When she walked into First Interstate Bank,...
When she walked into First Interstate Bank, Crystal Nicholas had no idea she’d be testing that institution’s guarantee to pay $5 to anyone forced to wait in line more than five minutes.
All she wanted to do was make a payment on her auto loan.
“The man in front of me in line set the timer on his watch for five minutes,” said Nicholas. “When it beeped, there were still three people in front of him . But when I finally reached the teller window, I was told it (the $5) was only for checking and savings customers.”
Nicholas countered that a nearby sign detailing the “extraordinary service guarantee” made no such distinction. The teller stood firm. So did two of the teller’s superiors. After 40 minutes, Nicholas left the Wilshire Boulevard office, but not before snapping a photo of the sign.
She received a different response when she wrote to the bank’s bigwigs. Senior Vice President Donald J. Robinson sent back an apology, admitting that the tightfisted employees had “received an erroneous interpretation of the policy.” He said that the guarantee “does apply to all consumer account holders.”
He also sent Nicholas a check for $16, including $11 for the cost of the film.
Banks, as far as we know, still take cash. But a growing number of businesses don’t. Phil Hopkins of Pasadena discovered that most offices of Federal Express will accept only a check or credit card. Security purposes, says Fed Ex. Hopkins says a fellow patron observed: “Have you paid for an airline ticket with cash recently? They want three forms of ID. . . .”
Recently we mentioned that Capitol Records is considering moving into a more attractive neighborhood, a change that would raise a question: What kind of company would want to move into Capitol’s cylindrical home? Jay Framson of Los Feliz has two nominations: “The International House of Pancakes and Wham-O, the maker of Frisbees.” Let’s not rule out Winchell’s Donuts, which still accepts cash.
Thought for the Day: Most elevators have buttons marked “emergency,” but not the private lifts of the judges in the downtown Criminal Courts Building. Theirs are marked “duress” (see photo). No one at the courts could tell us who thought up that fuzzy designation. Probably a lawyer.
You may have noticed that a proposal by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) to redesign several U.S. coins was rejected by Congress the other day. Cranston, of course, was previously reprimanded by the Senate for influence-peddling on behalf of campaign contributor Charles H. Keating, the former owner of Lincoln Savings & Loan. One of the coins Cranston wanted to redesign was the Lincoln penny. We’re certain there’s no connection.
miscelLAny:
The City Council of Arcadia recently voted to allow residents to keep llamas as pets.
