I was at the bank the other day, and had a pretty crappy experience. In fact, it was crappy enough of an experience that I wound up going home, crying about it, and writing Citibank about it. I've decided to post the letter I sent to them here, for people to read. Basically, I was made aware that I am not and never will be a middle aged white man, and that I may never garner the respect that should be afforded to everyone, regardless of age, race, sex, finances, etc. If you read this, please let me know your thoughts.

To Whom It May Concern at Citibank,

I am writing to complain about the way I was treated at my local Citibank branch recently. I went in to my local branch to set up a new account. After a short wait, I spoke with a bank employee (a “client financial analyst” according to his card) regarding this account.

I requested that I be given information about the accounts that Citibank offers. He started to list some of the terms, and made some mention of a special offer in passing. At first he did not expand on that, having assumed, without asking, that I did not have the minimum deposit required to open an account under the terms of the special offer. After I made it clear that I was interested in learning about all the different options available, he did indeed expound on the various types of accounts available.

After I settled on an account, he started to ask me for information, that he presumably needed in order to set up the account. He asked me for basic things, such as address, phone number, and employer information. However, along with this information, he also started to ask me other, more personal questions, at least one of which is not needed by your bank. Among the questions he asked were about what country I was born in (this was after I had told him I was a US citizen, which is information I know Citibank needs to process my account), what city I was born in, and what the nationality of my parents are. At one point, I asked him whether he needed the information of where I was born to process the account, to which he replied no. However, he continued to ask about my ethnic background. The way in which he was asking these questions made it unclear whether questions like “who do you live with?” and “what is the zip code of your employer” were indeed used for setting up my account. Now, I have no problems answering questions that are needed to process my account. I also have no problems talking about my ethnic background to friends, in a social setting. However, I think it is inappropriate for a bank employee to be asking personal questions which do not relate to the business at hand, particularly when these questions are asked in a manner which is indistinguishable from the questions which are asked to provide account information.

Finally, after the account was set up and the representative gave me papers relating to the account, along with a new bank card, while I was still sitting at the desk, the representative left the desk, without saying “good bye” or thanking me for my business. When I finished putting my papers in my bag, I looked for him to shake his hand and thank him, and saw him behind a different counter, talking with someone, either another customer or a fellow bank employee. I wound up leaving the bank without any further conversation with him. I found this rather rude, and felt that my business was unappreciated.

The combined effect of this treatment is that I felt like a second-class customer. If I were a middle-aged white man, I believe I would not have received such treatment. As it stands, I am a young woman of mixed race, and there is nothing anyone can do about that. Although it is likely that no ill feelings were meant, such treatment is very much a problem. I feel I should be treated the same as any other customer, and not be asked irrelevant personal questions or treated rudely.

I do want to make it clear to Citibank that these types of behaviors are inexcusable. In writing to you, I am not asking for any sort of monetary compensation. Rather, I would like for you to take it upon yourselves to reaffirm your commitment against gender, racial, and age discrimination, not only in official policy but also in the way your train your employees to interact with customers. I have been a Citibank customer ever since I opened my first savings account when I was 16. If something like this happens again, I will have no qualms in moving my business to a competitor and telling others about this experience.


Sincerely,


If and when I hear a response from the bank, I'll post it.