An update to the HSBC old lady with walker incident

As I wrote previously, I was recently waiting in line at my local HSBC branch with an elderly lady in a walker.  At the time, I was furious that she was asked to wait in line, and was standing up for about 20 minutes.

Today, I had the opportunity to discuss with the banker in question the incident. He was polite enough to offer me a seat, which I did not take. I mentioned the incident, taking care to emphasize that I was aware they were short-handed. He informed me that he had offered the lady to sit, and that the grandson could wait in line for her. I don't recall that bit of conversation, even though I was about 8 feet away, but its possible it did happen. The banker mentioned that, had she been alone, things might have been handled differently.

First, I feel I owe him an apology for using such harsh language in the previous post. I have a soft spot in my heart for old ladies in walkers - she even looked a bit like my paternal grandmother. And even though I got the impression that the banker was being a bit defensive when speaking with me, and did not extend an apology for the long wait Friday, I am convinced enough that the matter is settled, and will revise my angry Yelp review (essentially a somewhat edited repost of my previous blog entry).

Still, I would have expected a bit less defensiveness, or a bit more courtesy. But maybe I expect too much.

I'll leave my original blog post as both a cautionary reminder of getting angry without all the information, and also a reminder of how damn good I feel when I get riled up about something.

Just as well - I've got a lot of reading about Iran to do in the next few days.

Special thanks to Taryn Mattice for forcing me to try to empathize with the banker.

My local HSBC banker was a dick to an old lady in a walker

A follow-up that reduces most, but not all, of my initial anger/concern, is described here.

This really, really pissed me off today.

I was trying to deposit some money at the counter at the one surviving HSBC branch near to my house.

#199
ROWLAND HEIGHTS OFFICE
(C. F. PLAZA) 18250 COLIMA ROAD 
ROWLAND HGTS, CA  91748

An elderly lady, accompanied by her grandson, entered the bank, assisted with a manual walker. She and her grandson make their way slowly to the window nearest the safe deposit boxes. Once they are at the end, the local branch manager (or some high-ranking banker in the branch), a tall Chinese guy, informed them that they will need to actually wait in the line. The old lady shuffles back slowly to the line. The banker barely mumbles a "sorry" before hurrying away to his office.

The line goes very slowly. They are understaffed on a Friday afternoon - understaffed, at least, at the counter.

I, the old lady, and the grandson wait in line for about 20 minutes.

There were a few bankers in cubicles, including the unhelpful tall guy. Not a single banker stepped back behind the counter to open a register. It's possible they don't have that authority or flexibility. It's possible they were required to fill out paperwork or process critical information at 4:30 PM on a Friday.

But the overwhelming message I got was a big "fuck you" to the people waiting, and especially to this old lady. I wonder if it would've been different if she hadn't had her grandson carrying a heavy satchel.

To my shame, I didn't offer her the opportunity to go ahead of me in line. I really should have. I thought about even lugging a chair from the waiting area to the line so she could at least rest for a while. (But then I thought that she could have rested in the waiting area, and had her grandson wait in line for her, if she felt the need.)

This isn't the first time I've witnessed this crappy customer service by the tall guy. A similar situation, a couple months ago, involved long lines and zero support behind the counter by the senior bankers.

Look, I realize HSBC is restructuring its North American footprint. Although the heavy Chinese  concentration in Rowland Heights probably means this branch will remain open, I understand if people are stressed about keeping their jobs. At a previous visit, I congratulated a teller, explaining that I assumed she had recently gotten the job. As it turns out, it sounds like she lost her full-time position elsewhere and was now a part-time employee. :(

Also, I like HSBC. They've kept their fees low, and I've really enjoyed their customer service in New York, Maryland, and in Pasadena/San Gabriel. So I'm not someone who has an axe to grind with a bank because I was dumb enough to let my account be overdrafted.

But the point is, I still think he should've let her go to the safe deposit box. At the absolute bare minimum, he should've apologized a bit more generously to the lady, explaining either that it was unfair to other customers to help her first, or at least acknowledge her existence. Hell, this lady probably survived the Cultural Revolution. Or early KMT rule in Taiwan. That should count for something.

It is dangerous to generalize from a single person's behavior on multiple instances to a more general statement about culture. Yet I will do precisely that, because it does mesh with other experiences I've had with the emerging Chinese and Chinese-American culture. If this banker is any indication, the narrative of Confucian reverence for elders is absolute bullshit, at least in the finance industry. The bank is completely Chinese or Taiwanese; not a single employee I saw was not fluent in at least Mandarin.

What this banker communicates is that it's perfectly acceptable to treat someone like shit, no matter how old, as long as they are a low-value customer. The bank wasn't making much on that safe deposit box. Maybe she didn't have a mortgage with the bank. Maybe she, like me, had just a crappy checking account and modest savings there.

But she's still an old lady and a human being.

Maybe there's a cultural thing I'm not getting. Maybe its considered rude to imply, however obliquely, to the elderly that they need help. I hope my Chinese friends let me know. (Given the other experiences, I'm unwilling to extend the banker the benefit of the doubt.)

I usually don't do this, but I'm going to definitely communicate this as a letter to the branch manager. I had to do some banking at Chase later the same day, and it was shocking the difference in attitude and basic human decency. It takes a lot to get this old crank into action. But congratulations asshole; you achieved the impossible today. I'm not going to pretend that my withdrawal of my broke-ass cash will make a difference. But I will tell people as much as I can about this disgraceful incident.