s/o customer service, dumb question - what's your opinion

[chia]

My DH went to the bank this morning - the sole purpose of going to the bank was to cash in about $25 worth of change.  All silver change, so it's not like it was a backpack full of pennies.

He went to the bank branch (where he has an account), and they were like "sorry, the change machine is broken."
They then said they couldn't deposit his unrolled change, and they didn't have any paper change rolls.
There weren't a ton of people in the bank, and they weren't close to closing time. 
Rather than taking his change, they sent him to a different branch about 5 miles away, where they "thought the change machine was working."

Do you think they should have taken the change, counted it, and deposited it for him?
Or, was it acceptable for them to send him away with his ziploc full of change to another branch?

We had a little discussion about this after he got home, and I'm curious to know what you think.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

I think they should have counted it. WTF?

[hbomdiggity]

my bank only accepts rolled change. When I was little I always rolled my dad's change jar - I got to keep half for my labor.

[6fsn]

My bank only accepts rolled change too. The most they should have done is called the other branch to make sure it was working.

[juliahenry]

Our bank will not take change that has not been rolled and labeled. I understand why, especially with the change machine broken.

I think you should roll your own change and not expect the bank to do it for you.

[Deleted]

I agree, roll it yourself. We have those change machines in grocery stores here--maybe try that?

[chia]

But, don't you think the bank should be able to provide the paper sleeves, at least?
And, if they don't have a working change machine OR the paper sleeves... don't you think they should take it, if it's a reasonable amount?

[chia]

May 4, 2013 21:04:44 GMT -5 @blushnbashful said:

I agree, roll it yourself. We have those change machines in grocery stores here--maybe try that?

The coinstar machines take a ridiculous percentage.

[juliahenry]

Why can't you wrap it in scrap paper? Your change, you roll it.

You sound very high-maintenance.

[pamela]

This is why I dumped my credit union. They're constantly changing policy on change made it impossible to do the right thing to get my coins in the bank. Sometimes it had to be rolled. Sometimes they wouldn't accept it rolled and would dump it all out to count it to make sure you didn't short them. Then they went to video conference type tellers (the same number of tellers were still working, just behind a wall so you didn't interact face to face) so I don't know what the change policy was then.

Ridiculous. Legal tender going into a bank account at their bank shouldn't be that hard.

[Deleted]

As a former bank teller, we could not accept large amounts of unrolled change (my branch didn't have a change machine). It's not just because it's time consuming, but manually counting large amounts of change can be really hard to be accurate.

[Deleted]

Banks are such a pain about this, ours only accepts rolled change as well. I use Coinstar now & get Amazon gift certificates (so I don't lose a percentage of my money). I always need something from Amazon anyway.

[pamela]

May 4, 2013 21:06:28 GMT -5 chia said:

May 4, 2013 21:04:44 GMT -5 @blushnbashful said:

I agree, roll it yourself. We have those change machines in grocery stores here--maybe try that?

The coinstar machines take a ridiculous percentage.

0% if you do a gift card. 

[agnes]

May 4, 2013 21:05:23 GMT -5 chia said:

But, don't you think the bank should be able to provide the paper sleeves, at least?
And, if they don't have a working change machine OR the paper sleeves... don't you think they should take it, if it's a reasonable amount?

I'm with you here.  Was it busy?  I think if they were busy, like my bank is on most Saturdays, then they get a pass, though.  If they weren't busy, then I think it's just be good customer service since it is only $25 and not $250. 

[cjeanette]

I think they should have made an exception since the machine was down.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using proboards

[Deleted]

It's actually not a common practice for banks to even have a counter to count change for customers. I had a massive jug of change and went to several banks before I found one with a machine. They also don't supply the papers, you can buy a massive bag for a few dollars at a store.

[chia]

May 4, 2013 21:06:57 GMT -5 juliahenry said:

Why can't you wrap it in scrap paper? Your change, you roll it.

You sound very high-maintenance.

I'm actually pretty low maintenance.

But, if they are supposed to have coin machines in their branches, why would I roll my change before going there?
I'd expect the machines to be in working order, or for them to try to provide an alternative when they aren't.  Especially if they aren't busy.  Like I said, it was about a half of a ziplock bag full.  Not even a huge bag.  Mostly quarters.

[agnes]

May 4, 2013 21:06:57 GMT -5 juliahenry said:

Why can't you wrap it in scrap paper? Your change, you roll it.

You sound very high-maintenance.

It was her H who went.  There is usually a working machine. 

How is she high-maintenance?

[chia]

May 4, 2013 21:20:03 GMT -5 @little said:

The thing that surprises me most about this is so many posters have so much loose change, lol. I only use cash if I absolutely have to. Credit card rewards make me happy.

I'm with you on this one.  
I'll even use my credit/debit card for a $1 cup of coffee in my office cafeteria...

[dexteroni]

May 4, 2013 21:14:16 GMT -5 chia said:

I'd expect the machines to be in working order, or for them to try to provide an alternative when they aren't. 

Good lord, it's not a dialysis machine. I think it's ok to expect people to be able to manage if the machine is out of order. I haven't seen a bank that accepted non-rolled change in decades, nor have I seen a change rolling machine in a branch. It wouldn't even occur to me to expect this, let alone be incensed when it wasn't available one time.

Also, this flashed me back to my retail days - a store brings in something as an extra convenience, and the first time it goes out of order, someone is invariably going to bitch that it's an expected service and they should be compensated for their trouble. Stuff like this is why retails workers end up disgruntled. lol.

[kadams767]

May 4, 2013 21:07:20 GMT -5 pamela said:

This is why I dumped my credit union. They're constantly changing policy on change made it impossible to do the right thing to get my coins in the bank. Sometimes it had to be rolled. Sometimes they wouldn't accept it rolled and would dump it all out to count it to make sure you didn't short them. Then they went to video conference type tellers (the same number of tellers were still working, just behind a wall so you didn't interact face to face) so I don't know what the change policy was then.

Ridiculous. Legal tender going into a bank account at their bank shouldn't be that hard.

Dude. Are you a vending machine operator or something? How much change do you have that you switched banks based on their change policies?! LOL. I'm dying here.

[juliahenry]

May 4, 2013 21:14:16 GMT -5 chia said:

May 4, 2013 21:06:57 GMT -5 juliahenry said:

Why can't you wrap it in scrap paper? Your change, you roll it.

You sound very high-maintenance.

I'm actually pretty low maintenance.

But, if they are supposed to have coin machines in their branches, why would I roll my change before going there?
I'd expect the machines to be in working order, or for them to try to provide an alternative when they aren't.  Especially if they aren't busy.  Like I said, it was about a half of a ziplock bag full.  Not even a huge bag.  Mostly quarters.

They did provide an alternative - the other location.

rolling without a machine is a giant pain in the ass. I don't believe banks are obligated to take your change all mixed together in a ziplock bag. 

Counting and rolling change is a service, and not necessarily a very cost-effective one. Some banks will do it, but they are free to decided whether or not they will, they don't have to. It's a small but unpleasant job and it seems it was a service they decided not to offer. I don't think anyone is entitled to have a bank employee hand roll their loose change.

[kadams767]

This thread is amazing. Who rolls change in scrap paper? Seriously, this is hilarious.

[pugz]

I would not know how to roll change

I throw pennies away sometimes, is that flameful?

[Roc A Bee]

I'd take it to coin star and do the 0% option.

[chia]

May 4, 2013 21:23:06 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

May 4, 2013 21:14:16 GMT -5 chia said:

I'd expect the machines to be in working order, or for them to try to provide an alternative when they aren't. 

Good lord, it's not a dialysis machine. I think it's ok to expect people to be able to manage if the machine is out of order. I haven't seen a bank that accepted non-rolled change in decades, nor have I seen a change rolling machine in a branch. It wouldn't even occur to me to expect this, let alone be incensed when it wasn't available one time.

Also, this flashed me back to my retail days - a store brings in something as an extra convenience, and the first time it goes out of order, someone is invariably going to bitch that it's an expected service and they should be compensated for their trouble. Stuff like this is why retails workers end up disgruntled. lol.

I said it was a dumb question!
And, I'm far from incensed.
Given that the branch was empty at the time (and that it wasn't a huge container full of change), it just seems like - if I were the bank employee/manager - I would have just counted the stupid change, rather than sending the customer to a different branch 10 minutes away.

[Roc A Bee]

May 4, 2013 21:33:59 GMT -5 pugz said:

I would not know how to roll change

I throw pennies away sometimes, is that flameful?

Really? Lol. My DH buys papers from Target and fills them up. It isn't difficult. 

[pugz]

the last time I had a significant amount of change to cash in was as a kid, and it wasn't even my change, it was my dad's. We took it to our bank and they ran it through their machine. It is so rare for me to have cash these days.

[winelady]

Pnc has video tellers instead of drive thru in our town. Not sure about others.

[chia]

May 4, 2013 21:33:59 GMT -5 pugz said:

I would not know how to roll change

I throw pennies away sometimes, is that flameful?

A lot of people think they should stop making the penny!
www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/obama-penny_n_2689805.html