I’ve had a CIB account for 10 years minus a couple of days. I can remember because I was waiting to turn 18. I went alone and I had the thousand Egyptian Pounds that were the minimum needed to open a minors’ account. I had been saving at the Post Office (yes I like to try and save). I was so proud of myself. At my first job they asked me to open an account at Al Ahli Bank and I said no, I want to use my CIB account, they told me my salary would always be a couple of days late, I said I didn’t mind, I was a loyal customer. At my second job, they transfered to CIB again so I didn’t change accounts. At my last job they forced me into opening an account at the HSBC and even though their customer service was great I still preferred the CIB account because there were more branches and more ATM machines and the ATM card doubled as a Debit Card using the Visa Electron system. I’d transfer my account to the CIB and use that card most of the month. Anyone who asked me about my favorite bank I’d tell the the CIB.
So when last week I called them to confirm my account number for a bank transfer I was doing and the call center representative neglected to inform me that my account had been closed because there were not transactions being made for a long time. I was very clear and told her that I would be transferring money and that I was out of the country and she didn’t warn me. I called yesterday because I wasn’t able to log into my internet banking account and the representative told me that the account had been closed.
It was so simple for them, one account, closed. It is not simple for me. First of all they wasted my time. I was lucky that the transaction had failed otherwise my money would have been left in banking hell limbo.
To make a long story short, CIB you suck big time, you lost a loyal customer because your call center representative did not go the extra mile, your system is not smart enough or you just don’t care enough. If she had told me the first time that the account was closed she would have saved me time but apparently no one cares about my time except me. If the person who answered me the second time told me that he could see what he could do and tried to activate my account I would have been annoyed but still loyal. Now I am angry and feeling betrayed. I trust my bank. I have to, they keep my money. Once that trust is gone, the relationship is doomed.
In the middle of the conversation I asked to talk to a supervisor or manager so he told me that I would have to give him an Egyptian number. How can I do that if I am not in Egypt? Last month an HSBC rep called me telling me that they had noticed a strange transaction on my internet credit card, they had blocked it and were calling to confirm. They called my home number in Egypt first and my mom gave them my number in Kuwait and they called long distance, now that is what I call dedication. To make that long story short, my email had been hacked and someone tried to make a transaction for 600$. HSBC saved me those 600$ and a lot of hassle. I was impressed by how they handled the whole situation and felt very happy. CIB on the other hand did nothing for me and did themselves a disservice. I might not have a lot of money at their bank but a bad reputation is bad for business.
