More Bank of America ATM stupidity

[fuzzygruf]

I deposited a check in the BofA ATM this morning.

DO YOU WANT A RECEIPT? *no*

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO? *make a deposit*

UNABLE TO PRINT A RECEIPT AT THIS TIME. CONTINUE WITH TRANSACTION? *yes*

This happens frequently, so I'm used to that stupidity. HOWEVER, upon completion of the transaction, I received my ATM card along with a PRINTED RECEIPT.

I called BofA's "Customer Solutions" at 1-800-831-4419. I explained what happened and asked what was wrong. "I wouldn't be able to say. I'll submit a request for someone to go check out the location." Yeah, right. Whatever.

Comments

[qbear.livejournal.com]

Hehheh...it's a long trip from Bangalore...

[dacubsf.livejournal.com]

DAMN!! you beat me to the exact same reply

[beardoc.livejournal.com]

Have you ever heard anyone on a helpdesk say anything different? They can't - they're not the ones responsible for fixing it.

[rticboy.livejournal.com]

Banks are such useless organizations! Went to deposit a cheque the other day too. I've always been able to deposit and withdraw right away with no hold. Well seems they put a hold on it. Went indie to ask. "We don't know. The hold must have always been there." Finally got someone to reverse it and release the hold and the next day I find out that the hold caused my insurance payment to be returned as non-negotiable. Another flurry of calls to settle that. Damn banks!

[excessor.livejournal.com]

The entire ATM experience is problematic. The user interface for most ATMs is 20 years old and still there are problems. The physical parts of the interface crack me up, such as the list of choices on the screen that don't match the button locations on the side of the screen. I'm sure someone watches the video replays of people pleading with the ATM to tell them which fucking button to press.

The software is worse: a CANCEL button that doesn't just undo what you did but cancels the entire transaction and returns your card. Some don't have an erase or delete key, so when you type the wrong number for your pin, what do you do? hit CANCEL. Yet when it asks you to approve the bank charge for a withdrawal, CANCEL takes you to the main screen. Inconsistency is not their friend.

To save time (which is one of the purposes of the machine), why can't it prompt me with the withdrawal amount I almost always use AND ask me if I accept the goddamn $1.50 on the same screen? It's not like we don't know how to build such a thing.

In the Houston airport last weekend, I happened on touchscreen BofA ATM using pretty colors. The interface took so long to register an action by me, such as Withdraw Cash. First, there was a beep, then the screen froze, a little hourglass appeared briefly, then the confirmation screen You chose to Withdraw Cash, then another freeze and hourglass, then a new screen to prompt for an amount (freeze, hourglass), then the fucking prompt of We charge $1.50 because we can and you need the money now so pay up, we know where you live, OK or CANCEL message.

It seems my card could present options that I normally use:

# login -cust_name "Perrotta, Paul K" -pin 5555 
# withdraw -amount 160 -fee pay -receipt no 
# hurrythefuckup -show_ads no
# display -mobile_number_of_guy_before_me -detail balance -detail is_good_kisser -date next_avail
# end

But that's just me.

My favorites are the old-style ones that ask you to “depress” a key to make a selection. What do you tell it?

• “Your dad was right, you'll never amount to anything!”
• “You're fat and nobody loves you!”
• “The other ATMs make fun of you during a reboot!”

ok, no more coffee for me.