Comments on: The Grimm banker

By: gfe--gluten free easily

gfe--gluten free easily — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:02:05 +0000

Yeah, creepy. Even if the guy had that info legitimately, there are ways to offer you other options with the bank without being stalkerish and annoying. I suspect the more successful managers know that.

Shirley

By: Lirpa

Lirpa — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:41:08 +0000

Sounds like you handled the situation well. Me, on the other hand, I would have been too stubborn to back down from my decision to close the account. I get this way whenever someone is trying to talk me out of something. For some reason it puts me on the defensive.

I remember one time I was calling around to car dealerships (many years ago) looking for a specific model of car with specific features, and the guy on the phone (typical salesman) was trying to tell me that i did not want a four door car, i really wanted a two door car. After arguing with him for the next 10 minutes about what i wanted, i hung up and called another dealer. I hate being told what i want by someone else! Drives me nuts!

Did i just go off on a tangent? Sorry. Good blog. :)

By: Christy

Christy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:33:24 +0000

@Danielle – I know someone who had a similar experience. His sister is a higher up in some sort of banking occupation (I’m a great story teller, right?). Anyway, just to prove a point, he asked her if she could find out where he was and what he was doing on a random day in 2004. It took her very little time to tell what town he was in that day, where he bought gas, and what he had to eat.

It makes me nervous but I still never carry cash!

By: boots

boots — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:28:33 +0000

On a recent NPR Planet Money podcast, they talked about how much banks/credit card companies know about people’s buying habits. They said one bank had done a study on which purchases indicate that someone is more or less likely to pay their bill. Turns out if you buy organic birdseed, you are likely to pay your bill, and if you buy chrome skull accessories for your car, you’re likely to default on your credit card. I found that absolutely hilarious!

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:49:38 +0000

It just occurred to me to be amused that we think nothing of putting our lives on display like this, in the name of the free market and all that crap, but we freak out if a woman covers her face, even if it’s ’cause she wants to.

Misplaced priorities much?

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:28:14 +0000

@PastaQueen – Ahhh, that makes more sense. I thought he was making casual conversation!

By: Laura N

Laura N — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:32:33 +0000

I hope your intention was to make us laugh, b/c this is a hilarious story. Not you feeling uncomfortable, of course, but just the whole episode. Truly, a sitcom in the making.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:30:12 +0000

While I don’t like the idea that strangers know my buying habits, I find it a lot more alarming that somebody who knows me can too. I had a cousin who worked for my bank’s call centre – I’m sure she must have looked at some point. Luckily she no longers works there, or I probably would have found a reason to move my accounts.

I also had a friend in university who worked part-time as a teller. She said that when she was bored, she’d look up names of people she knew, semi-famous people, etc. . That was not my bank.

By: Insurance Health Guy

Insurance Health Guy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:17:22 +0000

Hard to maintain any semblance of privacy anymore. I guess we have to take the good with the bad.

By: Bb

Bb — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:41:41 +0000

@PastaQueen – Right, in the anonymous sense I don’t really care what the bankers know about me, but being face to face with a guy you don’t know who has the minutia of your life at his fingertips AND is carelessly chatting about it is not only eye-opening, but also creepy.