber I couldn't come in again, and that she could just e-mail me the new details as she had said she would, she said she would do so.</p> <p>She said she would close my old account and then open the new one.</p> <p> </p> <p>Thursday was a public holiday; Friday, I still received no communication from Amber.</p> <p>Sa****ay, my mother and I decided to go to Standard bank to see what was happening. Then, my mother had to fill in and sign a document as a co-inhabitant (so what would have happened to my account if my mother hadn't been present today, my mother asked, to which Amber rep****, no I would still have been able to open the account), then I had to sign more documentation (and she doesn't explain what the documentations are, just that it is necessary for the process) and then only, after a full week wherein I had to literally run after Standard Bank, I received an activated new banking account. When my mother asked why it took so long to get a new bank account, Amber rep**** that Standard Bank's system had been offline. So am I to believe that when new clients want to open a new account, they also have to wait days for it to happen? My colleague opened a Nedbank account and he had an activated bank account that very same day. My mother also asked Amber why I had to phone after her, why she didn't at least let me know what is happening, as she had all my details, and all she said was that she understands my mother's point of view, but the system was down. What really irked me is that, at first Amber argued with my mom and said that she did phone me to let me know what was happening, when she knows very well that I had to phone after her, after days of not knowing what is happening.</p> <p> </p> <p>My money was supposed to be transfered to the new account but when we checked the balance at the ATM, it showed that unclear balances (Amber said it would show as unclear) was zero. My mother then went back to Amber and pointed it out to her, and she then said she definitely did transfer it.</p> <p> </p> <p>I thought I was finally in the clear, but I still don't get MyUpdates and even for that I apparently have to come in, I am told when I phone Standard Bank. Something Amber told me she could do on her side has not been done.</p> <p> </p> <p>What boggles my mind, is that I have been banking with Standard bank since my mother opened up a savings account for me when I was still in primary school, so why am I being tangled up in all this red tape? What is the incentive for being a loyal client of Standard Bank's for over a decade, or is there none?</p> <p> </p> <p>I am really frustrated that you guys could waste my time and inconvenience me so much. Have the decency to get back to your clients, and let them know what is happening. It is irritating to be told things will be done and then when the new account is set up, I have to go to the bank yet again. And train the consultants to do their job properly the first time around so that the customer doesn't have to keep running to you.</p> <p>I am really irked by this terrible service and seriously considering just switching banks. I have worked in customer service myself and try to always be nice to others who also work in customer service but in all of my dealings with Amber, she comes across as ***********. The client just isn't a priority.</p>