Thanks but no thanks...that "french fry" experiment from spurlock's "Super Size Me' was enough McDonalds based science for me.

Actually, I worked in "DSS" or deposit sales and service. I also did electronic banking and debit card support. I still cringe driving to the medical center and passing USAA. Effexor and Adderall helps a bit. However just concentrating on the car in front of me and minding the speed limit ( a police station is close by and cops are ALWAYS around ) adds a major part. I can't wait to leave this city.

OMG...that budda bank RULES!

I worked at USAA federal savings bank for 2 years from 2002 to 2004. I was fired for not making the grade. The lady in HR was nice and supplied me with tissues and a security guard escort to the parking garage. That day I drove to the park where I took my first girlfriend and sat at the park bench for a while. That day it was dark and cloudy and miserable. I don't hate USAA for firing me. They could'nt give me a specific reason. I did't grab a female co-workers bum or send a chain email via the intranet. I was always on time...had over 125 hours of vacation and sick time available because I never called in even when I should have. My breaks were always down to the second because I had a stop watch and would be back "online" at my desk within 14 min. and 59 seconds. That day going home and having to tell my father that I was let go was the hardest for me. My parents were so proud that I got a job with USAA which had gained an almost "el dorado"-type of status around the san antonio community. I worked my ass off but in the end I think it was my fault. Every day we had "members" (not "customers" in the traditional sense) who would call in and expect world class customer service yet there were those who would be abusive and downright vindictive. NSF fees? "Sorry sir but there's no money left in your account". The next day after calling to several execs and higher ups the NSF fees would be reversed. USAA would give a 500 "Buffer" on debit cards and once this factoid got out it was exploited like a bearded lady in a travelling circus. People would (swear to god) overdraw their accounts up to 300.00 and face ALL those penalties up to 500.00. To them it was a fact of life. I would review these accounts and not see anything legit. Just alot of charges at Wal-mart and starbucks. Ridiculous. But when USAA pulled the "buffer" people would call in frantic because they had 100.00 but would try to buy something for 105.00 and be declined. Screaming and crying would ensue. Threats on our jobs if we did'nt let the charge go thru. A quick xfer to the supervisor would allow them to buy those DVDs and CDs.
Towards the end it got worse. I'm a consumerist at heart. I think and belive that Consumerist found ME and not the other way around. I believe in fairness and doing what is right even if it's not going to satisfy EVERYONE. My workplace became a call center. Period. We were told to mind our business and never ask questions. If you went to a Spurs game you were expected to cover your USAA logo on your golf shirf if you drank a beer. You were expected to not talk to the media. When they began hiring workers from india and the news vans would track them migrating up and down fredericksburg road you were expected to not even THINK about giving a comment. When the layoffs occured and people working for 20 years were released you DAMN sure were expected to avoid the media.
My downfall was the password feature.
I'll bring this to a close soon. If ben and co. boot me from the site then so be it. USAA was and is the easiest bank to defraud. Check kiting was the norm due to our geographic location and lack of outside regional branches. It's all here in San Antonio. A con artist would open an account online and mail in a deposit check and have the debit card fedexed. Drain the account....disappear. USAA was losing over half a million dollars a month because of this. USAA tried their best to curb this but it was hard. My absolute irritation was the password feature mentioned above. Example: Sarah Smith from Halifax calls in. She gives me her member number. I verify her last four of SSN and DOB. I give the last charges on her checking account. Sarah wants a "password". USAA demanded at one time to have the request in writing. The bush family has accounts there. David Robinson, formerlly of the Spurs, has multiple accounts there. These are celebrities that demand more security. But then again they have people to do this for them. Sarah Smith would normally have to * mail * in a notarized letter explaining the need for a password and her password request. But alas, USAA wants to make everyone happy so they eliminate this and allow members to verbally TELL us the password they wanted. We would enter it and when Sarah Smith called back she would'nt have to go thru all the "trouble" of giving us her member number AND verify info. She could just call in and say her member number and "blueberry" as her password. I would ask management what if I don't think its Sarah Smith on the other line. Answer: Don't worry about it. If Sarah Smith forgets her password then that's alright. Just give us your DOB and SSN. Okay, now you want "apple" as your password now? Done. This was so RIPE for cracking and you would think they would see this but they did'nt. In the end I became frustrated. I can play devil's advocate really well and could and would see the folly of letting this happen. People would call in and get mad when I asked for their password and they forgot it. We would ask them to call back but they persisted...so we would verify other info and give them all account information. If they called and hated verifying the last four of SSN I would suggest putting a note on their file to alert the other reps to ask for special info like their childs birthdate or middle name....stuff not found by dumpster diving. I would place this on the file only to have another lazy rep tell them it was'nt necessary and to put a password instead. It was insanity and just plain wrong. I did'nt mind the old timers and eldery military wives. They earned respect and they got it from me in abundance. But alas, USAA wanted the young gen-x'ers and would bend and curve to their demands. If I offered to send a check register for free....I was being "rude". People did'nt know how to monitor their accounts and keep an eye on the bottom line. If we didn't KNOW how much their Pending direct deposit was going to be then we are being "difficult". In fact, that feature was a closely guarded secret and USAA had mandatory policies in place to NEVER release this information to the public because we were'nt liable for the information given. One rep gave this information out and that member would tell another. One rep would try to be extra nice and reveal this "cool" secret. The proverbial feline was out of the bag and running wild. What if the "pending" amount is different from the actual deposit? This would be a HUGE time waster and tie up the phone lines as people would actually *question* us when we told them that the pending deposit was, say, 1099.98 and different from last week when it was 1110.96. "Are your computers down?" or "are you new?...can I speak with someone who knows?" was a common inquiry when we could'nt answer their question. Verbal abuse was comonplace. I can actually name several members who became so infamous for their daily call-in verbal ramblings and insults that to get slammed by them was almost an initation. Because they had money USAA never shut them down.
In the end, there was soul searching. Over the year I gained a love that was lost. I lost weight. I tried being a salesman. I got a new job. I am gratefull to people like Ben Popken who constantly question authority and won't accept quick and dis-honest results. I'm always on the lookout for injustices and hate seeing them unresolved. All of us here are *expected* to never let large companies jerk us around. We are expected to do the right thing. USAA never did the right thing by me and for that I am eternally grateful. I was fired for being different. Period. The "logans run" type environment never suited my ethics. Being a part of the corporate culture so meticulously maintained by the soil of USAA was and never will be my bag, baby. And it never will be.

I could have sworn I was looking at a Mac OS X screenshot. What's that on the right hand side? Dashboard? Thanks, I'll pass. I'd rather be the freak with my apple than a starry-eyed bandwagon jumper.

Ben: lol.

Wow, I KNOW I'm listening to the voice of reason now. I can't STAND these companies seizing tax time like it's friggin' Christmas Part 2. Is'nt tax season supposed to be business like? I mean, jesus, they hold on to YOUR taxes (uncle sam) interest free for a whole year THEN GIVE IT BACK TO YOU. And people act like it's mana falling from the heavens or something. It's YOUR money and if you pay some company EXTRA money to get your OWN money back then you have issues. And before you start in on me about how "oh I NEED my money now!"...chill out. Just file your taxes and get direct deposit. It takes about five days for it to arrive. Trust me, the flat panel plasma Telly can wait.
Can't we have at least a month without some "holiday" being shoved in our faces? And don't EVEN get me started on valentine's day *&^%$#@!

I'm dying to know what happened to the NBC TV guy and his ongoing dispute with the collections department!
Anyway, glad to hear this particular case is being worked on and a resolution is close.

I had a pair of Gap jeans that lasted me YEARS and even my dad of all people praised the quality of the clothes. But these last couple of years have been uneventful when going into the Gap. I walk in there and there is never anything that KEEPS me in there long enough to even price anything anymore much less try anything.
As for Old Navy....my cousin bought me a nice blue sweater with a red stripe running horizontally across the chest. Two washes later the red stripe ran pink and red all over the sweater. I'll stick to Macy's and JC Pennys.

Sorry Gilbert. But it's a necessary evil that you will have to deal with. But equating the credit card industry to the tobacco industry? When I needed to get my car towed six months ago in the pouring rain I used a credit card. When I got paid a week later I paid the full amount owed. See, being a consumerist like myself is understanding the rights of the consumer and the industry in which we operate. Without debt collections there would probably 59.99 percent interest rates and a mandatory 1000.00 down payment on a cell phone. But alas, just like no one holds a gun to your head to suck on a coffin nail there is no one holding the proverbial gun to your head to open a credit card account and NOT pay it back.
By the way, I was past due on several accounts years ago however paid them all off and have committed myself to staying current. YES, I may fall on hard times but I won't blame the collectors that call me. That's because I'm aware of my rights.
Oh, take this from a collector....want to REALLY stick it to a company or third party collector? My smart ass side says to pay it back but seriously, if they call your workplace and you VERBALLY tell them to QUIT calling but they don't? You can sue and you WILL win. All 50 states have the same law when it comes to callling a work place.