With all the horror stories we read and write about Bank of America, it’s easy to forget that there are BofA employees who understand the value of treating the customer as something other than livestock.

Consumerist reader Josh has a free checking account with Bank of America. Unfortunately, part of the stipulation of such an account is that he add money to the account via direct deposit or face a fee.

Well, Josh just started a new job and his first couple of paychecks were actual paper checks because it takes a few weeks for his direct deposit to kick in. Alas, this means he’s stuck with paying the fee to BofA to deposit the checks.

Writes Josh:

Technically, I owed that fee as well, but I thought I’d give a shot at having that one waived. When I walked into my local branch here in Philadelphia, I politely explained the situation and that I have no problem paying fees that I owe, but that because of the timing, perhaps BoA would be willing to refund July’s maintenance fee.

The representative was really polite, reviewed my account history, and spontaneously refunded both July and June’s maintenance fees because she “understood exactly” and “appreciated my good business.”

I came in asking for only $12.00 refunded but I received over $20.00. This isn’t the first time they’ve presented me with stellar service, and I’ve never been affected negatively by their actions whatsoever.

Here’s another example of an employee who realizes the long-term value of keeping a customer outweighs the few dollars in fees it would have collected by unflinchingly following the rulebook.

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