HSBC Armenia, the Bank with English Etiquette
The same day that I posted my concern about the ATM service in Armenia at HSBC not working her at MOB and forwarded a copy to those in charge, I received a response from the CEO himself, Tim Slater, with a very accurate and straightforward response.
All I can say is if this was an Armenian bank, the chances of getting any kind of answer from even a low level employee on a first inquiry is unheard of. Most first requests that I’ve had in the past for the most part are ignored and any kind of response comes after you hold your breath until your blue in the face and even then it does not work.
In addition to the blow attached email response from the CEO, I also received an inquiry from Lusine, the Personal Assistant to Head of PFS and Branches, who asked for information regarding the two failed wire-transfers that were made in 2009, presumably so they could investigate where things went wrong, if for no other reason I would guess, to make sure those kind of errors don’t repeat themselves to me and others in the future .
All I can say is kudos to the CEO, Tim Slater, and Lusine, the PA to Head of PFS and Branches, who clearly are devoted to tuning their banking machine in Armenia into a fine tuned operation so that this long time loyal customer will continue to bank with them in the future. God I wish that others in Armenia could learn from them.
Though I may not be able to use their ATMs until November (which I will do once they are up and running), I will try again in the near future to have money wired (anyone interested in testing to see if they fixed the problem?)
Re: HSBC, the English Bank with an Armenian Twist...
Thu, January 28, 2010 8:27:50 PM
From: "timslater@hsbc.com"
To: Ara Manoogian
________________________________________
Dear Mr Manoogian
Thank you for your email and for taking the trouble to write to me. Clearly you are a longstanding customer of HSBC Bank Armenia and I would like to apologise for the inconvenience you have suffered and continued to experience. You are correct that the software update is taking longer than expected.
We had to stop the use of non HSBC Bank Armenia cards at our ATMs due to a significant fraud which was being perpetrated at the time, perhaps perpetrated against us because we have the widest ATM network in Yerevan. The software update is unfortunately very expensive and requires scheduling against priorities of other countries HSBC operates in besides Armenia. I appreciate this explanation may not be satisfactory to you, however latest estimates are that the problem should be fixed by end of November this year. We are endeavouring to bring this date forward. Meanwhile I am pleased you have found a solution but you might also consider whether an account with HSBC Bank Armenia might also suit your needs?
Once again, thank you writing to me.
Kind regards
Tim SLATER
Chief Executive Officer | HSBC BANK ARMENIA CJSC HBAM
Main Office, 66 Teryan Street, Yerevan 0009, Republic of Armenia
All I can say is if this was an Armenian bank, the chances of getting any kind of answer from even a low level employee on a first inquiry is unheard of. Most first requests that I’ve had in the past for the most part are ignored and any kind of response comes after you hold your breath until your blue in the face and even then it does not work.
In addition to the blow attached email response from the CEO, I also received an inquiry from Lusine, the Personal Assistant to Head of PFS and Branches, who asked for information regarding the two failed wire-transfers that were made in 2009, presumably so they could investigate where things went wrong, if for no other reason I would guess, to make sure those kind of errors don’t repeat themselves to me and others in the future .
All I can say is kudos to the CEO, Tim Slater, and Lusine, the PA to Head of PFS and Branches, who clearly are devoted to tuning their banking machine in Armenia into a fine tuned operation so that this long time loyal customer will continue to bank with them in the future. God I wish that others in Armenia could learn from them.
Though I may not be able to use their ATMs until November (which I will do once they are up and running), I will try again in the near future to have money wired (anyone interested in testing to see if they fixed the problem?)
Re: HSBC, the English Bank with an Armenian Twist...
Thu, January 28, 2010 8:27:50 PM
From: "timslater@hsbc.com"
To: Ara Manoogian
________________________________________
Dear Mr Manoogian
Thank you for your email and for taking the trouble to write to me. Clearly you are a longstanding customer of HSBC Bank Armenia and I would like to apologise for the inconvenience you have suffered and continued to experience. You are correct that the software update is taking longer than expected.
We had to stop the use of non HSBC Bank Armenia cards at our ATMs due to a significant fraud which was being perpetrated at the time, perhaps perpetrated against us because we have the widest ATM network in Yerevan. The software update is unfortunately very expensive and requires scheduling against priorities of other countries HSBC operates in besides Armenia. I appreciate this explanation may not be satisfactory to you, however latest estimates are that the problem should be fixed by end of November this year. We are endeavouring to bring this date forward. Meanwhile I am pleased you have found a solution but you might also consider whether an account with HSBC Bank Armenia might also suit your needs?
Once again, thank you writing to me.
Kind regards
Tim SLATER
Chief Executive Officer | HSBC BANK ARMENIA CJSC HBAM
Main Office, 66 Teryan Street, Yerevan 0009, Republic of Armenia
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