Citibank West

Beware of DEAN (Branch Manager)!!! If she at all feels threatened by your presence, she will close your account and note that it was per «customer request.» She likes to play Jr. detective and does not provide answers when she or her staff are asked questions like, «why are you closing my account?» They will discriminate against you based on how you are dressed and how much of your money you choose to access.
There is no sense of accountability for this location and I feel Dean and her staff say who much and when I can access MY MONEY. In the words of J. G. Wentworth, «It’s my MONEY, and I want it now!!!’ Please don’t let DEAN or her staff push you around, take your complaint to corporate and make it known. With 5 more complaints like this, she will be looking for another job because a branch manager should not act in this fashion, no one should!

Super slow!

eh. first problem is, they shut down the downtown berkeley branch that had a parking lot and an indoor ATM lobby, and kept THIS one open — !? very irritating. that corner has got to be the most unsafe corner for an ATM machine. could they not, after all these years, have put it inside?
furthermore, i’ve had several problems at this branch. things where they mess up, but where it takes MY energy and effort to point it out to them, and to suggest a solution — which only is done after prodding, and never comes with any sort of thank you/​apology.
the most memorable was when i reordered checks and received multiple messages from citi HQ that my checks had been mailed for pickup at this branch. first i called the branch to make sure they were there, before going in person, because once previously i’d gone too soon. no, they couldn’t find them. i decided to give them another couple of weeks to be safe. at that point called citibank hq to confirm that the checks had been delivered to the branch — spoke to a real person who confirmed it — yes, at that point they should have already been delivered. and later, i called the branch again, and spoke to a mysterious someone who confirmed that they’d arrived.
so i went in person to the branch to pick them up. at this point it’s more than three weeks from when the checks have been shipped. the teller i speak too, looks for them very quickly in one drawer and then tells me no, they’re not there. i insisted to her that they must be there — someone at her branch told me over the phone that they were — and she just stared back at me like i was crazy. she insisted to me that they must not have arrived yet.
THIS is what drives me the most crazy with CSRs — this is the point where she’s supposed to say, «let me investigate further» but instead she looks at me like *i’m* the one with the problem. what happened next was: i walked away, almost leaving the branch, perplexed and frustrated, and thinking, this is absolutely ridiculous; then, came to my senses, turned around, went back to the teller and said, my checks have GOT to be here. she looked at me blankly again.
i then proceeded to tell her how to do her job. i suggested that perhaps they’d been misplaced? and that maybe she could look somewhere else besides the one drawer she’d checked? she consulted with a colleague. the colleague came over. i explained my story again. the two of them then slowly looked in just a few more places, and came back to again tell me that they must not have arrived yet, perhaps i want to reorder? still looking at me like i’m the one who’s crazy/​has a problem. i stared back at them for a bit, waiting for them to act.
finally i asked for the manager. manager came over. explained my situation yet again. she also looked at me like i was crazy. i insisted that she must have the checks somewhere so can she please check to see if they have been misplaced. finally, after talking amongst themselves some more, they disappear into the back. much time passes — 15 – 20 minutes — and eventually they come out and — lo and behold! — they’d found my checks. they DID indeed have them! they HAD indeed been misplaced.
but. did any of these three ladies, particularly the original teller, at any point, thank me for waiting? or for my suggestion that they might have been misplaced? or possibly apologize for the inconvenience? or for not believing me? or for in fact sending me on my way when they should have been doing their job? no, of course not. you have to wonder what the phrase «customer service» means to them. i mean, even an insincere «sorry for the inconvenience» would have done SOMEthing.
one final comment. i really cannot stand how, every. single. time. i go in to make a transaction with a teller i am asked if i want to open a savings account. every time. for years. by the same tellers, who you’d think would remember me by now, and remember that i have answered them: NO. i have a savings account elsewhere already, thank you.
i really should give them one star, i suppose, but the fact is, i for some time now they haven’t made a big screwup. but, it remains true that they don’t have parking, or indoor ATMs, they almost always have interminable wait times, and their tellers are a strange, barely effectual bunch. (i’ve had better teller experiences at many other citi branches — the piedmont ave branch, for one.)

I’m not reviewing the ATM outside, but the bank inside (yes, the outside ATM is a pretty grimy corner, but that’s not all the bank’s fault).
We have banked here for about two years now, and have had *awesome* service. Love being able to get American Airlines miles (AAdvantage Debit/​Credit cards) — one mile per dollar spent. If I’m spending the money anyway, how great to get miles on top of that!
If you want a great account rep, ask for Hong. She is fabulous, remembered me after the first visit, and pushes things through if you need her to. And the manager, whose name I forget, is also just as nice and helpful. Great group of people.

Wow. Worst. Bank. Ever.
Came here to deposit a check for $ 45. After waiting quite a while in line, the teller processes the check but for $ 95! Though everything said fourtyfive it’s even written across the check yet they make this huge mistake. Furthermore, the teller hardly seemed apologetic and told me that it’d take up to a week to fix this error and to stop by or call sometime if nothing had changed. I called later on and was put on with a manager who acted like it was my error and that there was nothing they could actually do about. Moreover I was charged by citibank for a bad check and by my other bank for a bounced check and over the limit! Lots and lots of fees! I called the custome service of citi bank, they said they would have to place an investigation on my case and I’d get a letter updating me. This took over a month and several more phone calls before it was finally resolved. Worst of all NO ONE apologized and ONLY ONE fee was refunded. Thanks citi. I’ll be taking my business elsewhere and I’ll make sure to tell everyone at Cal, all my friends, family and neighbors to stay as far away from you as possible.

I come here often to deposit and withdraw money. It’s convenient, as it’s both close to campus and close to my house. I don’t think they have a security guard, unlike Wells Fargo and Union Bank down the street. No complaints, except for the one time one of the tellers deposited my check into someone else’s account. Luckily I checked my receipt when I got home and called Citibank who opened up an investigation and took care of it. Mistakes happen — I think she didn’t pull up my account information when I swiped my card.
3 stars because the bank serves my needs. Nothing special here.

This must be the worst run bank branch ever. I stood in line for five minutes with six people ahead of me. Then another five minutes with five people ahead of me. At least it gave me a chance to see how ugly this branch is. But looking at the ugly walls and floors for ten minutes turned out to be a waste of time because I left abruptly. My time may not be worthy much in today’s market, but especially at 70 years of age, it’s worth a lot to me.
Use the Albany branch on Solano Ave, which is beautiful and well managed. Nary a wait there for years on end.

I have never been inside, but the bank machine covers all my needs. There are no fees and I got a free dvd player when I opened my account. Anyway, yes, these machines are popping up everywhere (7 – 11 and beyond!) Yes, Jon, they are everywhere!

I like the fact that I know all the tellers and bankers at this location. Banking at Citibank can be more expensive… I wouldn’t recommend it for students but its a lot better than Wells or B of A. If you have simliar feelings about those two major california banks, I would switch here.