People love to make fun of HSBC’s combination of massive profits and horrible customer service here. I don’t do it too often but today was just too exasperating.
I wanted to find out about an automobile loan. I thought that perhaps I could get a better rate dealing direct with a bank than with whatever fly-by-night loan shark the car dealers use. I stopped into the HSBC Premier service center in Quarry Bay to find out. (I’m only a Premier member because they were offering the account free for one year; I ain’t that rich!)
I walked up the stairs and was greeted by a cute woman in a uniform holding a basket with Dove chocolate bars. Old rich people were helping themselves to free espressos. The guard asked if he could help me and I said I wanted to find out about automobile loans. So he handed me the form for tax loans. I said no, not a tax loan, I want a loan to purchase an automobile. So he handed me the form for the revolving line of credit. I tried again and this time he escorted me down stairs to the Premier Investment Center and told me to wait.
There were three agents at desks there. Two had customers. The third spent 5 minutes shuffling papers and avoiding my gaze so I walked up to his desk. ”I’d like information on automobile loans,” I said. He handed me the tax loan form. “No, I want a loan to buy a car.” Revolving credit form. ”No, that’s an unsecured loan, it’s at a higher interest rate than a secured loan.” ”Oh, you want a loan to invest in securities?”
So he went and spoke to one of the other people working there and then ran upstairs before I could scream. Clerk #2 finishes with his customer and I go up to him and he tells me, “I’m not from this branch.” Getting exasperated, I tell him, “I don’t care what branch you’re from, I just want to ask a question about loans.” ”I’m not from this branch,” and he packs up his papers and runs away.
So that leaves Agent #3. I don’t know what she’s doing with her customer but it’s taking forever. I’ve now been standing there for 15 minutes. I call over and say, “I just want to ask a quick question!” No dice. She replies that they need to contact a special department in order to answer me. ”I’ve been waiting here for 15 minutes to just ask one question!” I’m invited to take a seat. But as their chairs are a horrible color and not very comfortable, I tell them that it won’t fit in with the decor in my home.
Finally her customer leaves. I go over to the desk. Tax loan form. Revolving credit form. She picks up the phone, dials around a thousand numbers, whispers for a minute and then tells me that they don’t offer that kind of loan.
I say, “Fine, but since I’m a Premier customer, can’t you at least advise me on where I might go to get that kind of loan?” (Yes, I really was being this polite, even after all this. Don’t ask me why.) No idea. ”Do you or your husband have a car? Where did you go for your loan?” And she shakes her head no. Of course HSBC doesn’t pay branch staff enough to afford cars.
Finally she leans over and whispers to me, “We don’t have that kind of loan here. Maybe you can try a … [wait for it] …. a local bank.”
Rimshot!
So I walked around the corner to one of the so-called local banks, in this case Wing Hang Bank. The woman behind the counter spoke better English than anyone at HSBC’s Premier Center. I said to her, “I’m wondering if you can give me any information about automobile loans.” ”Yes sir, have you picked out the car you want to buy?” I told her and she ran in the back and a few minutes later came out with a breakdown of options and costs.
(Oddly enough, if you take their car insurance, the loan is $100 per month cheaper than if you don’t want their insurance.)
You see, it turns out, I’d walked into a branch that only does mortgages. But apparently a branch of a bank that actually TRAINS THEIR STAFF and believes that anyone who walks in the door asking about a service represents an opportunity. I asked her if she had a brochure that lists their locations in English, which they didn’t have. So she went to the web site, found the relevant page, and printed it out for me. I thanked her profusely. ”I want you to know that you have just given me better service than I ever received in 13 years of dealing with HSBC.” ”Really?” ”Really.”
And now I hate HSBC even more than before and I think that the good people at Wing Hang Bank walk on water when they feel the need.
