Times are hard for banks it seems!

[tandor]

Other day we went to SCB at Airport Plaza Chiang Mai to do a transfer.

We were serviced at the counter..not the sit down across the table..so fairly formal you would say.

Whilst the transfer was being done the teller started talking to wife about this and that.

Next thing the manager arrives and both start chatting.

He said to us in a quiet voice and quickly followed by the teller in English with a worried expression on her face...”Can you please help us..can you help us please?”

To be honest I thought there was a robbery in progress and they were asking me/us to help them.

I quickly looked around and there was no security person in the office.

I said “What do you want me to do for you?”

He said, “Help our branch, please invest some money with us to help us?”

Talk about the hard sell....then it began ..all the rates..terms...teller printing out sheets of data...explaining it all in great detail.

Meanwhile the line is getting longer..we had other things to do..like eat...so we had to interrupt the excitement and excuse ourselves.

The following day we had the teller and manager each call twice.

Oh well..TIT...anything goes!

[OMGImInPattaya]

I don't think your premise is correct. Thai banks are quite profitable and the staff were just trying to sell you some of their commission based insurance or other banking products. People need to realize that banks don't exist to "help" one save and invest their money but to sell financial products and services, often high prices.

[tandor]

I don't think your premise is correct. Thai banks are quite profitable and the staff were just trying to sell you some of their commission based insurance or other banking products. People need to realize that banks don't exist to "help" one save and invest their money but to sell financial products and services, often high prices.

..Im correct...they were wanting us to invest in a fixed term there and then..not transfer our funds...nothing about insurance or other products.

I was surprised to have this hard sell over the counter..if they had invited us to go and sit down..fair enough.

[blackcab]

SCB are pretty good at this. The company I work for recently ordered a cashiers cheque from SCB to pay an outstanding amount of 8 million baht.

As is normal, the recipient had sent a photo of the first page of their (SCB) bank book so we spelled their name correctly.

Our company director went to the bank and showed the staff the picture on their phone and everything was sorted.

The next day the beneficiary got a phone call from SCB advising them to invest the money in various ways.

We gave the beneficiary the cheque the day after they received the phone call, which is when they told us about SCB contacting them.

That's definitely proactive.

[shirtless]

I think Thai banks are carrying a great deal of toxic debt, They wont ride it off , as they will certainly take a big haircut.

[colinneil]

I never get hard sell from my bank.

As same with most banks here there are at least 20 steps to climb to get into the branch.

Short while back wife and i went to our local branch of KTB.

Wife went up into the bank, no no you cannot do only your husband can do.

Wife said ok you get 4 men to carry him upstairs, so he can sign the papers that you are refusing to allow me to take downstairs for him to sign.

Suddenly ok ok you take papers to your husband.

So i never get the hard sell treatment.

[Agent Sumo]

Frankly, the OP should be looking to his wife for paving the way for the hard sell, not the bank for doing what it's supposed to do

[tandor]

Frankly, the OP should be looking to his wife for paving the way for the hard sell, not the bank for doing what it's supposed to do

I will instigate any buying of their products or investment at a place that is correct..and that place as I mentioned...is not over the counter..the 'help me please' was in English and directed at me.

[Agent Sumo]

Frankly, the OP should be looking to his wife for paving the way for the hard sell, not the bank for doing what it's supposed to do

I will instigate any buying of their products or investment at a place that is correct..and that place as I mentioned...is not over the counter..the 'help me please' was in English and directed at me.

Yeah but, according to your OP, only after the teller and your wife had had their chit-chat

Like I said, the bank was doing its job - the content of your wife's conversation with the teller resulted in the appearance of the manager

[tandor]

Frankly, the OP should be looking to his wife for paving the way for the hard sell, not the bank for doing what it's supposed to do

I will instigate any buying of their products or investment at a place that is correct..and that place as I mentioned...is not over the counter..the 'help me please' was in English and directed at me.

Yeah but, according to your OP, only after the teller and your wife had had their chit-chat

Like I said, the bank was doing its job - the content of your wife's conversation with the teller resulted in the appearance of the manager

...this is not the Spanish Inquisition...wife/teller talking about weather and economy..next thing the manager appears..teller may have alerted him somehow...regardless the counter is not the place for such antics...finished.

[Agent Sumo]

Frankly, the OP should be looking to his wife for paving the way for the hard sell, not the bank for doing what it's supposed to do

I will instigate any buying of their products or investment at a place that is correct..and that place as I mentioned...is not over the counter..the 'help me please' was in English and directed at me.

Yeah but, according to your OP, only after the teller and your wife had had their chit-chat

Like I said, the bank was doing its job - the content of your wife's conversation with the teller resulted in the appearance of the manager

...this is not the Spanish Inquisition...wife/teller talking about weather and economy..next thing the manager appears..teller may have alerted him somehow...regardless the counter is not the place for such antics...finished.

Look, mate, you started the thread, not me

You just don't want to discuss investments standing up at a counter - that's your choice but it doesn't add up to the banks having hard times, does it?

[Seizhin]

SCB has strict policy that a branch must reach certain amount of target every month. The staff in each branch must get certain number of life insurance as well.

Just because they ask you for money doesnt mean SCB are having hard time. They are number 1 most profitable bank based on their annual net profit.

Their staff are well paid if they can reach the target, but there are some who couldnt meet their quota and forced to "pay" for SCB product themselves to compensate for the missing quote. Now you see why SCB is one of the most profitable banks out there.

[tandor]

SCB has strict policy that a branch must reach certain amount of target every month. The staff in each branch must get certain number of life insurance as well.

Just because they ask you for money doesnt mean SCB are having hard time. They are number 1 most profitable bank based on their annual net profit.

Their staff are well paid if they can reach the target, but there are some who couldnt meet their quota and forced to "pay" for SCB product themselves to compensate for the missing quote. Now you see why SCB is one of the most profitable banks out there.

..to you and 'agentsumo'...fair enough..i accept that they number one...another reason why I have with them for some years...however my OP had an exclamation mark at the end of signifying Im making a double surprised remark not only about the hard sell that I alone seem to be offended at...hence me thinking there was a holdup taking place..it all seemed a bit a bizarre over the main counter...if an employee had approached me/us in the main public area of the small branch with a brochure or wanted to sell their products; then that would have been acceptable...ok chaps?

[Torrens54]

SCB recently tried to hit us for DOUBLE the normal cost of producing a Letter for Immigration on how much money I have in my account.

My wife complained about the Price Hike and the Charming young man backed-down and said He would pay the Extra for us.

Wife has also heard there is an intention for Thai Banks to CHARGE for "looking after our money" instead of paying Interest which of course is very little at the moment.

[elgordo38]

SCB recently tried to hit us for DOUBLE the normal cost of producing a Letter for Immigration on how much money I have in my account.

My wife complained about the Price Hike and the Charming young man backed-down and said He would pay the Extra for us.

Wife has also heard there is an intention for Thai Banks to CHARGE for "looking after our money" instead of paying Interest which of course is very little at the moment.

They are just catching up with the rest of the world banks who charge you to park your money there.

[JMWPACIFIC]

Years ago my wife got talked into an insurance plan where you invest X amount for 7 years, leave the funds on with them and, if one does not die, you get your money back with no interest after 15 years. Worst deal ever! And half the time the bank employee cannot even explain the terms. It's always "please help me" and "trust me, it's a good program".

[gdgbb]

I will instigate any buying of their products or investment at a place that is correct..and that place as I mentioned...is not over the counter..the 'help me please' was in English and directed at me.

And the bank is entitled to instigate the selling of their products. Where else would that start but at the location you where in the bank?

The "help me please" as you say was probably nothing more than the staff's way of introducing the subject that they are obliged to do in order to try to meet targets that they are set.

[gdgbb]

Years ago my wife got talked into an insurance plan where you invest X amount for 7 years, leave the funds on with them and, if one does not die, you get your money back with no interest after 15 years. Worst deal ever! And half the time the bank employee cannot even explain the terms. It's always "please help me" and "trust me, it's a good program".

That's what is called a life assurance policy. If your wife had died during the term (either 7 years or 15 years, it couldn't have been both) a sum assured would have been paid out. In that case it wouldn't have been such a bad deal, would it? In this case your wife was insured for the term with your premium returned at the end.

Insurance is always a gamble both for the insurer and the policy holder, one is always going to lose.

[55Jay]

I don't think your premise is correct. Thai banks are quite profitable and the staff were just trying to sell you some of their commission based insurance or other banking products. People need to realize that banks don't exist to "help" one save and invest their money but to sell financial products and services, often high prices.

..Im correct...they were wanting us to invest in a fixed term there and then..not transfer our funds...nothing about insurance or other products.

I was surprised to have this hard sell over the counter..if they had invited us to go and sit down..fair enough.

Having read your post yesterday, it was ironic that my wife's phone was blowing up on the kitchen counter downstairs just 1 hour ago; she was still in the bedroom getting ready to leave the house for Dentist appt.

It rang and rang, 3 times within minutes of each other. Must be really important. I figured it was the Dentist calling to change/cancel appt, which they've done in the past on the day.

Wife finally got down there as it rang a 4th time.

After the call, she was annoyed. I went downstairs and she told me it was the Krung Si Bank female branch manager calling to say my 2 accounts are earning low interest now (yeah, no shit, I know that) and pitched some insurance accounts. In 4 years, they've never called us for any reason, much less a cold call.

The last pitch from the manger was, if I l really loved my wife, I would open one of the offered accounts in her name, and that my wife should convince me to do it. Asked the wife to confirm that last bit to make sure she wasn't exaggerating/lost in translation. It wasn't.

The accounts are in my name. My cell phone/email # is POC. They don't call me, they call my wife. I know it's because they don't speak English, and my Thai isn't deep enough for conversation like this, but <deleted>, this was very low brow IMO.

[PocoLoco]

SCB are a bunch of liars. I was helping a friend setting up a business and for that a bank account with internetbanking was needed without having to go to a branch for every international business transfer, this due to frequent traveling.

Before opening the account the requirements were explained, the staff and later the manager OK'd everything, yes it's possible, no problem blabla yadayada.

Once the account was opened they quickly changed that to no you have to come here for every international transfer.

SCB right out lies in your face to reach their target of opening x amount of accounts per month.

Banking and doing (international) business from Thailand sucks, so the whole operation is currently being moved abroad.

[BudRight]

Looks like the apologists are out in force over this this one.

"Can you help me please?" Sounds desperate in English. If they didn't want to sound desperate they should have said something else.

Why is it so important that the mighty Thai banks don't need money from lowly foreigners? Oh right, your Asian superiority narrative.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Years ago my wife got talked into an insurance plan where you invest X amount for 7 years, leave the funds on with them and, if one does not die, you get your money back with no interest after 15 years. Worst deal ever! And half the time the bank employee cannot even explain the terms. It's always "please help me" and "trust me, it's a good program".

That's what is called a life assurance policy. If your wife had died during the term (either 7 years or 15 years, it couldn't have been both) a sum assured would have been paid out. In that case it wouldn't have been such a bad deal, would it? In this case your wife was insured for the term with your premium returned at the end.

Insurance is always a gamble both for the insurer and the policy holder, one is always going to lose.

No...anything where a foreigner doesn't get something for nothing is a "scam."

[OMGImInPattaya]

SCB recently tried to hit us for DOUBLE the normal cost of producing a Letter for Immigration on how much money I have in my account.

My wife complained about the Price Hike and the Charming young man backed-down and said He would pay the Extra for us.

Wife has also heard there is an intention for Thai Banks to CHARGE for "looking after our money" instead of paying Interest which of course is very little at the moment.

It's called negative interest rates and has been in effect at some European banks for years. German government bonds are also selling at negative interest rates (you get back less when you redeem them than you paid for them). It's a consequence of the world-wide low interest rate environment...not a conspiracy by Thai banks to "scam" foreigners.