A Bank Teller Mocked My $300 Deposit, So I Closed My Account With $3 Billion
“Ah, this is the main branch after all. Poor folks should go to the smaller branches. They’d be thrilled to get a $300 deposit.”
“You really have a terrible attitude. I’ve never met a bank employee as rude as you.”
“I only become rude because of people like you. We handle lots of customers here; can’t afford to be nice to every poor person.”
“If you want a better service, deposit a large sum.”
That’s awful. As I muttered this, the teller loudly made a sarcastic comment.
“Ah, man, why are there so many poor folks? I’m not working here for them, you know.”
“It’s really annoying. Tiring, really. And they complain about bad service.”
“They should cut it out with the jokes. Why would you bother depositing $300 at the counter? Ridiculous!”
“I’m sick of this job. Why should I have to bow to poor folks?”
“They’re probably on a tight budget anyway and shouldn’t even be at a bank.”
My anger was nearing its breaking point at his venomous words.
“Here you go, old man. The deposit is done. Next time, learn how to use the machine.”
Looking around, everyone at the counter seemed downcast. Despite hearing his words, no one seemed to intervene.
“Old man, move! Get out of here! Enough already!”
A Call Worth Three Billion
That’s when my anger exploded. I shouted so loudly that other customers looked at me.
“What’s your problem, old man? I spent time helping you and you yell?”
“If you don’t like it, poor people like you shouldn’t come to the main branch.”
“I see. All right, that’s enough.”
I said this and pulled out my phone, calling my usual branch.
“Let me talk to the branch manager. Is this the manager? This is Smith.”
“I’m cancelling my company’s $3 billion corporate account. Yes, make sure it can be cancelled immediately.”
After saying this and hanging up, the man in front of me was wide-eyed.
I thought to myself, now he’ll realize I’m wealthy. But to my surprise, he burst out laughing.
“What are you doing, pretending to be rich? A corporate account with $3 billion? Man, you think I’d be surprised?”
“That’s impossible! Poor people’s fantasies are just like that. What a show!”
“Did you just call your wife to pretend? Feeling like playing a role at your age?”
As he laughed uproariously, I just stared at him silently.
I knew his laugh would soon turn into a strained expression. I was looking forward to that moment.
Sure enough, the branch manager came running over.
“Mr. Smith, is there anything wrong?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m the manager of this main branch. I just heard from your branch about your corporate account cancellation.”
“I’ve come to talk to you personally.”
“Well, you’re too late. I’ve already decided to cancel.”
“Please, could we talk in the back? There must be some misunderstanding.”
“No, there’s no misunderstanding.”
“Manager, why are you bowing to this old man? He’s just a poor guy. Bowing to him won’t get you anything.”
“No, Johnson, that’s rude!”
“What’s rude? It’s a waste to spend time on a poor person. It’s pointless.”
“Could you be quiet for a moment?”
For some reason, the manager did not yell at or reprimand this man named Johnson. He even seemed to be pushed around by him.
This was no way to foster proper personnel.
The Manager’s Desperation
“Ah, I’m terribly sorry. Could you please come to the back so we can talk?”
“That won’t change anything.”
“Please, let’s talk this over.”
The manager, almost clinging, bowed his head and grabbed my arm.
“Please, Mr. Smith, just let me have a word with you.”
Seeing the manager’s desperate state, I agreed to talk and headed to the back.
As I followed the manager, we entered a small reception room where a secretary had prepared fancy cakes and tea.
I sat on the sofa, arms crossed, without touching any of the offered items.
“Mr. Smith, was there an issue? I received a call from your branch. If it’s okay, I’d like to hear about it.”
“It’s fine. Well, the problem is that man Johnson.”
“Yes?”
“I usually go to a different branch, but today I was around here and wanted to make a deposit.”
“The service was so bad that I thought about closing my account.”
“He ridiculed me for being poor and said depositing just $300 was a hassle.”
“That happened?”
“And why did no one say anything when he was spouting such abuse?”
“Abuse?”
“Yes, it was incredibly rude. Like, for example—I’d rather not repeat it.”
*”Why don’t you ask the female employee sitting next to him? Everyone there must have heard it.”
“I see.”
“Is the main branch really that superior? It’s quite shocking.”
“I’m terribly sorry.”
“As you see, your apology doesn’t change much. If this is the bank’s policy, there’s little I can say.”
“I’ll make sure he understands not to do this again.”
“No need.”
The manager was desperately apologizing and wiping off cold sweat with a handkerchief.
