Where everybody knows your name, part II

Previously this year, I wrote about how much I love going to my local Chase branch in Hartsdale, New York. Everyone is so very helpful and friendly. From Thelma, the greeter and CSR to Laura, the part time student who is on track to be a personal banker to my favorite and the person with whom I deal the most - UCONN graduate, Yousef. We originally connected over the UCONN win in March madness and the relationship stuck.

Whenever I have a problem with my account, be that trying to figure out how to make my direct deposit work, or making a deposit with my smart phone, Yousef, the branch manager and VP is available.

More recently, I have been using a cane on a regular basis - I am disabled and really don't like to be reminded of that fact - while I have more than one disability, I choose to focus more on my abilities and less on the disabilities. A trip to my orthopedic surgeon recommended that I not only use a cane, but that I attend physical therapy two to three times a week - and on whose dime?????? I am strapped as it it, but I digress.

It seems a cable company that shall remain nameless, suffice it to say that they are one of the largest here in the NYC area - has been trying for some 4 weeks to get my high speed Internet installed at my home. For reasons unbeknownst to me, that has not happened. I called no less than ten times and was finally so frustrated I gave up and told them to cancel the service and reimburse my money (which they had already conveniently taken out of my account). After waiting for a week and growing more frustrated by the day, I called Chase and they immediately reimbursed the monies. Simple enough.

I was so happy with Chase this week, indeed, anytime I deal with them, I am amazed at their level of professionalism, no matter the amount of monies I have in my bank account......I decided to write to the direct report of my VP - I was surprised not only to receive a response in a day - I can only begin to imagine how busy this man is! But he told me that he had considered my request for a button on the door that one can push if one is disabled such as myself.

I then received a personal call from none other than Yousef to indicate that the work has already begun and though it is an extensive project, they are not delaying my request.

And THAT, dear folks is why Chase is not going to charge to use debit cards - they get it on a very real level that real people use their bank and that folks are struggling - why kick a person when they are already down?

Sometimes you just want to go where everybody knows your name.....

Chase bank - where everyone knows your name - who knew????

I have been attending my local Chase bank since they merged with WAMU some years ago. Laura and Barbara are the two tellers who generally provide me with the most assistance. Laura, in particular is bright, articulate, intelligent and is definitely going places. She recently shared with me that she is attending Fordham University, taking just a few classes at a time and I asked her whether she had considered becoming a personal banker - she is definitely on track! I put a good word in with her supervisor. I frequent the bank with my various questions, deposits, favors, etc, etc, etc. Seems that my favorite personal banker, Jose has moved on to bigger and better things - good for him! In his place is a charming young man from India - a Sikh, complete with dark brown eyes and a turban and an intense passion for cricket. He helped me on my visit today. The VP of the bank is Youssef - talk about a tall drink of water. He is from Pakistan and came to the U.S. when he was 7. He speaks flawless English with a hint of a Pakistani accent. He lives in Connecticut and is tasked with community outreach - my favorite - I hope he will be able to help me with my latest project - and technology in the branches. He is hot, hot, hot, graduated with a Bachelor's from UCONN so was most pleased with the outcome of the NCAA finals this week - he doesn't know it yet, but he is going to meet Manisha at a dinner party next month - sure hope he is not taken. When I left the bank, I ran into Midge Gravely from the Church in the Highlands - a church where I worked for a season when I first moved to the area. Midge lost her sweetheart of over 50 years to a massive heart attack in the middle of the night - she now has early onset Alzheimers and is struggling with her health in general and is also very frail. She lives around the corner from me - I am glad that she has a lovely Irish girl, Anne Marie to take care of her. I shall make an effort to outreach to Midge while I still live in the Co-Op for the next few months. Midge has a bad back and uses a cane - I asked Laura to come over to the comfortable chairs and help her and she immediately complied. I had thought of switching banks earlier this month, particularly when Chase stopped using Debit card rewards. Some things just can't be bought.......

TARP, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch

How ironic that today it was announced that JP Morgan Chase and a few other banks are in a strong enough position financially to begin repaying the aforementioned funds that helped them out when in a bind. Chase was able to acquire Washington Mutual, Merrill Lynch Bank of America and so on.....

I find it interesting that Bank of America card holders are now able to enter the Metropolitan Museum of Art for free now (a suggested donation for entrance is $20) and they are hosting Met Mondays - that is, on holidays when the museum is ordinarily closed, they sponsor the costs of keeping the museum open - at least that is my understanding.

My old tellers and branch managers from WAMU have made it through the merger with Chase and their jobs are intact, my friends at Merrill - not so lucky. At last count, Merrill Lynch had laid off some 30,000 staffers in order to become fiscally sound. Why then, are they spending what is essentially taxpayer money in order to let people get into the museum for free? Where is the oversight in this instance?