Bank Statement Woes

COMPLAINTS, VIOLENT REATIONS AND MORE RANTING...
I hate banks who get couriers who not only DO NOT do their job in delivering bank statements on time, but end up giving private materials to wrong individuals without double checking information. What makes things worst is that their so called "customer service" hotline does nothing but take your complain and ACTION will ONLY be done when the matter gravitates to a higher level.

RANT #1 : STANDERED CHARTERED BANK

Since January this year of 2004, I have been receiving my statement 3-5 days before the due date of the statement. I've always received it between 5 - 7 working days after my cut off date. And to think I just live within the vicinity of the bank's location! What happened?

On my first complaint last April, the supervisor told me that they have changed couriers for this year, thus, the delay. I've complained several times after that only to end up not receiving my bank statment at all when it's due tomorrow!!!! Even if there was technology available like fax (we don't have a private fax at home), email (usually sent in encrypted format thus confusing to understand) or voice prompter (not updated & doesn't work for card nos that have dependents, thus confusing and inaccurate as well), its still important to get the hard copy of your statement (in case of problem, its there for evidence purposes). The first CSR I spoke to even tried to challenge me with my math...telling me that I receive my statements EARLY when I got it 3-5 days before deadline. (NOTE :: the CSR told me that I got my statement 2 WEEKS prior to the deadline, thus when I receive the statement June 23 and my deadline for payment is July 1...does that count as 2 weeks? You do the math!) I got so pissed that the next time I called, I just went straight to the supervisor...and lo and behold...she forgets to get back to me as she promised. What's the use of having supervisors who don't know how to supervise in the first place? Its called CRAP...they are called CRAPPY PEOPLE.

MORAL LESSON OF THIS STORY?
In customer service, small matters MATTER a lot.
Never make a promise that you can't keep. The client always remembers those promises.

RANT #2 : BPI ESPECIALLY THE ROCKWELL BRANCH

I have not received my 1st quarter bank statement at all. I went to the branch to complain and they said that they would get back to me in a week, which of course, they NEVER did. Calling the hotline was the means that eventually got me a copy of my statement but it took about 2 months!!! What got me even more upset was for me to find out that my bank statement was received by a DR. ANTONIO SALVADOR of whom the name, nor the gender exsisted in this house hold...more so in the village that I live in. Oh what crap couriers get themselves into! Don't they even read the address that they deliver statements to? It's not funny cuz bank statements are supposed to be private and confidential matters...not that I have millions in my account...but still, I don't want people to know about my finances!

MORAL LESSON OF THIS STORY?
Never challenge a client that has already gone through the same problem over and over again. Check and double check your facts (i.e. SOPs) before telling the client what to do, less you want the client to wring your neck.
And again, whenever making a promise to clients, always make sure to keep them.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY...
In customer service, promises are made, not to be broken but to be kept.
Promises made and are broken can bring you BIG trouble BIG time.

Time to close that BPI Rockwell Account. VERY BAD SERVICE.

Closing Ceremonies

GOODBYE ATHENS...
Watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympic games was a blast. I was pretty amazed how Greece, thou small a country, has managed to pull off a gigantic event such as the olympics....let alone being headed by a female!!! Girls definitely ruled!!! Even if its just on TV. What more if you were actually there? They claim that 99.9% of the world's athletes were able to compete clean (no drug issues) and boy, were they proud of that.

ON A SERIOUS NOTE...
It's disappointing that we didn't win even a single medal this year...though a lot of our athletes did give it their best. What I find really funny is that a lot of the athletes we sent break records here but not abroad...why? Because the records that we "break" here in Philippine waters aren't even at par with world records. Take for example the Men's swimming. If one compares the "record breaking" finishes, philippine top records are a good 10 to 15 seconds far from world records. So, I really didn't expect any of our swimmers to qualify from the beginning.

Not to undermime our athlete's talents, but this example just shows how much lack of support our athletes get from the government. Instead of allocating our congressmen , senators and cabinet members of their pork barrel (these law makers get about an extra "budget" between P120-200 million for their office "operating expenses" every year and all they do is argue during meetings & sessions and buy SUVs for their own comfort, thus, wasting taxpayer's money), why not allocate it to people who can make our country proud...like the athletes? Say better sports facilities even down to the barangay level Or promoting sports as an alternative to drugs, alcohol and other abuses which a lot of youth tend to wander into?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY...
NO to SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLES, YES to SPORTS!

Next stop -- Bejing 2008! This time, I won't miss the action!

The Two Towers

THE BIG ONE...
Just finished watching a semi-LORT marathon at HBO and boy do I miss that movie!!! Funny thing was, this was the first time that I actually noticed that Gollum looked strikingly similar to the person who does his voice....and boy did that voice talent go thru a lot of hitting and splashing around the rivers and rocks...all for the love of Peter Jackson I assume. Can't wait to watch all 3 episodes due this Christmas during our family christmas dinner...yup, all extended versions...mwahaha=)

ON A SERIOUS NOTE...
It's really hard to be the person who gets caught in the middle of a cat fight especially if both parties are people you care about. It's even harder to explain to them why I refuse to take sides and why I choose to be diplomatic about things...its just the way I deal with the situation wherein taking sides is a big NO NO. Thank God for my natural talent of being a comic relief...

THOUGHT OF THE DAY...
There's a rainbow always after the rain...I hope we all find our rainbows=)

Once in A Blue Moon

THE QUEEN HAS ARRIVED...
Finally, after ages of trying to get into my own blogspot...i have arrived! I was forever trying to creat an account and was actually shocked that someone had already used my username. Well, I wondered...how can that be?...my name is only being used by me and me alone. Little did I know that i already created my account ages ago but was never actually aware that it already existed...calling all blogspot system admins....what happened to my welcome email?=)

ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE...
Today is the day when the last blue moon of the year appears in the evening. I've always been one of the lucky few people on this planet to actually have the moonlight spilling over my bedroom and yes, it does give me a very relaxed and pleasant feeling before i drift off to sleep. If my memory serves me right, the next blue moon comes in about 3 years (correct me if I'm wrong please!). What is a blue moon any way? FYI, a blue moon occurs whenever there are 2 full moons seen in a month. Blue moons can occur at any month of the year except for the month of February when there are only 29 days...i think it takes about 30 days for a moon to complete its cycle thus, there are centain months in a century that blue moons occur...leave the math to the scientists=)

THOUGHT OF THE DAY...
There are opportunities in life that come once in a blue moon...don't let it pass you by.