So look. I know you’re trying to figure out this help and social media thing. (FYI it isn’t just the bot nonsense on Twitter but the real folks who answer the toll-free number as well). Love my local branch people – please don’t crush them. They’re good.

But somewhere there are some system design folks who actually might care about the story I have. Because they like to make things work and look at errors as things to fix. Kind of a good general approach to things.

And for those folks, this is for you.

Not sure whether this is a process thing or a technology thing. But yesterday I deposited a check at an ATM and selected the account into which I wished it to be deposited. I obtained a receipt which confirmed that it was deposited into the account name which I had chosen.

But the funds did not show up in the account. Instead, they were deposited into another account for which I also have access (joint account). I only discovered this because the joint account owner alerted me that there was a deposit made that appeared to not belong to that particular account.

Called the customer service number to let them know there was apparently a bank/ATM error. It took awhile to convince the service representative that it appeared to NOT be user error — “why do I have a receipt that confirms the deposit to the right account?” But it finally came to light that my debit card was not linked to the checking account that was the intended account for the deposit.

So to recap.

• I accessed the ATM.
• I could see the account I wanted to make the deposit into.
• I deposited the check into that account.
• I got a receipt that said the transaction was successful and the funds were deposited into the intended account.
• Instead, the funds were deposited into a different joint account — and BTW not my primary account. Somehow the system logic just decided where to place the funds, apparently since my debit card was not linked to the intended account.
• I received no error message, question, email, alert, etc. to let me know there was some issue. Talking to real people and to bots did not result in “hmmm…let me check this out for you” but only “how can I help? did we help you? I am glad you fixed the problem.” Fixed it on my own.

You are welcome.

As for the help bot and call center: I think you know the downside of bots (see link above). If you don’t…yeesh.

My Twitter conversation with the BofA bot. And yes, I know I am ranting about minor stuff when…you know…BofA has a wicked reputation otherwise. But to me it’s all connected. Listen. To. People. And learn.:

[View the story “BofA” on Storify]

Filed under: design, learning Tagged: Social media