A bad experience with BDO Greenhills
January 15, 2009
Last night, hubby and I had a very bad experience in BDO Greenhills (near Krispy Kreme). The branch head of BDO named Emmanuel Camua was of no help and had even the nerve to be annoyed with us.
We went to Greenhills last night because hubby wanted to buy some toys. We went to BDO Greenhills to use its ATM and withdraw some money. Much to our dismay, the ATM malfunctioned and did not dispense hubby’s PhP6,000.
It was 6 PM then and even though BDO Greenhills is already closed, we could see that there were still employees inside, several of them eating. And because the ATM was just two feet away from the BDO Greenhills entrance, I tried to seek help with the branch while my husband stands in front of the ATM (so that nobody else would use it).
The guard refused to open the glass door and I had to communicate with him by speaking through the space between the doors. Then the guard just slipped me a piece of paper with the number of BDO customer service. I asked the guard why should we call customer service when there are still people inside the branch, and the employees can possibly help us.
That stupid guard loitered inside the branch, pretending like he was looking for someone to help us. Meanwhile, we’re standing outside in the cold, looking at the BDO tellers while they are eating. This went on for about 10 minutes.
I then told my husband that he be the one to talk to BDO because I wasn’t getting anywhere. So we switched places and I was the one who stood in front of the ATM.
Hubby knocked on the glass door again and the same stupid guard approached him (stil he didn’t open the door). At that point, hubby was already exasperated so he demanded for the branch head. Finally, after a few more minutes, a very annoyed man went out of the branch. He introduced himself as the branch head and was visibly irritated. He said that he couldn’t help us even though that was his branch’s ATM machine. Hubby demanded why nobody bothered to help us when the branch was still full of employees. He also told the branch head to just turn off that malfunctioning machine so that nobody would use it anymore. All through that time, the branch manager showed his annoyance and irritation, as if we disturbed him. He never bothered to apologize for the inconvenience, never tried to find a solution for our problems. He just stood there, looking all annoyed.
Hubby demanded for his business card and told him we will file a complaint against him for being a rude and arrogant branch head, a big disgrace to BDO whose lifeblood should be customer service. The name of the arrogant branch head is Emmanuel Camua.
Mr. Camua, you are a disgrace to BDO. For a branch head, you ought to be ashamed of yourself as you do not know how to provide service. You probably tried to ignore us because we were not clients of BDO Greenhills but that is no excuse for someone who works in a bank who provides service. You obviously do not live up to your company’s slogan of “We find ways” because you just stood there, looking irritated and terribly annoyed. Naistorbo ba namin ang pagkain mo?
Entry Filed under: Banking, Reviews. Tags: atm, BDO, emmanual camua, greenhills, krispy kreme.
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1. Start Blogging | February 5, 2009 at 6:23 am
I think you should go ahead with your formal complaint. Also it would be good to spread the word via email and tell more people about this incident. I don’t think this is a systemic issue in BDO so the attitude of this person should be addressed.
2. Arsenio Reyes | February 10, 2009 at 9:58 am
I sympathize with the writer of the incident at BDO Greenhills. There are quite a number of characters like that even at the rank and file levels at BDO based on my experiences. In fairness, however, some are not like that. The very bad thing about it is it’s a bank manager acting like a petty and evil government clerk who is disturbed while eating. The only difference is much was expected from someone but was actually with so little in between the ears.
Training won’t probably make much of a difference. Counselling would be a better approach. Perhaps BDO didn’t get the right person for the job because of their rapid expansion. And so they put someone there who just look like a manager. They forgot the saying which sort of goes like this way, “A monkey wearing a suit is still a monkey.”
Even call centers are like that. Preaching so much about CSAT (customer satisfaction). They treat the callers badly and they treat their own employees much worst.
Maybe there should be a way for the Central Bank to discipline bank employees also in cases where the Bank does not act or does not satisfactorily act on such complaints.
3. Not necessary | May 5, 2009 at 12:35 pm
The writer have a wrong impression regarding what the branch manager did that night.
To make the story short, this client is very irritated just because the cash doesn’t came out into the dispenser. This is around 6:30PM and the branch opens from 8:30AM to 5:30PM… So, the guard instructed the customer to call the CUSTOMER SERVICE HOTLINE, eventhough there are people in the branch. Let say they are eating…. this is already their rest hour… What is the use of the Customer Service Hotline if you will not use it….
These employees are just following the rules and regulations of the BANK…..
SO DON’T ACT AS YOU OWN THE ATM!!!!!!!
4. pinayandmoney | May 6, 2009 at 7:59 am
@not necessary, i think you completely missed the whole point. we got irritated with the rudeness that the bank manager showed us. the guard and the bank manager pretended not to notice us even if we’re asking for help. they completely ignored us until my husband had to raise his voice. if you think that kind of service is acceptable, then go ahead and deal with BDO. but we don’t think it is acceptable especially if BDO’s tagline is “we find ways.”
5. Arsenio Reyes | May 8, 2009 at 6:36 am
There will always be good and there will always be bad managers. @not necessary is probably the bank manager concerned that is why the comment has an attitude in itself. It would have been most helpful just to be polite and civilized. Obviously, the guard’s hesitation (by loitering) is already an indication of the kind of manager they have there. By his own admission, the dispenser was not properly functioning and certainly the customer is entitled to the best service.
Even the comment has no basic manners based on ethics in writing (i refer to the last sentence written by @notnecessary).
6. Kelly Brown | June 13, 2009 at 3:59 am
Hi, gr8 post thanks for posting. Information is useful!
7. Gavin J. | June 23, 2009 at 2:15 am
The bank manager is just doing his job. The bank is closed. At no time the manager will open it for you. If you need help with an ATM, call their after hours customer service. They are there to help you out.
Those banks will not open their door to some stranger knocking at their door if they have closed already.
Put yourself on his shoes and figure it out.
8. pinayandmoney | June 23, 2009 at 2:21 am
thanks for visiting Pinay and Money, gavin. i understand what you mean but to show annoyance and feign ignorance, pretending like we’re not asking for help is unacceptable. even if i put my feet on his shoes, there is no way that i’d behave that badly to other people.
9. ahock | June 29, 2009 at 6:00 am
costumer complaint is one of the big no no sa BDO. I know this kasi I have friend sa BDo and they say one thing na iniiwasan is a complaint. It constitute a big portion of their performance review and being a branch manager tingin ko malaking pang kakamali nya.
All my support will be yours as long as it is valid. We need people like that na malaman nila that they are into service business. Ayaw ko man mag compare BUT malaki difference talaga sa US vs sa Pinas.
I hope may ganyan din sa gobyerno
10. Jamiena | July 1, 2009 at 4:13 am
And even if you call their hotline, you will take years to get to them.
I’m not adding fuel to the fire, but really this is the problem with bank’s customer service. Quality of service is being neglected in lieu of bank’s expansion. I’m speaking in general, not only with regards to BDO.
For this case, the manager should have helped endorsed your problem to their customer service, so it can be expedited. A little act of kindness is not too much to ask.
Anyway, I just happen to find your blog site and I love it.
Hoping I can contribute something in the future.
11. pinayandmoney | July 1, 2009 at 5:24 am
thank you for visiting Pinay and Money, Jamiena. thanks for your sharing, too.
12. Gavin J. | July 7, 2009 at 6:17 am
The hotline issue is another matter. Banks do have procedures. Annoyance maybe but not ignorance. It happened to me twice here in Sydney and worst is the ATM took my card.
Did I knock on their closed doors? No. If I have insisted, they may have called the Federal Police. Shit happens.
I just called thier hotline and I got a call the following day to pick up my card.
If the manager have acted in a rude manner, I will be with you. But if he just annoyed you by not helping you out, you’re out of luck.
And if you push it too hard, you will probably get the same from me.
Cheers,
13. alex | August 28, 2009 at 8:22 pm
haha.. the mission statement “we find ways…” “to annoy you..” but really, this is no laughing matter.. feel sorry for the person who was mistreated though… all banks spend tons of money in marketing to lure people in with the red carpet.. but never tell you how to get out as smoothly as you came in…
14. maria theresa b. cañaveral | September 7, 2009 at 1:17 am
hi! i work in a bank too, and I can understand why the BDO Greenhills, wasn’t accomodating with the problem you were encountering. It is not advisable to entertain anyone outside the bank premises after closing time due to security reasons.
The best thing that you should have done is call the customer service hotline. The suggestion of the bank was right. But their treatment was of course wrong. Customer service is the lifeblood of the bank, so it must never be neglected.
As for their slogan, “We find ways.” You’re absolutely right that they do not live up to it as
I was once a victim of this company. I was offered a position near our place, but to my dismay, just after 3 days, I was told that I was goin to be assigned to another branch which is a 5 hour ride from our place. I talked to them, but the only reply that I got was the usual, “We can’t do anything about it.” I was exasperated at that time too since I already filed my resignation letter to the bank I was working for.
Kaya di kayo nag-iisa, coz I was a victim too.
15. Paul | September 21, 2009 at 12:53 am
Hi, I see you deleted my comment. Hmmm.
I said that solving your matter through Customer Service is way more professional than writing about it online and make his name look really bad.
Banks indeed can’t entertain people after closing time due to security matters. Any idea how much money there is in a bank at the end of the day?
Like I said I understand your frustration, but better use your energy by following the right way to solve this matter.
Did this page really solve your problem sofar?
16. pinayandmoney | September 21, 2009 at 8:53 am
paul, next time you try to post a comment here, be decent enough to leave an actual email address. a non-existent email address just negates everything you say. and your comment is just plain SPAM.
now to your question, if you read the entire post, obviously our money was returned. but that’s not the point. the point is the arrogant and rude attitude of the branch manager.
sure, “banks indeed can’t entertain people after closing time due to security matters.” but is it such a stretch for camua to come out nicely and politely? and please spare me the “any idea how much money there is in a bank at the end of the day?” politeness and civility are the issues here. if camua went out and talked to us politely, this blog wouldn’t even exist.
we have been professional about it and we reported it to customer service a long time ago but how do you castigate a branch manager, huh? the customer service is just there to support concerns like captured ATMs, undispensed money, and similar problems. but can BDO’s customer service address arrogance and rudeness? many months after the incident, we still don’t have anything–not a call from the customer service, not an apology nor a comment here. we already channeled our energy and frustration by going through the right channels but it led us to nowhere. so what’s your suggestion?
what did i get from posting this? 18,000 people have read this blog entry so far, 18,000 people who know that they shouldn’t take shit from arrogant bank personnel, 18,000 people who now realize that if they meet discorteous bank personnel, they should raise hell about it. this is just one of the many examples of BDO’s poor customer service. i don’t even want to get started on bank personnel being rude to potential clients because they don’t dress like they’re rich. and you can bet your non-existent email that there will be more people who will be able to read this.
i have the distinct feeling that you may be camua or somehow know him. tell him THE POST STAYS UNLESS WE GET AN APOLOGY. my email address is somewhere here in my blog. feel free to email me your apology. a scanned copy of the letter with the BDO letterhead is best. don’t forget to CC your immediate superior.
17. Paul | September 21, 2009 at 9:44 am
I am a foreigner living here and do get annoyed with people spamming the internet with their little problems like this. The thing is that you are ruining more than the actual problem did really do to you.
In my opinion, you are molesting someones attitude much more than you actually can think of.
No, I am not connected to the bank manager. I just come up for reasonable right in this country.
Do you also complain about a cashier in a supermarket?
No, than be the good person and keep the pride to yourself.
I think you are more than equal now, right?
See ya
18. pinayandmoney | September 21, 2009 at 10:02 am
and you still don’t reveal your email address…
whatever your opinions are, i respect it. but i also honor my right to express disdain for poor customer service. yes, if a cashier is nasty at me, i won’t hesitate calling her attention and asking for her manager. people in the service-oriented industry should know that it is the minimum to provide polite customer service. and if one cannot meet that minimum requirement, then he has no business in that industry.
and if this can happen to me, i can bet that it happens to a lot of people, as well. i’m just probably one of the few people who spoke out about it. and i have low tolerance for bad service.
like you said, you are a foreigner living in the philippines. lucky for you, foreigners here are treated with much more respect than filipinos so you won’t probably ever encounter poor customer service.
thanks for visiting my site.
19. Paul | September 21, 2009 at 10:03 am
Ok, all the best to you.
20. Arsenio Reyes | September 22, 2009 at 11:09 am
Just one little act of kindness at the end of the day was needed.
21. jj | October 20, 2009 at 1:02 am
I encountered rude bdo employees too. I even know one who would tell people I know about my bank status, where i withdraw, etc..good thing she resigned already..
22. Researcher | October 21, 2009 at 5:13 am
I am currently researching on Bank customer service and this BLOG was most helpful. I have had a few of my bouts with BDO and PNB on their poor customer service. Now, i regret not blogging about them. I will make sure to blog about them next time.
As for Paul, it is not your decision or your business however which way pinay and money chooses to express themselves with their bank experience. YOU were not involved so how can you possibly speak on someone else’s behalf. Another issue is your being a foreigner to our country puts you even more out of bounds commenting on something that you obviously do not understand about our country. So respect people’s right to free expression of speech and we will respect you, a foreigner, who thinks he knows a lot about our culture. You should just comment without telling other people what they should have done when you are really an outsider in this issue.
I am a Filipino that lived out of the country for 8 years and work in a foreign bank myself and we were trained to always put customers first. Unfortunately our customer service in the Philippines, not just in the banking industry but in other sectors of society needs so much improvement and it is with blogs like this that awareness can be achieved. So lets keep on telling our stories until someone in upper management takes notice and actually does something about it .
And to answer Paul’s inquiry about cashiers in the supermarket? How did you even bring that up? Have you yourself experienced our cashiers? Thats a lot to write about right there. I have a few stories myself!
Kudos to a very well written blog…
23. Ann Smith | October 27, 2009 at 9:59 pm
First of all, how could you have been “standing outside in the cold” if you are in the Philippines, which is a tropical country near the equator? Second of all, stupid is not a nice word. The guard was only doing his job and protecting the bank. Safety of the employees is his main duty, and since you probably looked so angry and sounded so threatening, he most likely feared for their safety. He was just making sure the bank would not be attacked by a robber or terrorist. The employees had every right to continue eating after a long day’s work. They were not obligated to help you, since it was after bank hours. Finally, there are two sides of the story. You might have thought Mr. Camua was rude, but maybe it just seemed that way because you were already irrationally angry. After all, machines malfunction all the time. In the words of Forrest Gump, “Shit happens.” And that’s not Mr. Camua’s fault, is it? At least he had the decency to come outside and risk his safety in order to further explain the bank’s policy. It was beyond the call of his duty. Until Mr. Camua tells his side of the story, we will be unable to tell who was in the wrong. We are sorry for what happened to you, but just calm down. EVery minute you spend angry is a minute wasted, and life is very short.
24. pinayandmoney | October 28, 2009 at 8:18 am
I’m surprised with the continuous popularity of this blog entry. And what’s even more surprising is that those who are very defensive of BDO are those who are too scared to leave their real email addresses, preferring to hide under the guise of being foreigners or having foreign names.
Ann Smith, since you prefer to focus on the nitty-gritty, I’ll indulge you. The Philippines has two seasons—rainy and summer. During the months of December, January and February, the weather gets to be cold here because of the northeast winds coming from northern hemisphere, where it is already winter.
Historically, January and February have always been the coldest months in the Philippines so saying “standing out in the cold” is not an exaggeration nor it is a figure of speech. Temperatures range from 18C to 27C. That temperature may not be cold to “foreigners” like you but it is certainly cold for Filipinos like me, who are used to temperatures of 30C and up.
If you bothered to read the entire blog entry, we were reasonable in talking to the guard. Even though the guard opened the gates several times when some employees stepped in and out, we remained there, hoping the guard would be decent enough to talk to us. But no, he just slipped that piece of paper and then pretended like we weren’t there. If we sounded angry and threatening, it wouldn’t take us at least 10 minutes before we finally demanded to talk to the branch manager. And if we really looked angry and threatening, he could have just called the Greenhills Police, which was just 500 meters away from the bank.
BDO employees are not obligated to help us? We are BDO customers and they are mandated by their mission to assist us. We were there at a decent hour—6 PM—just 30 minutes after they closed shop. If we were there at midnight, it would be stupid of us to demand for anything. You telling that BDO employees are not obligated to help us is like telling us that BDO doesn’t care about their customers. Whatever happened to “we find ways?” I come from the service industry and if I say that I’m not obligated to help my customers just because it’s past office hours is stupid. I would immediately get fired.
Sure, there are two sides of the story and I invite Mr. Camua to air his side here. We’ve also elevated our complaint to BDO Customer Service but nine months after we called them, we still haven’t gotten anything. No feedback, nothing. But I guess you’ll also tell me that BDO Customer Service is also not obligated to help me so go figure.
We don’t have a problem with machines malfunctioning. We have a problem with rude people. Oh, and BDO Greenhills didn’t even bother to put an offline sign on the ATM even though we already reported the malfunction so I guess they are also not obligated to do that, huh?
Bottomline, if Mr. Camua acted decently and properly, this blog wouldn’t exist. When you talk down to your customers, acting annoyed and all haughty, that’s not performing beyond his duty. In fact, it’s nowhere near providing any semblance of customer service.
You’re the one who should calm down, Ann Smith. It’s quite obvious that even though this blog entry is nine months old, there are still people like you who are agitated with this. If I were still angry about the experience, I would have continued ranting about it in other blog entries. And if you took the time to read other blog entries, you would realize that I have been fair in treating BDO. I continued posting both good and bad things about the bank. And if I were still so hung up like you are, I would have pulled out all my money from BDO. But like I said, I’m being objective as I see both the good and bad sides of the bank.
I suspect that you are from BDO. Rather than trying to defend BDO Greenhills over and over again in this blog entry, just email me and we can talk about it and come up with a resolution. Hopefully, it’s implementing a program to improve your customer service so that all your customers would be satisfied.
But until then, the blog stays.
25. Gavin J. | November 2, 2009 at 1:07 am
Ann Smith, I am totally with you. While I did my best to understand both sides, it seems like it is not going anywhere. I’m sorry Pinayandmoney, but that’s not how it works. Your attitude towards the situation doesn’t really merit this argument. I am a Fillipino now living overseas for the past 20 years and I can guarantee you, you cannot have what you want here. When the bank is closed, it is close. And if you think the manager will come out to entertain you at that time, then you are wrong. You may have to spend the night in front of the door to get that. I think, and that’s my personal opinion, that if there is arrogance in this argument, I have to place it on you.
26. kruf | November 5, 2009 at 4:47 am
Just like to share my story about my wife experience with atm withdrawals. My wife is an ofw working in thailand. During
one her vacation here dito sa Pinas we went to our province. Instead of withdrawing money from atm’s in Manila we decided
just withdraw cash in our town because there’s already atm available. Her atm card was from a Bangkok bank and have
international affiliates services usually found in card issued by most of bank in the Philippines meaning you can withdraw
from any atm’s having said atm services like BDO,BPI,PSBank etc have Cirrus or Plus logo.
When we withdraw cash thru the local bank atm the cash dispense is short of P500. We recount & check if there’s still money clipped in the atm but there’s none. We can’t stay checking the atm because there queue lines already. Even though is already 5:30pm on a friday we decided to see if there’s still people in the bank. It’s a branch bank with attached atm.
Luckily there is still a teller though the bank is closed and the guard is on the door. Making sign language communication kay guard we were let in and our problem with the atm was entertain by the teller. We explain the situation, she inspect our receipt and atm card and she ask the guard to check also the atm . The teller said the machine probably didn’t dispense the exact amount they will check and account the cash in the atm. Since it’s a friday she asked us to return on monday. Monday morning I’m in Manila working and I’d just text my wife about the atm and she’d replied that the bank returned the missing P500.
Now that’s quality customer service from a ‘teller’ of provincial QCRB bank compare to a ‘bank manager’ of a big corporate BDO bank.
Peace.
27. Alexa Kidmose | November 5, 2009 at 8:08 am
Hi actually i feel u..thats why i actually put my full name on it..It happened to me in BDO eastwood..Good thing the attending person was nice enough but the cashier who put me in a very a shameful situation and humiliating experience didnt even try to say sorry instead i got a bad stare from her while waiting to complained about the mistake she did..I guess BDO should start checking there branches..Funny thing is i spended 100k a mon on their credit card so total of more than 1M in 1 year just to be treating so bad..She told me she put the payment in the credit card i even asked her if i could used it that same day she smile and say in 24hrs mam..But after 1 fucking week i went to Zara just to be humiliated bcoz the credit card doesnt have balance on it..To think i know it should be atleast 100K on it..And pls misunderstanding is not the word to be used MS whatever that cashier name bcoz she is stupid and love to gossip instead of looking at the card..She ended up putting it on my husband atm card..Even elementary student knows that when u pay in credit card u cant put it in atm account..She do it on purposed..The reason Y i dont even know! So for some people who write back to the blogger in not so nice way..think again we are the people who spended and the reason y u got a job..So alittle bit of respect and atleast try to be like the person who talked to me and my hubby she was nice enough to cover that cashier’s mistake and make it right..SO IF UR FREAKING ATM wasnt working CLOSE it down..So people wouldnt bother u..I am totally on ur side in this one girl..
PS:
Same shit happened a few days before that with my hubby’s friend..I dnt know if its the same cashier..It was missing some 50 or 80k and they have to called him up and make her go bank to the bank..The truth is its her mistake how can she not count it when he was still there?HELLO i guess better STOP gossiping on time of work so u’ll do ur JOB right!!Think about it 50K is big enough for u not to notice..But some of the girls in BDO eastwood especially the one in the long table are absolutely NICE…Just that cashier when u pay bills the one straight 2nd cashier..U got me freaking mad..
28. Alexa Kidmose | November 5, 2009 at 8:25 am
Hahah just cant helped it..Hey Paul i am not a friend of the blogger but i understand her situation..Well if u’re a foreigner leaving here in PI u should actually be so pissed by now..Because i myself was married to a foreigner who got upset with what she done..Its not just because of Zara incident..U see like the blogger they wanted to buy TOYS and then they just asked for help OK! So we are not in other country so atleast the best thing to do is be nice to tell them that they couldnt help them out..that to be pissed at them..The manager in BDO eastwood is actually a nice person even the attending person right now is also nice enough to correct the mistakes(the manager is NOT there at the moment)..BDO is all about what the customer needs OK!!Believe i know more foreigner who will side on her..I think ure not a foreigner leaving here..Sorry just find it funny how u commented on the subject!I would understand Gavin comments because its true in other country if its close its close but HELL we are in manila..Hello MAnila po ito!!But its doesnt mean that u can put the credit card payment to a freaking ATM account..BTW my husband and his partners used that bank for long time already..So i suggest if that cashier cant do her work they she just have to find another job and if the manager in the blog dont want to be in a customer service job then leave u know..Its easy!Well the BDO eastwood promise that it wont happened again,but I am not over it eh..U cant blame me!!and ofcourse the blogger..