The easy answer

Poor FNB just can't catch a break. I pick on them quite a bit because they are always so willing to show off their terribly flawed customer service.

My request, to me at least, seemed simple: allow my business accountant access to my online business banking without giving access to my personal accounts. I figured there were 2 options of how to do this:

1. Create a whole new account which has a separate login ID and password
2. Seeing as my accountant banks with FNB herself, that we can add my business account to her profile so that she sees it listed within her online accounts.

We asked the polite and friendly lady behind the counter which of the two options would be best. Not knowing the answer, she went off to ask the supervisor and quickly returned to tell us that we will have to create a whole new account (option 1). Still thinking that option 2 would be the easiest, I asked again if it we couldn't simply add to my accountants current FNB profile and the response was a rapid and decisive "NO".

So on we went with option 1 and were soon joined by the supervisor to help out our rapidly failing teller. We took 30 minutes to complete the relevant forms, signing in triplicate and initialing every page before the supervisor calmly mentioned that it would so much easier if my accountant had an FNB account. I immediately said that she does and the look on the supervisors face was priceless. "Well then all we have to do is add it to her profile." I almost exploded in the bank!

Breathe! Why would the teller so blankly answer NO to my question? Here is what I think:

1. She didn't care about my problem and didn't care if it got solved or not,
2. It was too much effort to go and ask her supervisor again, and
3. She was probably scared that she would look bad if she had to go ask again

In the end she perfectly succeeded in providing terrible service, upsetting a customer, confusing a simple situation, and letting herself and her employer down. To make matters worse, our teller was in the process of training a young teller. Is this honestly the kind of customer service she is training? My future dealings with FNB certainly seem dark indeed.

"NO" is too easy an answer and should be banned from the vocab of anyone in a customer facing position. There are so many better ways to deal with a question. Even questions that deserve a 'no' answer can be answered without using the word, and specifically not without a decent explanation.

Dear FNB, for the sake of everything that is decent in this world, sort yourselves out!

Thanks