Calling Wells Fargo was a useless waste of time for me, which is funny because you would think they would treat people who want to open a bank account a little better. I wanted to open a bank account with Wells Fargo so that I could take advantage of their retirement program, but I had some questions before opening the account that I wanted answered. Therefore, I called this number, but after spending five minutes in their phone maze, the virtual assistant hung up on me.
There are probably a lot of reasons that people call Wells Fargo, from bank account issues to credit issues to loans and retirement accounts. Therefore, you expect to have some wait time, but that wait time should not result in getting hung up on. At least not in my mind. They need to work on customer service because this is not how to get or retain customers.
When I called, a catchy jingle played, and a recorded voice said, "Welcome to Wells Fargo." It was followed by a Spanish message and the standard warning that the call would be monitored and/or recorded. Then it told me, "For account access or questions, say your account or card number one digit at a time or enter it followed by the pound sign. For anything else, say other options or press 1."
I said other options since I didn't have an account, but it didn't seem to hear me and repeated the message. The second time, it recognized my voice and responded, "Alright, other options. You can say, open a new account. Find a new branch or ATM. Find or verify an account. Damaged card. Otherwise, say your account or card number."
I said very clearly this time, "Open a new account," but it ignored me again and went through the options again. It didn't seem like the voice recognition ever worked until the second try. Once it did, the virtual assistant told me to hold while it connected me to a banker who could help. I assumed at this point I would be talking to someone, and even heard some upbeat music that sounded like hold music.
However, in seconds, it stopped, and then I was given two new options, "For service on an existing account, press 1. If you are calling to apply for a new account, press 2." Given that I just said I wanted a new account, this seems repetitive, but I went ahead and pressed 2. Then it told me to open a new account, apply online or visit one of their branches, and to my shock, it hung up on me. I don't understand why it said it was getting someone and then basically dumped me, but I haven't tried calling again. I didn't appreciate that waste of time.