BANKIA -formerly known as Caja Madrid- CAJA,CAJA NOT EVEN BANK

BANKIA

–formerly  known as Caja Madrid –

(CAJA,CAJA NOT EVEN A BANK)

A fairy tale… or maybe not 

                                                                                                                                 Yesterday,  November the 9th, 2011.

I enjoyed a very busy afternoon, so intense, so surprising…And I owe everything to:

BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid)!

Once upon a time…This entity decided to establish an exit barrier to deny the cancellation of my account in an easy way: they told me I had to cancel it personally at the very same office where I had previosuly opened it…Then I suddenly realized that I was very happy because I didn’t decide to open the account while I was In China!

It all begun when I decided to transfer my skinny capital to Deustch Bank –DB- (looking for a better service, professionalism, trust…). After the BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) statement and in order to achieve this, I spoke to DB, asking if it was also mandatory to go to the same business office where I opened the account; of course, the answer was NO. Laughing, the employee literally told me theta we where in a XXIst century company…

“The BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) ”

Part One: “THE OFFICE NEAR HOME”

I personally went to the business office near home and the employee behind the table squinted at me (I was wearing jeans and a casual shirt); she may have been able to think about something, although I wasn’t really sure about that… 

The fact is, when I try to explain that I want to cancel de account, she says she can’t help me; I realize I don’t like the way she speaks to me, because I’m not asking for any kind of help…I simply disagree with their business model and their exit barriers; then she tells me that she knows a lot about “business models” and that I have to take a look at her computer screen, where it clearly states she cannot cancel the account.  

Of course I have not interest neither in the statement nor in their “internal procedures”, and I begin to realize that the BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) employee is still looking at the way I’m dressed and she insists that the biggest help (help!) she can offer me is to send a message asking for the cancellation of the account (I imagine then that BANKIA -formerly known as Caja Madrid- has a dovecote and is sending a carrier pigeon with my application to cancel the account clamped in its beak…). I clearly remember why I wasn’t interested at all in these  particular style of  care...

A this point, I presume BANKIA (formerly  known as Caja Madrid)  is differentiating its customers into two separate  profiles:

1) Individuals with a low level of education and not properly informed with a current account capital permanently above 2.000 €.

2) Individuals who need a Spanish-based enriched cash machines network.

Obviously, I don’t belong to any of these two categories. I leave the office with a strong headache; I’m very, very impressed, but I still know this kind of “cajas” is always committed to offer a bonos…

Part two: “THE OFFICE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN”

Finally, I decide to go to the office where I opened the account; of course it was far away from home, very close to my parents house where I was born and raised.Again, one guy squinted at me; again, he sees my jeans and casual shirt and they didn’t strike him at all.

 I clearly state that I want to cancel my account; this BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) “worker” (sic) asks me to hand over the credit card, the account (how much dandruff…) and my identity card, so a deliver everything…He says OK , he’ll cancel the account, but he needs to know if I want to cancel also the debit card linked to it.

I say it’s OK,  but I ask him if  he could be so kind to cut it in pieces and give me the one with the microchip, just for the sake of safety (this is a wicked, wicked world we live in…). He, so excited, hands me out the piece I requested. Afterwards, following the high performance of the service and the higher quality rules of BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) he tells me to finish the cancellation at the front desk.

When I look back I can see a huge line of people waiting for to be “helped” (sic), and I realize it’s going to be a tough day…I clearly see that BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) wants me to spend the whole afternoon together, although I can’t understand why, are they interested in a new relationship? The truth is, I don’t think this is a really professional behavior.

I understand the employees, they’re only acting by the book, the one written by the executives. It is the executives’ position that I judge isn’t smart, although it’s just my point of view and I could be wrong…BUT I WAS NEVER ASKED ABOUT THE REASION WHY I WANTED TO LEAVE THIS ENTITY, at any point of this tale; I’m not surprised, I’m getting to know the type of services rendered by BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid), but from now on, they’ve convinced me, I have to cancel it, no matter how, even if I have to spend the night inside this wonderful ENTITY now known as BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid).

While I’m waiting to get to the front desk, I see the pictures of people who lost their houses due to the economical crisis, and I feel deeply sad seeing other people’s assets offered to the best bidder. Suddenly I think about the  BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) advertisements related to its social committment, and then I can’t understand a single word of it. Definitely that’s another good reason to  leave.

Do you remember about the bonus I already mentioned? One entity of this kind takes really good care about you enjoying this afternoon, and keeps the best surprise for the end. The guy who represents BANKIA (formerly known as Caja Madrid) at the front desk tells me that cancelling the account has a cost…

…At this point, I don’t care, I know it’s very cheap.

by Octavio Ignacio Ruiz Ruiz email: oirmab@gmail.com