Bank of the West

I went in to get help for an account for a family member. The people at this bank are incredibly rude and not helpful. I was wasting my time. I had to go to the Altadena drive location just to work with people who want to help.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful setting. It’s like you stepped into a time machine and landed in the 1920’s. Aside from the historical setting, the customer service is superb. I recommend asking for Sean, although the other employees are good as well.

I enjoyed banking here but a teller with the initials C.Y. gave me attitude for depositing a check. Not going into details but when I make a deposit with a teller, I don’t want to here anything about placing a hold on the check. If I wanted to her about the bank placing a hold on a check, I would have asked.
BTW, my banking experience with this bank is less than one month.
I found another bank in Pasadena to do business with.
I’ll miss the beautiful architecture of this branch.

I really wish I could give zero stars, but this will do…
My parents recently worked with this branch and the branch manager was incredibly difficult to get in touch with and unhelpful. I would not recommend banking with Bank of the West if this is the branch you would need to use.

I was a customer here for over a decade. The old bank manager Glenn was wonderful, as was the older lady after him. But this Elisa has no clue how to treat customers. After a week of leaving voice mails, I still have not heard back from her. I was charged $ 35 fee for a $ 1.99 item on the SAME DAY MY DEPOSIT WENT THROUGH.
Luckily I was able to open an account at Chase and will be closing this one. It’s too bad that one person can ruin a long business relationship. And it sucks I have to re-​enter all my info for my automatic payments I have online.
Trust me and do not open an account here. Go down the street to the other Bank of the West if you really want to, because whereever you open the account is where you have to go if you have issues. I now live in LA and can not be helped by the local branch here.
PS
I added a star because the tellers (if still there) are wonderful: Travis (adorable and sweet), Salpi (always kind) and Lilah (who always had a smile)…

Love this bank. Been going to it since i was a kid and the staff is still over and beyond anything that you can expect now a days. I’ve recommended several people here and will continue to do so/

I still bank with these guys because I liked the customer service and felt the donations they make each year was nice. Recently I’ve been discouraged by the lack of customer service, not only at this location, but especially with this location. First time here and the building itself is beautiful, but the people working felt like it was their first day. I gave them my drivers license and they couldn’t find my account after a few attempts. I gave them my social security number and they found it, they spelled my name wrong… next it took the teller almost 5 minutes to process a simple deposit (no cash back) which isn’t a lot of time, but when you have things to do it feels like an eternity. They weren’t very apologetic and I almost felt like I was telling them how to do their job. Maybe it was their first day, but employees should be efficient at dealing with people’s money before taking the hot seat. Peoples accounts are important and the last thing you want is a client leaving disgruntled. Im very close to changing banks… A deposit should be a quick in and out.

This bank is located in one of the most beautiful buildings in Pasadena, it really makes going to the bank a special experience. Plus, they can set up complicated Business accounts that other banks are unable to offer. I think it’s a good idea in general to avoid the gigantic multi national banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America and Chase, etc. Stick to a local bank. And, it’s got a bear in the logo, what’s not to love about that?

I have been with this branch for many years now. I always deposit or cash the same 2 checks every week. One of these checks has a «check before cashing» flag attached to it. Whenever I go into the bank to have this check processed, the teller will take it to the manager, who will either look at my account history and ok it or call the company to get the Controller’s approval.
Yesterday I had the misfortune to deal with who was possibly the most astonishingly impolite man I’ve encountered in my years of banking. He is titled as the Assistant Vice President/​Branch Manager, though how he has been entrusted to manage anything is a mystery, especially in a customer service position. The extremely kind Bank Teller called him over to the window. He looked at the computer screen and handed me the check, coldly remarking «I cannot process this check.» I explained to him the usual procedure regarding this issue, to which he replied «Then I’ll talk to the other manager. She shouldn’t be doing it either.» Then he turned and walked away from me. That was it. Not another word. I felt dismissed.
I left to return to my car, but the «manager’s» arrogance and total rudeness drove me to return to let him know my feelings and get his business card. I filed a formal verbal complaint to the Bank of the West headquarters regarding this incident. I will follow it up with a written complaint.
I’m not a lot of money to them, but if I have to deal with this kind of behavior from someone that is supposed to be a professional, I will look for another bank. The «manager» does not conduct himself as a professional. He is more like a bully. He is a horrible representative for this business.
Everyone else at this branch has always been so kind to me. This was shocking.
p. s.–I put the check in the atm-​it cleared with no problems last night.
JULY 29, 2015
I just received a phone call from a charming young woman at Bank of the West named Lena that re-​enforced my faith in Bank of the West. She spoke with me about the situation and was both professional and personal in her approach. I feel much better about the situation. Thanks for the concern, Lena!

I don’t bank here, but the customer service woman that helped me, was patient and kind and hugged me at the end…

Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes and an ever changing carousel of staff.

Best customer service ever!!!
My favorite tellers are :
Zoya, Travis, Ihosvanny, Salpi, & Lilah!