I had my Natwest account since the second day I arrived in the UK. Over the past five years, because I was a poor student and was too lazy to take care of my personal finance, I have been a very good customer - never bother them anything, always believed what they said they had offered me.
The other day I spotted a booklet for graduate account in their branch shelf while I was waiting in a long queue. So while I was flicked through, there was an offer of 25% discount on Young Person Railcard (YPR) for graduate account. Normally a YPR costs 20 pounds for a year, so it’s only 5 pounds off, not a big deal. But if they offered and I’m entitled to have, why not ask for it? I asked one of the staffs there, she didn’t know anything about that offer. After a few minutes consulting with her manager or whoever knows behind the wall, she gave me a number (0191-501-3806) to call. Very classic move! So I called right away. The lady on the line wasn’t sure about that offer neither, but she gave it a try anyway and entered my name in the system. However a few minutes later, she got back and said their system was upgrading, she was not able to enter my name. I was advised to call back in two weeks when the upgrade was completed. Don’t you just love what they said?! So I agreed, made a reminder in my phone to call back in two weeks time.
Last Wednesday, exactly two weeks later, I called the same number again.
- Hi, my name is XXX, how can I help you?
- Yes, I want to get the YPR discount you guys offer for graduate account.
- Oh, we only deal with first year students here, but I’ve a number here you can call, it’s 0800-761-033
- OK, sure! I will give a shot, thank you!
So now, guess what happened? After I called that 0800 number, the guy just gave me another number to try straight away, and that number was….0191-501-3806! I told him I just called that 0191 number but they gave me the 0800 one, then another classic reply: I’m sorry but there is nothing I can do from here.
To be honest, getting that £5 discount isn’t a big deal at all. But I’m just interested to see how far they could treat me like a ping-pong ball between the rackets from each department. If you don’t have those offers then don’t put it on a public booklet. Promising something you can’t give doesn’t give your customers a positive impression. Worse, angry customers like me may post a mark on the Internet and SEO it. So next time when people search for ‘Natwest Customer Services’, guess what they will see. Don’t treat your customer like a fool, please!
I opened a new account on another Bank on the first day of my job. It’s not very safe to put all your eggs into one basket, especially when it’s got holes. One of my colleagues went even further, he closed his Natwest account on the first day of his job.
Ps. if you are a Natwest Customer Representative and wish to get in contact with me, please leave your comment below and I will give you a number to call.
