La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés
Our bank has a small lobby with one desk, a small corner office, as well as an information window. There are offices upstairs. At the desk, a sign reads: “If you have an appointment, see the agent at this desk.” She was alone. I said, “Good morning. I have an appointment at 8:30.”
“Take a number and wait for my co-worker at the information desk to call you.” So much for following the instructions on the sign.
As I took the number the guy at the information desk said good morning and asked what I was there for (we know each other from other interactions). I told him online banking and Sabadell Wallet. He said the person in the small office would see me when my number came up. I sat down.
Then he said, “Wait. Did you say Sabadell Wallet.” “Yes,” I said. “I can’t log in.”
“Oh, we don’t offer that service anymore.”
I told him very quickly what I had been through online yesterday and that the message repeatedly says, “Not currently available. Please try again later.” I told him I then phoned a Sabadell agent who gave me a new pin number three times to get it to work. She had no clue the service wasn’t offered anymore.
He did say, “I’m so sorry.” He told me to use GooglePay. At that point, I was simply shaking my head and laughing.
It was 8:40 a.m. and I went across the plaza to Starbucks (I’m ashamed to say) and had a grande latte and a muffin with egg, ham, and cheese. A latte is supposed to be the same as cafe con leche. It never is. To me it’s more like milky coffee. I like my cafe con leche strong and rich (like I like my… oh, never mind). I hate lattes. I also don’t like places in Spain that use the term latte for cafe con leche. A number of places do. Never again. The muffin was good and I was home by 9:10.
We’ve talked for a while about changing banks. Sabadell is awful and getting worse. And the company is having financial problems. It’s clearly time.
Nuestro banco dispone de un pequeño primer piso con un escritorio, una pequeña oficina en esquina y una ventanilla de información. Arriba hay oficinas. En la recepción, un cartel dice: “Si tiene una cita, vea a la agente de este mostrador”. Estaba sola. Le dije: “Buenos días. Tengo una cita a las 8:30”.
“Tome un número y espere a que mi compañero de información le llame”. ¡Menuda idea de seguir las instrucciones del cartel!
Al tomar el número, el chico de información me saludó y me preguntó para qué estaba allí (nos conocíamos de otras interacciones). Le dije que banca en línea y Sabadell Wallet. Me dijo que la persona de la oficina pequeña me atendería cuando saliera mi número. Me senté. Entonces dijo:
“Espere. ¿Dijo Sabadell Wallet?”. “Sí”, dije. “No puedo iniciar sesión”.
“Ah, ya no ofrecemos ese servicio”.
Le expliqué rápidamente lo que había hecho ayer en línea y que el mensaje decía repetidamente: “No disponible actualmente. Inténtelo de nuevo más tarde”. Le dije que luego llamé a una agente de Sabadell, quien me dio un nuevo PIN tres veces para que funcionara. No tenía ni idea de que el servicio ya no se ofrecía.
Él dijo: “Lo siento mucho”. Me dijo que usara GooglePay. En ese momento, simplemente negaba con la cabeza y me reía.
Eran las 8:40 a. m. y crucé la plaza hasta Starbucks (me avergüenza decirlo) y tomé un café con leche grande y un muffin con huevo, jamón y queso. Se supone que un café con leche es lo mismo que un café con leche. Nunca lo es. Para mí es más como un café con leche. Me gusta el café con leche fuerte y con cuerpo (como me gusta mi… oh, no importa). Odio los lattes. Tampoco me gustan los lugares en España que usan el término “latte” para café con leche. Hay muchos sitios que lo hacen. Nunca más. El muffin estaba bueno y llegué a casa a las 9:10.
Llevamos un tiempo hablando de cambiar de banco. Sabadell es horrible y cada vez está peor. Y la empresa está teniendo problemas financieros. Claramente ya es hora.
• Pensé que era un monumento abandonado hasta que me acerqué.
• Este pobre árbol en los Jardines de la Merced está a punto de partirse por la mitad. No quisiera estar cerca cuando eso ocurra.
• Pruebo del incendio (haz clic aquí) en la mezquita.
• Otra casa para reformar. La gente paga mucho por ese revestimiento de pared. El nombre de la calle es Moriscos, en referencia a los musulmanes españoles que, a partir de 1492, aceptaron el bautismo cristiano (o tuvieron que marcharse). Los moriscos siguieron siendo ciudadanos de segunda clase hasta su expulsión del país entre 1609 y 1614.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Those trees look eerie, scary stuff.
Your banking experience leaves quite a bit to be desired. Including their lying website. Boud
Boud:
We’ve never been happy with Sabadell and it seems to be getting worse. What a waste of my time.
Starbucks? Mitchell. Oh, oh. I can’t with them.
If the bank cannot provide you with service then I would definitely take my coins elsewhere.
All that said, The Boy’s faces at the top are dee-lish!
Bob:
So many good cafes around here, too. Sabadell has had some ridiculous policies over the years, but I think they’ll soon be gone.
Sounds like the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing (now there is one I have not heard since my mother died.)
David Godfrey:
That’s exactly what we said. If you were here, you would have heard it again. Does that date is, I wonder.
My theory is that Starbucks over-roasts their coffee in order to make it so unpleasant that one must add all the milk and sugar and syrups to make it drinkable. Also, less coffee is needed as it must be so diluted by all the other stuff. And their latte is NOTHING like a cafe con leche.
Yes. Change banks. What utter bullshit to put you though.
And of course that was Ms. Moon.
Ms. Moon:
I’ve never liked Starbuck’s plain old coffee but it tends to be a pleasant space and the food options are good. I spent hours online, on the phone, and in person with that bank. Ridiculous. AND I got up at 7:30 in the morning!
I had a recent in-bank transaction in the US that required an international conference call between me and the 2 finance officers at my bank, the company I was trying to wire money to in Belize inclding the salesman and his financial officer, and the Vice President of the bank that held the company’s account. The wire transfer itself had to go through my US bank, another US intermediary bank, a bank in the UK (to convert USD to BZD), and finally the bank in Belize. It took 2 hours of 5 people’s time to get it set up and then another 9 days for it to pass through all those banks. Successful at last and I will have my new truck here in Belize tomorrow. Fortunately I had to be in the US for other reasons; not sure I could have gotten this done over the phone. Hope you don’t need to resort to such extremes to get your tickets purchased!
Wilma:
Oh, I hope it doesn’t get to that! But, then, I’m not buying a truck. THAT, I guess, is a major business transaction.
At least the Starbucks stop gave you a little peace and a good muffin, even if the latte didn’t live up to expectations. Definitely a clear sign it’s time to move on from Sabadell. http://www.melodyjacob.com
Melody:
Yes, I did relax at Starbucks. And Sabadell needs to soon be history.
I live in a very small town, but as of this summer we now have a Starbucks, a 7Brew, a Ziggi’s, a PJ’s, and several local coffeeshops. My go-tos at places like that are matcha lattes or a chai lattes. (with almond milk)
Do you think that splitting tree was struck by lightning?
Kelly:
Yes! I used to get chai lattes at our neighborhood Starbucks in Santa Barbara. It’s odd about that tree, but I would think that would have been neighborhood news.
Yes, it is time to change banks, but that will be a hassle too. Did you ever get your plane ticket to New York squared away?
Michael:
Yes, changing banks is a major hassle, plus having many automatic payments to change. And, no, I still don’t have my tickets.
I hope that you can still get a good deal for the tickets. Airfare can be quite expensive. When I think about moving myself, and I think about the issue with changing banks, it makes my head swim!
Michael:
I got a good deal, but everything’s relative. It’s nearly double what I used to pay.
It’s no wonder Sabadell’s in trouble if they don’t even know what products they have anymore… Jx
PS Starbucks?! Yuk.
Jon:
There really is little reason to go to a Starbucks here. Old habits die hard.
I myself stick with a brick-and-mortar bank. It ain’t going anywhere.
Kirk:
Sabadell may soon be going the way of failed businesses. They’ve closed many branches.
Banking in your native language is enough of a pain, but having to deal with financial stuff in another language can make you crazy. Knock on wood… we’ve been with the same French bank for 23 years with very few problems. We also maintain accounts at a states-side bank in DC. Problems have been few and far between and the people at both banks are always, or for the most part, friendly and helpful. Again, knock on wood.
Walt the Fourth:
We started with Santander in Seville and had nothing but problems. Our branch in Fuengirola (even worse) then closed, so we moved to Sabadell. It’s been better than Santander but still loads of headaches. We’ve got one in mind for our next try.
There are artists in our town that, when an old tree is coming down, they try and salvage the trunks and make a sculpture. They did a marvelous carving of an old maple trunk at the local Senior Center.
There is no coffee quite like home-brewed coffee… got my mug of hot and black Maxwell House sitting on the desk as I type.
As for banks; don’t ever be afraid to shop around! I’ve had it with a credit union I’ve used since 1987. The service has gone drastically down hill an the customer service is nil. I had enough on this last “upgrade” to their systems that I opened an account with another credit union and have been slowly migrating my finances over. We don’t use big banks (Bank of America, Chase, etc.) because of all the overhead fees. Much better interest rates on the savings with a CU.
Anyhow. Good luck!
Rade:
Bank fees here can nickel and dime (well, euro) you to death.
I’m hooked on Spanish cafe con leche out, and I have coffee brands I prefer
I love the idea of carving from a tree limb like that. I used to enjoy carving when I was young, but I’ve always been a danger to myself with sharp objects. The feel of the tree as you carve is incredible. I love tactile art.