Re: Roy Exum: SunTrust Saga:

I have read Roy’s opinion articles on his situation with SunTrust and the check cashing fee. When I read the first post he made, my initial thought was to immediately respond, but I held back as I am in the mortgage department and not the banking side, and Roy’s issue was more with the banking end of things which is not my area of expertise. I am a daily reader of Roy’s articles, and I love his thoughtful insights and life lessons, and to tell you the truth most of what he says is just plain common sense which is why I enjoy reading it. However, this time Roy is in the wrong.

While I understand his plight, and do not necessarily 100% agree with the fee he incurred for the cashing of his check, let’s not make the mistake of not checking the facts. Fact is a majority of the banks in town have check cashing fees for non-customers.

I did some checking around (via the Internet and even by phone) and after a brief 10-minute investigation found out the following: Bank of America, Wachovia, Regions, and BB&T all charge this exact same fee. Most of this can be found clearly posted on the bank’s websites.

I know anger can cloud judgment, but seems like a simple fact check could have kept you from wrongly calling out a company who in my opinion is one of the best in town.

As for the comments about various service failures that have occurred, where customers were looked down on or treated unfairly, all I have to say is this: Every company has bad apples. And everyone has bad days. Is it right that any customer should ever feel mistreated? No, it isn’t.

Can anyone or any company guarantee 100% customer satisfaction? No. I know that I spend some time in the branches here at SunTrust. I see literally hundreds of satisfied customers come through every day, and the vast majority of the time they are welcomed with a smiling face and a “Hi, welcome to SunTrust. How may I help you?”

The vast majority of the people that work here are great people, who believe in helping people, and love what they do. I have also worked at other banks in addition to SunTrust, and have found much of the same at those companies as well.

Truth is most people who work in the banking industry are good people and got into banking because they enjoy working with people and helping others. That is not to say that our industry is without problems. But it would be impossible to single out one bank and say “There, that bank is the worst of them all. Stop doing business with them.”

Just like any other industry, especially one that is regulated as heavily as banking, all the banks are about the same when it comes to policy. What sets one bank apart from another are the people that work there. I for one think we have a great group of people working at SunTrust here in Chattanooga.

So let’s take a deep breath, and maybe a step or two back on this. I don’t agree with the fee 100%. But SunTrust isn’t the only one that charges the fee.

Many other banks charge it as well. While I doubt that there is much anyone could do to change the policy or the fee, I am sure you could go into any SunTrust branch in Chattanooga and find a caring helpful person that would be happy to have you as a customer. I know I would. In my book all of the banks here in Chattanooga are the cream of the crop, not because of whatever sign they hang up out front, but because of the people. Chattanooga people…who are as helpful and caring as you will find anywhere.

The Roy I know is light hearted, witty, and full of common sense. I know the fee was unexpected and ticked you off, but please use some of that common sense that I love to read everyday and reconsider what you have written. If a policy makes you angry, and upon looking deeper than your personally felt injustice you find it to be an industry standard, then please attack the policy and not the company or the hardworking people that work there.

Elijah Parker
Chattanooga

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SunTrust, in a misguided effort to appear "personal," has turned their tellers into impersonal drones. Each utters an identical phrase when you arrive and an identical phrase as you leave.

For those who bank there daily, such as business owners, it's annoying to the point of being insulting.

"Welcome to SunTrust. How may I help you?" It sounds fine on the surface, but what if you deal with the same person almost every day? You feel like saying, "You know who I am. You know why I'm here. Just say hello."

And at the end of the transaction, they parrot, "Thank you for banking with SunTrust. We appreciate your business." You hear it echoing up and down the counter. Obviously an insincere statement, much like PetSmart checkout clerks asking the name of your pet. It's flattering...the first time. But to force people to end the encounter with that ridiculous phrase is mind-boggling.

I like SunTrust's employees and have banked there for years. But now, there's this ridiculous formality that's, at best, off-putting.

We sometimes make small talk at the drive-thru that used to end with a casual "see you tomorrow." But now it's, "We'll see you tomorrow, Gary. You take care." And then - in a hurried afterthought - "Thank you for banking with SunTrust. We appreciate your business."

But today took the cake. About a half hour ago, the receptionist at my business answered the phone to hear, "I'm calling you about the relationship you have with SunTrust Bank. Could you let me speak to the person who is in charge of that relationship?" We belly laughed at that one. They're shooting themselves in both feet. This isn't New York City. It's not the West Coast. You're not impressing anybody. It's OK to be informal. I prefer polite sincerity over canned babble any day.

Gary Wood

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I cannot agree with the negative comments made about a banking institution that I’ve been a customer with since the days of Scotty Probasco.

The tellers have been friendly, the service has been consistent and my retirement plan has doubled from what it was with our former service thanks to the fine folks who set it up for me at SunTrust.

The Brainerd branch has a great teller by the name of Cheryl. She calls me by my first name and chats with me while she does my transactions even when I haven’t seen her in months.

I don’t know of any bank that doesn’t charge to cash a check for a non-account customer. They have nothing to guarantee payment except the piece of paper you give them and anybody who reads the crime reports knows that not everybody is an honest person.

I like SunTrust bank and I’m staying with them until they give me a better reason than what I’ve read here to move on.

Karen Fink
Chattanooga