Firstar is First Rate
Written: Jun 07 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: friendly staff
Cons: could have better hours, but they are a bank after all!
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| KCFemme's Full Review: Firstar |
I've read through the other opinions and realize that everyone has different opinions based upon their own experiences. I would never try to say that those that have had problems with Firstar bank were wrong. But I would like to give you my point of view. One of good customer service, hard working employees and a worthwhile bank.
Last year my bank, Mercantile, was bought out by Firstar. Last November, when my husband and I went in after we were wed to add his name to my existing Mercantile account we sat down with one of their account reps. He first let us know that after the first of the year the bank would be Firstar. He told us about the history of Firstar, gave us some brochures so we could read up on them and then start asking all the questions about types of accounts. I already had a checking account and a business account with them. But by the time we left there, we also had a money market account, one that would earn better interest. My regular checking account was switched to an interest bearing account, and we didn't make any changes to my business account because it wasn't necessary. The one other thing he offered us was to set us up on a plan that so long as the combined accounts equaled over $1000, there would never be any fees. We thought that was pretty cool since I had been regularly been paying $6 a month.
I am one who balances my check book every morning. If there are any problems with my money I want to know about it right away, not a month after the fact. Anytime I have questions regarding my account there has always been a friendly rep to help me work it out. Well, between 8 & 5 that is. It would be nice to have customer service hours that lasted longer, but I can usually do my banking during the day.
Then they offered on-line banking. As I am one who frequents the internet I thought this would be great. No more waiting for prompts, pushing numbers to make my way through menus, or a slow voice operated system. I signed up and have since done my banking every morning just by logging on and seeing what had cleared. It was certainly much less time consuming since I tend to read much faster than the phone system did. :-) If I find something wrong, I just dial up customer service just like I did before.
All of this is good information to know for the normal, every day type of banking customer. But what about loans? Well, with a poor credit history of my own, my husband and I set out to get a home loan 5 months before we wanted to actually move. We have had one person that has carried this loan through. In the beginning he agreed to meet us in the evenings since we both worked days. He continued that throughout. He has made a few mistakes as he is new to the field, but his supervisor sat down with us and him and we worked those out, as well as all of my previous credit problems. When it came time to dealing with the realtors, our loan officer was very helpful, he made sure he kept us in the loop. When he had a death in the family and had to fly to New York, he still managed to call and make sure we had updates twice while he was gone. He and his staff have certainly followed through. And if he wasn't there, his supervisor or partner were more than happy to answer my questions. Next week he will be with us as we sign the papers to close on our new home.
Like I said before, not everyone will have a good experience when it comes to banks or other services. After all, you can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time. But in my case, Firstar has worked hard to earn my loyalty and trust. I had a very positive experience with them and would recommend them to my friends and family. I only wish everyone could have as good of an experience as I have had.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
KCFemme
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Olathe, Kansas
Reviews written: 303
Trusted by: 337 members
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