When I got there the teller informed me that my card wasn’t going to be ready until Tuesday because the person that has to approve my card leaves at 5 p.m. I would have been perfectly fine with my old debit card but the bank put a minimum limit on my checking account and since I’m a student, I don’t have income to surpass that limit. Therefore I’m forced to get prepaid cards. On top of that the tellers kept complaining about the bank extending its hours and telling the receptionist to lock the door so that the rest of the customers couldn’t get in. It is not proper to have those conversations in front of customers. Why is the bank even open if no one wants to work the extended hour and the people that have to approve certain transactions aren’t working those extended hours?
– Struggling student, El Centro
The struggling student who sent in this Probe question just happened to pick the first Friday that Sun Community Federal Credit Union was open for an extended hour.
While it is true that not all Sun Community employees stick around until 6 p.m., the remaining credit union staff is still able to handle any customer service request, a representative said. Going to pick up a prepaid credit card should not have transpired as described above, said the SCFCU representative, who asked not to be named.
The customer should have been able to walk out of the establishment with an approved card, although it would not have been activated for another 24 hours.
While personnel at the El Centro branch could have handled the approval request, the struggling student may have arrived at the branch office near enough to closing time that the paperwork could not have been completed by personnel at another branch who often assist with the process and must be faxed the paperwork, we’re told.
The representative did not have an explanation for why the customer would have been told to wait until Tuesday, as there was no holiday this past Monday. Activation of the prepaid cards is handled by a third party company who should have had 24-hour customer service available. And since the extended hours were prompted by customer requests, we’re told, either one or the other should not be around for that long, one would hope.
The representative recommended speaking with a supervisor about any concerns a customer may have in order to bring the issue to the attention of management.
– Struggling student, El Centro
The struggling student who sent in this Probe question just happened to pick the first Friday that Sun Community Federal Credit Union was open for an extended hour.
While it is true that not all Sun Community employees stick around until 6 p.m., the remaining credit union staff is still able to handle any customer service request, a representative said. Going to pick up a prepaid credit card should not have transpired as described above, said the SCFCU representative, who asked not to be named.
The customer should have been able to walk out of the establishment with an approved card, although it would not have been activated for another 24 hours.
While personnel at the El Centro branch could have handled the approval request, the struggling student may have arrived at the branch office near enough to closing time that the paperwork could not have been completed by personnel at another branch who often assist with the process and must be faxed the paperwork, we’re told.
The representative did not have an explanation for why the customer would have been told to wait until Tuesday, as there was no holiday this past Monday. Activation of the prepaid cards is handled by a third party company who should have had 24-hour customer service available. And since the extended hours were prompted by customer requests, we’re told, either one or the other should not be around for that long, one would hope.
The representative recommended speaking with a supervisor about any concerns a customer may have in order to bring the issue to the attention of management.
