Exceptional Service at the Bank

by Lee An
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

When I first came to Canada, I knew very little about the banking system. I was 22 years old and my English wasn’t that good. I walked into the first bank I saw . . . I badly needed a checking account, as I had started working a few days earlier.

While the receptionist had little patience and was about to require me to call to set an appointment, something I hadn’t even considered, one of the bank representatives walked towards me and said one his customers just cancelled. He could see me right now, if I wanted to.

He probably sensed I was nervous and joked a bit. He even spoke a few sentences in my mother tongue. He was an immigrant too, he explained. His parents had landed in Canada when he was a kid and he remembered them to be confused about a lot of things in Canada, among them banking.

He sat down with me for close to an hour. He brought me brochures in my mother tongue and explained how everything worked in English. He spoke slowly enough and made sure I understood everything. He gave me tips, tips I still use today. He processed my application right away and gave me my first bank card, linked to the best and cheapest banking package he could offer.

So many bank representatives could have taken advantage of my not speaking good English. Because I did not know much about banking, they could have signed me up for the most expensive products.

But he didn’t. He offered the best customer service you can think of, honestly and patiently.