BMO – Vancouver – Not your old fashion retail bank.

BMO -Vancouver Main Street @ Keefer : Not your old fashion retail bank. © 2016 Breaking-News.ca

 My journey in trying to get a Journal item @  the Bank of Montreal Get directions »

 Are the days gone when a man can go into a retail bank and order services off the “public” menu? If there is a fee for the service then that service has to exist. I asked for a little known and used banking service call a Journal item.

What it is: They file a cheque lets say for two days from now in a file called journal items. One of the duties of a bank officer is to pull the file and go to today’s date and post / deposit all the items in that days file.  A function of the banks as old as a chequing account it’s self.

By the way for the public at large as of this writing I was quoted $5.00 as being the charge for this service. So folks if there is a charge for a service than that service does exist.

I cannot imagine a local branch has mountains of items in their Journal, with that in mind to do one, and actually show / teach a young banker some thing about the “institution” he works for would have been a win win win. But no sadly, it did not go that way at all.

I had a cheque that was dated for the next day, I brought it in to deposit it. So I ask Michael at the counter to Journal it for me and deposit it tomorrow.

I was told three different things.

1.)  “We Don’t do that”:

I explained to him yes you do, I worked in banking at one time, I am certian there is such a thing and some where around here is the file as I pointed to the cabinets.

2.)  “I have never done that sorry we can’t do that for you”:

So it went from we don’t journal items to we do but, I have never done it. I explained just because he has never done one does not mean that “we” cannot. I asked him to talk to the supervisor. I looked over to see him, I was happy he was handy.

3.) “Does not know or think the supervisor can, will, or knows how”:

I said please ask the supervisor.  Micheal became rude, rolling his eyes and sighing as if exasperated by the thought of resolving this business. I asked him why would he be so rude?  I am a customer seeking clarification plus I had ordered a financial service.

It is like some one asking for a double fish burger at a Mc Donalds and being told it is impossible to make one. You can order one. Once you place your order you are in business. The fact it is not on the menu does not mean it does not have a entry on the POS terminal, and Just because an employee has never made one does not mean that one cannot be made, and that there is a already programmed and defined fee for it!

Enter the “Supervisor” : ( I forgot his name I had to ask it once as he was not wearing a name badge or I at least do not recall seeing one. I got Michael’s name from his name tag.)

EDIT: The Supervisors name is “Terry” I sighted him again with out a name tag. This was noted in the video.

I ask supervisor to file my cheque for deposit tomorrow. The Supervisor stated they do not do  Journal items,  then proceeded to tell the cheque I was negotiating for deposit was defective as it was dated for tomorrow. For him this was the only thing he saw fit to mention to me.

Seriously? As if I did not know that hence my request to journal this. I explained that they do journal.

I said “just state for the record you will not do that for me or you do not journal items at all. What ever that case may be.”

I asked this three times…

Supervisor finally admits to there even being such a thing / service then says OK we do, but there is a $5.00 charge.

I was flabber gasted that it took all the above frustration to get the truth, and now he wants to dissuade me further by making a sour face as he delivers the $5.00 fee “bomb”.  I said well there you go and explained how rude Michael was in helping me to get to this point.

I said OK $5.00 for every item. Why the two of them had tried to obfuscate the truth is beyond me. 

Supervisor went on to go on the attack.  He then went on to further frustrate the attempt get the service by saying I only do this for people who are well known to us, can I have your card and pin? (Keep in mind I had already keyed in.  Did Micheal shut down the session on his terminal be fore we where done? Perhaps the Supervisor could not see it but he did look and was in front of the monitor.)

So I pointed to Michael as the Supervisor was saying the above and was speaking to him about how un professional a manner he conducted himself just for it come down to yes for a $5.00 service. Supervisor interrupts me as I am speaking with Michael and I said I am talking to Michael at the moment please don’t interrupt.

Supervisor then starts to attack me personally “your pointing is rude”.  I was not reaching over the counter. I was pointing to Michael as I was making it clear I was speaking to Michael as Supervisor interrupts.

I said “I am not gesturing in a violent or threatening manner.”

Supervisor:  “you are done talking to Michael”.  I was like “I will determine that for myself.”

Who does this young man think he is telling me when I am done speaking with another? He said it so rudely I was thinking am I in the twilight zone? 

Perhaps if he stopped interrupting and then calling me rude for pointing out that both of them where being rude to me I would have been finished sooner to both their satisfactions as apparently it was all about how they felt and not about the fact I had ordered a Journal Item to wit they where doing their best to deny me..

At this point I said I am going to report this. I spoke to Both Michael and Supervisor in saying that.

I said I am going to Tangerine…, He says “Ok that’s fine, good bye”. I had not even finished my sentence. They did not ask me if I had any other needs, was there anything they could do. Did I want the Journal item service still? Can we accommodate your order and full fill it now? Nothing but good bye from two guys with sour faces and rolling eyes.

What was clear these two did not want to Journal My Cheque. They where just professional enough to refrain from saying as much, and that is not saying much.

I have never written a  compliant piece or a fan piece nor do I write to corporations to report poor product / service. Nor to praise them either (well some times on twitter I will give a shout out)

As you can see I have highlighted text here in Orange or should I say Tangerine. ca

So today I sent his article link to feedback@bmo.com. As well I called the branch  in question. It rung out… Sigh! So what I have to do is go in deposit The Cheque to teranfer in to Tangerine, and get managers extension number, then make the call…  again. 

I Should have put the deposit in the ATM. Is this what I should be walking away with?

That the machine is the superior service choice for retail banking in Vancouver? Seriously?

BMO -Vancouver Main Street @ Keefer Not your old fashion retail bank.

 So I did what I said and Completed the setup up my Tangerine Account (ING DIrect). Free banking, why not give it a try?  If ATM and online banking is easier than using a retail branch such as My local BMO then why not, and it is FREE!  

Open a Tangerine Account by September 16, 2016 with a minimum deposit of $100 using Breaking-News.ca’s  Orange Key^® and earn a $50 Bonus. Plus, get an additional $25 Bonus** when you set up an Automatic Savings Program (ASP) into a Tangerine Savings Account with a minimum of $100 per month for 6 continuous months. Simply set the amount and frequency you want to save and the ASP moves your money into your Savings Account automatically.

Breaking-News.ca’s  Orange Key is: 46762156S1

All you need to do is enter Breaking-News.ca’s Orange Key when you are opening your Account on tangerine.ca. Or visit tangerine.ca/referafriend to learn more and start saving today!

by:  ~Q~
http://Breaking-News.ca

VIDEO AND UPDATE: Published on 24 Aug 2016

Published on 24 Aug 2016: In the video above that this author recorded. It starts off with a customer named Ken who just happens to have a undeniable case of torrests or some other such syndrome.  I recorded it with a Phablet at 13 megapixels, the audio picks up Ken the loudest by for in the branch at that time.

The banking rep (teller) who was very kind, (Name tag read Terence Lee) acknowledge that there was a fee for a Journal Item. Bingo the front line people (at least some ) seem to know there is a charge for it and thus it (the Journal Item) service exists. It must be a real pain in the you know what because banking reps seems to act as though it be a form of plague.

Again with the but “there is a fee”.  Does BMO not want them to sell this service? $5.00 is $5.00.

You think they would gladly debit your account of the service fee. It is not much different than depositing a cheque at a ATM/ABM  machine. Some one posts those deposits. I am baffled by it. The reluctance to admit there is such a thing and down selling me on it.

I would have been better off talking a picture with the Android and depositing it in Tangerine instantly. Ready to be used at least by business next day. I think this might be what the visit says to me.

It took me 7 times doing a double pin entry.  It ended in me just getting a new card. I knew better than to leave with out a solution as I would be stuck on the phone with BMO just for an agent to tell me I need to physically visit a branch to reset the pin. It is amazing that I thought to record this, you cant make this stuff up.  What are the Odds that would happen? What ever they are or where it happened.

Here is a picture of the BMO Terminal.

Terence gave it to me as evidence (?) that he was not playing around. 7 times at two different terminals…?

Oddly enough I was called into BMO to change my pin with in the last thirty days. I got a missed call from BMO and then tried to login to the web banking. I had to go in to the branch to make new pin. 

They gave me a new MC touch pass BMO debit card.  Chip and pin – RFID POS ready.

Was my card flagged? Have you ever heard a terminal beep the way it did in the above video?

BanChing err I mean Banking  in Vancouver’$ China Town.

Strange things are afoot.  Clearly I have some trust issues with my local branch.

by:  ~Q~
http://Breaking-News.ca

In April 2014, we changed our name from ING DIRECT to Tangerine.

Our name has changed, but we won’t change what Canadians love about us. This is the story of our new name and logo.

© 2016 Breaking-News.ca