Edith, the Bad Teller!
Washington Mutual
100 North 1st Street
Burbank, Ca 91502 

I received a check in one of my businesses that was from Washington Mutual and from a new customer, the check was one of those temporary checks without the printed information on it.  It appeared to be a check that is given when you open a new account.  When I went to my bank, I decided to just cash that check (in fear that it might bounce) next door at Washington Mutual.

Yesterday (Wednesday May 14, 2008) I visited the Washington Mutual located at 100 North 1st Street in Burbank at approximately 1:30pm.  It is located on the corner of 1st and Olive in downtown Burbank right next to the Post Office and just across the street from Bank of America.  I was greeted by a teller by the name of Edith, I proceeded to hand her a check that was written from Washington Mutual and asked her to please cash the check.  The check was for $36.00.  She asked me if I had an account there and I replied no, she asked Why not?  She proceeded to tell me that I would have to go to my bank, Bank of America and get it endorsed and guaranteed by them???  I replied this is drawn from your bank why do I need to go back to Bank of America for them to guarantee your check?  Edith answered back, this is just the way that it is done here.  So I proceeded to request the Manager.

Susana the Manager came over, after Edith informed her of what I wanted to do in a not so nice tone in front of me.  Then Susana proceeded to tell me the same thing, that I would need to go back to Bank of America to get a guarantee from them on a Washington Mutual check.  I replied to her, this is a Washintgon Mutual check correct?  She responded yes, I then asked her Why would I need Bank of America to guarantee Washington Mutuals check?  Susana the manager responded, I will do it this time but in the future you MUST have an account with us to cash one of our checks here.  I told here that I cash checks that are drawn from other banks like Wells Fargo, several Credit Unions, etc that I may be unsure if the check is good or not.  She responded, I will do it this time for you.

So Edith did proceed to cash the check, she requested that I endorse the back and she requested two forms of ID.  I gave her my California Drivers License and my Community Disaster Volunteer card.  She then said in a not so nice manner that the Disaster Volunteer card is expired, I said I know that the city still honors it when they need me to volunteer, instead of asking for another form of ID, she began to chide me, but the ID is expired in a very snotty tone, I responded I understand, then she interrupted me and said again, the ID is expired and kept repeating it.  When she was done saying that (approximately 4 times in a row) I felt humiliated in front of other guests, in my city where I own several businesses and am a volunteer to possibly help her in a disaster!  I responded back to her with “You asked me why I dont bank with Washington Mutual? This is one reason why I won’t Bank with WaMu, You argue with the customer and treated me like dirt”  She then had a dumb look on her face, like what did I do?

I think this is the perfect example of horrible customer service, the customer is wrong in most cases today and is not treated with respect!  How much longer can we expect to treat customers like this and expect them to come back and do business with us?  As a business owner if my employee treated someone like that they more than likely wouldn’t be working there any longer!  Even if the customer is wrong, you don’t argue with them.  We teach our employees that you don’t have to agree with the customer, but do not talk down to them.  Maybe Edith needs to go through a customer service 101 class again and be reminded that without the customer she would not have a job!

My recommnedation is to go to Bank of America just across the street on Olive from the Post Office.  Unless you enjoy being treated like garbage and want someone to argue with you … then go see Edith!  If not, I have been banking at the Bank of America across the street for almost 20 years now, have several personal and business accounts, the parking is much more accessible, the facility is much larger than Washington Mutual and best of all, the people that work there are very nice, they almost always have someone to greet you and like me, I am greeted by name.  This Bank of America also has a Merchant area, which is nice for us business owners, it is a small enclosure and seated waiting area which is especially nice when you have a couple hundred dollars in coins!