Nedbank Sea Point | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

The Sweet Service Award goes to Desmond Spangenberg, the Food & Beverage Manager at Allee Bleue outside Franschhoek. This is the fourth Sweet Service Award Desmond has received. My colleagues and I stopped for a coffee just after 5 pm on a grey May day, to find that the restaurant had just closed due to there being no clients (closing time is usually 5.30 pm). Desmond was the only staff member still at the Allee Bleue Bistro, and told us that the kitchen was already closed, but he immediately offered to make us tea or coffee, even a cappuccino, which he knows I love. As we were inconvenienced, he insisted on not taking payment.

The Sour Service Award goes to Nedbank Sea Point, where I went to exchange my old R 200 notes for new ones two weeks ago. The teller did not confirm to me verbally how much I had given her, after counting my R 3 000 in notes. We were talking about the regulations while she was counting, and she showed me an old and a new note during this process. She also did not count my notes on the machine. She returned R2 800 in new notes to me. She admitted that she had not stated how much I had given her, and searched on her side for the missing note and asked me to do the same. I insisted on receiving my missing R200, and asked for the manager – being a Saturday she had the weekend off, so her deputy came to talk to me. She said that they would have to check the camera, but I was shocked that I was not allowed to check it with them, as it is in a private section of the bank, into which clients are not allowed! Only when I called the Sea Point police from the banking hall did they return my R200 to me. A visit that should have taken 10 minutes became a 40 minute drama, without apology from the bank. The manager Marie had promised to call when she was back in the office on the Monday, but I am still waiting for her call.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog. Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Sweet Service Award goes to Mari Bremner, new Manager of Nedbank Sea Point, for taking a long-standing Nedbank client from the Nedbank Business: Tygerberg Winelands branch under her wings. Ms Bremner shows empathy and customer service relative to many of her colleagues in Nedbank, who seem to have lost their service touch. Ms Bremner swiftly corrected cheque book charges when requested, due to an overcharge by the Tygerberg Winelands branch. She has made time to meet with the customer, and is helping her to move her banking back to the Sea Point branch, even if the main banking account was opened in Sea Point in the first place and has a Sea Point account number.

The Sour Service Award goes to Nedbank Business: Tygerberg Winelands. The customer has had a number of business managers handling her account since her most amazing Business Manager Karen Swart left Nedbank to join ABSA a year ago. The manager of this branch did not inform customers of Ms Swart’s departure, nor as to who would replace her. At least three managers have dealt with the customer in the past year, Nedbank constantly changing the allocated Business Managers. The latest Business Manager, Dirk de Villiers, has made no attempt to meet or build a relationship with his customer, and believes that he is a good manager when he sends his customer an e-mail at 7h20 when the account limit has been exceeded. The latest such e-mail was headed “Business relationship”, as if this is what the customer wants from the bank! He has never proactively contacted the customer about anything else, he does not reply to e-mails requesting clarification of unauthorised charges, constantly allows charges to be booked off the customer’s account without explanation, ripped the customer off in charging double the bank’s cost for new cheque books, and appears to charge the customer for anything he possibly can. His bosses Andre Moller and Leon Potgieter have closed rank, and refused to entertain the client’s request to not have Mr de Villiers service her account, requesting a female manager instead. The client was accused of sexism by the management, hiding the fact that they have hardly any female managers in the branch! The branch refuses to allow the account to move back to Nedbank Sea Point, despite the client’s request to migrate back to her original home branch. The senior managers have also refused the customer access to the e-mail address of Tom Boardman, the bank’s CEO (“Hi Andre, The client requested Tom Boardman’s contact details. As instructed I’ll ignore the request.” – Piet Smit)!