Chase Bank

We absolutely love the tellers at this bank. They make an effort to get to know you, greet you by name, and provide amazing customer service. For a large chain bank, it’s incredible to get a small, local bank experience.

Don’t like to deal with long lines? Don’t want to deal with idiot employees that waste your time? Then go to this Chase. It’s usually sparsely populated and the manager there is nothin but a great attitude and business acumen. If you got any problems, he’ll fix ya up in like you’re in his frat. He’s a chill dude, and most likely, a bro. Plus, there’s like snacks and stuff there, and even if the service was somehow mediocre (it isn’t) the candy, coffee and the rare donut hole are more than enough to warrant a quick head-​pop inside.
As a side note: no one seems to urinate in the bank terminal, and the neighborhood darlings will sometimes leave the bank receipts that state their current balance on the windowsill. It’s a fun gesture, the idiosyncratic will to stroke ones ego and play a dick measuring game with your neighbors, and it is but a foreshadowing of the dark demise our culture of greed will soon lead us to. I digress, but it’s a cool bank. They might even have some brewskis in the employee cooler, if ya get my drift bro. Like hit them up next time you’re planning your rushing freshmens pool party. They’ll have some cool ideas to make the ladies come, I’m sure.

This place is great. I get whatever I need in a prompt and courteous manner whenever I am there. Don’t understand the bad reviews…

I can not say one bad thing about this branch sofar. I have been here 3 times. The first time was to open an account with them, the second time to get a bank statement that had my address on it (I needed it as proof of residence) and the third time was today. I needed their help to check out something suspicious on my account. They helped me so nicely each and every time I went there and something else I would like to add is that Paul who works there opened the doors for me when I left because I had a stroller. These days almost no one does that anymore. I really appreciated that. And he helped me so nicely with any questions I had regarding my account. I could even email him if I had a problem with something regarding my account. That is service I would say.

Banks aren’t really the thing I review but my most recent experience convinced me that it was worth sharing.
My husband I recently had an issue with the Chase headquarters people canceling the wrong cards – leaving me with no money and creating a huge inconvenience. We went, separately, to our local branch to get our cards reissued. While we were both miffed about corporate’s mistake, we left this branch feeling like Javier, the bank manager, took a friendly and customer-​focused approach to making everything right.
When I visited, I was with a 3-​year old and all the bankers were busy. Javier took care of it himself so that I didn’t have to try to keep a pre-​schooler entertained (praise Jesus). He was immensely apologetic about the whole problem, (which was not his fault at all), and went out of his way to fix it.
I might not love corporate Chase, but this branch appears to be doing their best to provide great service. Plus, you can bring your dogs in and they’ll give them a treat!

If you need a notary public, this is not the place to go. I needed an employment verification form notarized, and the notary acted like this request was a major inconvenience. Though I handed her a bulleted one-​pager titled «Instructions for the Notary Public» (and the instructions were also right on the form she was filling out), she refused to read the instructions and proceeded to fill out my form incorrectly. Even when I pointed out the errors and again referred to the instructions, she would not look at them, instead acting very annoyed and telling me Chase does not usually notarize this type of form. It would have been nice if she had either (1) told me from the beginning that she could not notarize my form or (2) read the instructions and completed it correctly and without an attitude.
I’ve never had any issues when using a notary in the past– after all, this is not only a simple two-​minute task, but part of the person’s job description – and I haven’t experienced such poor customer service anywhere in a long time. Since this notary is also a personal banker, this is definitely not the branch I will be visiting for my personal banking needs. I’ve had much better customer service at the Chase bank up the street at Clark and Gregory.

I got one of there balance credit cards in the mail offers. I accepted and did the transfer of some money. The credit card they offered did not cover the balance transfer. I told them that if they couldn’t cover the transfer the card did me no good and that I didn’t want it. They closed the account, reversed the charges. I got hit with a return check fee by the other credit card service. No biggie.
So it should be I owe chase no money they owe me no money. I get hit with a ping to my credit alert saying that Im three months behind on my chase credit card. After three days on the phone I got the removed.
Now my mortgage company sold my mortgage to chase. Let me tell you how thats going. Since its been with chase my credit score has dropped a hundred points. The lowest its been since I was 18.

Great Caesar’s ghost – a one-​star average over seven reviews? Good grief. What a bunch of boners.
What have I stooped to here? Reviewing a bank branch? Sure, I’ve done several grocery stores, a few gas stations, and even a Walgreens, but now I’ve dragged my review-​whoredom to a new low. But Cleophilosaurus’s thread and the poor reviews inspired me.
First, I’ve never had any complaints about Chase, née Bank One, née First Chicago, née Northern Bank of Detroit. My account goes back to 1995. I give them my money, they keep it safe from Mongols and robber barons and masked desperadoes and whoever else. That’s about it. Oh, and they built a website that I can use to track my activity and pay my bills. Revolutionary! And certainly worthy of excoriation.
Second, I never need a branch except for two reasons: getting quarters for laundry and parking meters, or purchasing foreign currency. And for these two things, I have ALWAYS used the downtown Evanston branch.
So this was literally the only time I’ve ever set foot inside another Chase/​Bank One/​etc. And it was like a revelation. There was an entire legion of people tripping all over themselves to help me. All I wanted was a teller to give me quarters. But the setup (I’m used to old-​school-​looking banks, not these little tucked-​into-​an-​urban-​cranny jobs) was a little confusing – where were the tellers? There were several cubicle-​offices and a few open desks, plus one counter labelled «Business Transactions» but the people in line did not look like business owners. They looked like scruffy college kids and Gap employees plus one delivery driver.
So in my moment of hesitation, one of the personal bankers, an adorable redhead, leaps up and leans around her cubicle opening to say, «Can I help you with anything?» PS. – thank you for not calling me «sir.» I said, «Yes…do you have tellers here?» «Absolutely,» and she indicated the «Business Transactions» area without an ounce of condescension. Oh, cool, thanks.
So then I got in line, er, not really in line because there WAS no line (just after 1pm on a Saturday) and an even MORE pleasant (but not quite as cute) teller asks cheerily «What can I do for you today?» I just asked her for the quarters, and although the transaction was brief, every little phrase of the exchange was uttered with a big smile from this lady. Wow, I was so impressed.
So then walking away, I noticed that the personal-​banker lady was still standing up, watching me, but had moved back so as to be less obtrusive. It was the perfect social move on her part – attentive but not aggressive. She played it perfectly so that I felt taken care of but not threatened. Somehow these people are just brilliant with customers. So of course as I passed by, I gave her a big smile, a slight bow, and a «Thank you» which is a million degrees warmer than my usual scowl and grunt. I thought about going back to order some loans or whatnots just to get to chat with her. Plus if she works for the bank, she can see what a fatty-​boombatty account I’ve got, so I’d be that much more attractive to her.
Anyway, for anybody who wants to hate on Chase, let’s review:
1. Banks are banks.
2. This one branch has really friendly employees.

I used to enjoy using this branch. I’m not a frequent teller-​transaction customer (1 transaction every 3 – 4 months, the rest online or ATM), but when I used to walk in here it was a laid-​back, friendly experience, keeping right in the spirit of the neighborhood.
Now, though, every time I walk in I’m hit with the hard-​sell to sign up for Chase’s new rewards debit card. Basically, you have to use your card for at least $ 200 in purchases a month, or get hit with a $ 25 annual fee.
I understand the bank’s position on this. Their profits from credit card interest are shrinking every quarter, so they need to drum up business with their debit card transaction fees.
For those not familiar: every time you use a Visa or Master Card credit or debit card, those companies charge the merchant a percentage of the charge (something like 1%) for the privilege of them letting you use that card. For example, charge your $ 120 Hopleaf restaurant bill on your Visa, and Visa will in turn charge Hopleaf around $ 1.20 to process that transaction. And guess who the restaurant (and every other merchant that uses credit and debit cards) passes that extra cost on to?
So now Chase is trying to get all of their customers to spend as much money as they can using their credit and debit cards. Which means the last two times I’ve walked into this branch I’ve been invited to spend an extra ten minutes with a personal banker who tries to sell me on this new «Rewards Card.» Personally, my new mantra is «Cash is King.» And the extra time and annoyance having to deal this marketing campaign makes for an unpleasant customer experience.
Chase gets extra points knocked off for charging me $ 150 in fees last year, too.

if it were possible to leave no stars, i would. I hate chase. And i don’t hate alot of things. In fact the only people i hate are theives, rapists, and murderers. I would categorize chase as two of those things.
Everytime i go in they try to sell me something. They have yet to understand that i am not buying. After my Washington Mutual credit card expired they never sent me a new card. When i applied for a new one it took forever to arrive. Then when i called to get the card activated they made me talk to some guy in India who tried to upsell me on crap i don’t want. The fees are neverending. Everytime i go in there is one person behind the bullet proof glass (who is always busy and forces me to wait) while six other employees sit around and ask how my day is going but don’t offer to jump back there and deposit my money.
I miss you sooo much Washington Mutual.

Because this is so long, I will give you the conclusion up front: DON’T BANK WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!
I can put up with a lot of crap, but Chase has gone too far. What is written here is only a sampling of the crap they have flung at me. Chase no longer deserves my money, nor my respect. I keep hearing about the bad things they are doing at the corporate level, and their lousy attitudes are passed down all the way to the neighborhood branch level.
If you do bank with Chase and are satisfied, just avoid this branch. Their ATMs are often down on the weekends, and the employees can be rather rude.
The other day I needed to go to the bank and withdraw $ 5. I was low on my account and didn’t want to withdraw $ 20 at the ATM. I was in a hurry because I needed to get in and out of the bank, ride my bike over to the El station to get a fare card, ride back to my house to give the fare card to my 8 month pregnant wife so she could make it to her pre-​natal appointment, and then make it to Truman College by 9:30.
So I walk into the bank branch at 9:01 to withdraw the money. The teller at the counter was in the middle of doing something, so the manager directed me to one of the bankers in a cubicle. The young and hip banker guy accessed my account, did the withdrawal, then started poking around in my accounts and asking me questions. I felt like I was being interrogated! So I make it clear to him that I was in a hurry and I needed my money, so he finally went and got it. Whew!
I feel like every time I go in there to talk to one of the bankers, they treat me like scum. Me being poor and usually having less than $ 200 in my account doesn’t mean that you can be condescending! Often I want to say, «look, kid, I have survived on this earth longer than you, I have more education than you, and I am smarter than you. I think that deserves some respect, even though my bank account doesn’t reflect my superiority at this particular time!!» But instead I am usually polite, but firm, and give them a quick rundown as to why I am refusing all of their up-​selling.
I have been enrolled in the Leisure Rewards program, and I have gotten some cool stuff from it every year, so I figured it was worth it. A few weeks ago I got an automated reminder phone call telling me that they would be pulling the $ 25 annual fee from my account «either in this statement period, or the next statement period.» Oh crap! There was little time left in this statement period, and no expected paycheck. I received no other reminders or bills, so I had no idea exactly when the money would be withdrawn.
As is usually my luck, they withdrew the money BEFORE payday and wiped out my account. I went into the branch and asked one of the young bankers if they would be charging me an overdraft fee. She assured me that they don’t charge overdraft fees on charges they charge. The next morning there was a whopping $ 32 fee.
Needless to say I will be banking across the street at North Side Federal Savings very soon. I am done with Chase.

fool me once shame on you. fool me twice shame on me! since i will most likely get looks if i go outside and scream fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. here goes. a chase atm ate my $ 500 paycheck. wonderful. IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE IFFY BANK SITUATION I’D HAVE CANCELLED SOONER. but now YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE!

Just switched over (or, was forced over) from WaMu, which was a dream bank for me.
I was told at my last deposit that money from each check would be available by the next business day and that at the time of deposit, I could access up to $ 100. Well, guess what. Just made another deposit and that has mysteriously changed. Now I’m stuck for a big weekend with no access to my money.
Every time I try to ask a simple question about my account, I’m assaulted with a high-​pressure pitch to add more services and still somehow come away no more informed than when I came in.
Any recommendations for a new bank? Chase no longer gets my money.