Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Seriously???

OK - before I start on my own rendition of this story you can read about it HERE if you like. My version may be a bit more entertaining though. Here it goes.

Man walks into Bank of America to cash a check from his wife's account. Bank says they need an ID and a thumb print in order to cash the check. Man says that he would love to offer them a thumb print but he has NO ARMS. I mean clearly - you can look at the man and see that he has two prosthetic arms. So, what does BOA do? They insist that he must have a thumb print in order to cash the check. Man reminds bank again about the no arm thing - kinda hard.

So, the teller goes to get her manager because she simply does not know what to do about the man having no arms. Now, let me also say that this check is from his wife's account (which is at Bank of America) and the guy has 2 forms of ID. Manager again confirms that they must have a thumbprint to cash the check. Again, the man states his predicament and reminds the bank that there is actually an American with Disabilities act that they must follow. Manager states that the man can either open an account or bring his wife with him (in which case I'm not sure what the hell he would need the check for). I'm not exactly sure what the incentive would be for him to open a checking account with this bank that clearly is being ridiculous.

Now, I agree that neither one of those options is completely out of the realm of reasonable things. However, seriously???? You can't just clearly SEE that the man has no arms and make a concession for him - really??? You can't phone the wife? You can't say "we can do it this time but in the future we will need XYZ"? I mean, let's use some common sense shall we? It's not like BOA not cashing the check will teach him a lesson and that he will remember to bring his arms the next time he comes.

Gimmie a break.

12 comments:

turtlegirl76 said...

I wonder if he could have offered up a toe.

toni in florida said...

That falls under the category of "How to tell it's time to stop patronizing a particular business" pretty squarely, doncha think?

Jenny said...

I actually laughed out loud at this! Well, at the stupid bank, obviously, not at the arm-less man :) Thank you so much for posting it, it really made my day!

/ Jenny

evilsciencechick said...

I don't know, I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion. Most banks won't even cash a check for you if you don't have an account there. Then this guy walks in, and some low level manager freaks out, because he has TEH RULES from the bigwigs and doesn't know what to do. Bad PR decision, and bad on BoA for not having the contingency plan worked out (I hate BoA for so many reasons anyway). But now this guy is some kind of hero for this story, and I'm very "meh" about it.

Dude, go to your own damn bank and cash your check. Cashing checks at banks that are not your own is a nice convenience - not a god given birthright!

Zaneta @ Runner's Luck said...

haha, i agree, your version was more entertaining...

it is ridiculous though, my boyfriend works at a bank and he gets so aggravated by the policies and how the other tellers and upper people treat their customers...

Rocky Moreno said...

That is really upsetting, it really is the Bank's Branch Mgr. that should be finding a way to accommodate the disability. Whomever that man was should really file a complaint or even a lawsuit for being discriminated upon. He could've tried another bank, all banks have different Branch Mgr.'s, so he may not have received the same service at a different one. There are certain BofA's I don't go to just because of the Mgr.

cockeyed said...

i'm thinkin' a new bank is in their near future..... : }

Turtle said...

Wow....if ever there was a "there's your sign" moment. Duh!!! Sadly, makes me happy i do not do business with this establishment, i mean, seriously!

Unknown said...

Naah, you guys, something fishy could be there. If the bank had no way to find the guy later if he HAD stolen and forged his wife's check, or had stolen it from the real husband they would have had to eat it. And you can bet everyone would have had the mgr's head for not following the rules. Why would you need to "cash" a check from your wife to you anyway? Not that it's our business, but that's 2 red flags to this chick from a banking family that has seen even weirder things! You want someone nice or someone suspicious protecting your money? Having a nodding acquaintance with your branch personnel is priceless, obviously. Oops, wasn't his bank, was it? Sheesh!

Carrie said...

I just read this post to my family and my 11 year old suggested just like turtlegirl76 that he have a toe print!

Jane said...

I saw that story a few days ago and thought it absolutely ridiculous. Common sense seems to be in short supply these days, particularly in regard to banking. I hope his wife closed her account. I would have.

Farmer Jen said...

I liked your version better. Made me laugh.