Dear Readers,
A
couple of months or so ago I had some problems with my Absa bank cards at its
Long Beach Mall branch in Cape Town. I had suggested that they alter the colour
of one of them so that their Credit and Debit cards can’t be easily confused
with one another. However the colour problem of the cards remained unchanged.
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| The similar Debit and Credit cards |
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| Arrie Rautenbach |
But it turned out that Rautenbach, who had become the bank’s Sixth CEO in as many years had taken early retirement in October so I was referred to Charles Russon the interim CEO. He replied saying he would “look into it.” Then I got an email from Charmaine Sharp, who told me that my complaint had been passed to her and she assured me that they would “provide me with the best quality service every step of the way.”
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| Charles Russon |
This was followed by
telephone calls from two different people at the bank, who both apologised for
the teller shortage, but neither of them gave me any hope that anything would
be done to solve the card confusion.
But I suppose if I am with a bank that clearly has a
problem with its CEO appointments, what chance is there of me getting that
“Best quality service every step of the way” that Charmaine promised me. But
this is my story and I’m sticking to it.
As part of Absa’s current credit card promotion it tells us
it has a “a variety of credit card
benefits including up to 30% cash back from Absa Rewards Partners, interest
free periods and airport lounge access.”
“Your story matters,” the bank assures us. Just how much
mine matters, is another story. So much for that “Exceptional service” Absa
kept promising me.
Regards,
Jon
