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Of my last three attempts to deposit checks at Bank of America ATM machines only one attempt worked. The first attempt was canceled. No reason.I got the check back. The second attempt (with the check on the first attempt, but at a distant ATM, worked). The third attempt was a $325 check drawn on the Bank of America. At the branch ATM with this check I waited for the “processing” message to go away. It finally went away about three minutes later when the machine abruptly canceled the deposit. The check was not returned. I did not get a receipt. Because the BoA customer non-service call center was closed, I logged into my BoA account when I got home and sent a message reporting the attempted deposit, cancellation, no check and no receipt. Below is the useless response I received.

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Thank you for your email dated 10/26/2014, regarding your ATM check deposit issue. We are glad to assist you.

We really understand how concerned you must be. Your comments help us enhance the best banking experience possible for you. We truly appreciate your comprehension and we continue reviewing and correcting our areas of opportunity as the one you have observed with the ATM. We apologize for any inconvenience we have caused you. [Completely useless paragraph.]

At this point the system is still processing the weekend transactions. It would be the next business day during the ATM review when the system will be showing an adjusted balance with your check amount deposit. [It is still processing a canceled transaction?]

If the issue continues, remember the 60-day-time frame for you to initiate your formal claim through us; according to the date of the transaction. We would review your case and help you take further action. [If the issue continues? How is this responsive to my specific incident that the ATM ate my check without receipt or credit? Note the improper semicolon.]

If we may be of further assistance applicable by email, please contact us again. We value you as a customer and appreciate your business. Thank you for choosing Bank of America.

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What is the specific advice I get for the $325 check I lost to the BoA ATM without any record? Nothing. This customer service response provides no specific actions for me to take. Additionally, how does one initiate a formal claim? The response does not even provide a link or phone number to do this. The response does not care enough to say they would try to find the check the ATM machine ate without any credit to my account and without giving me a receipt.

An appropriate and caring response would have  been something like this:

We  are sorry to hear about your problem. We have initiated an investigation to find the check in question in the ATM you reported. We will report back within two business days.

OR

We  are sorry to hear about your problem. Please call xxx-xxx-xxxx during these hours to initiate the process of finding the check lost in our ATM and to get credit for the check.

This is just another instance of why credit unions are getting more and more of my business. These big banks are too big too care. And they don’t.

Why do corporations post phone numbers for help that connect you to people who cannot help?

This is exactly the situation with Bank of America. I tried to deposit a check at the nearest ATM. The machine kicked the check back out and and told me my deposit attempt was cancelled. No reason was given.

I called the toll-free number posted on the ATM, specifically identified as the phone number for ATM help and problems. The people who answered the phone were not the people who knew about ATM machines. Those people were in a different group.

When I asked why my deposit attempt was cancelled, the BoA representatives went on a fishing expedition to discover if there was something weird with the check. I asked why they just didn’t look into the computer log for the ATM and see what it might say. That’s when I learned they didn’t have access to that log and that I was, in fact, talking to customer service folks who could not provide any real service with the device in question.

Big corporations apparently have enough time on their hands to devise ways to frustrate customers.

Clear is a wireless Internet provider owned by Sprint. Last week Sprint turned off a major cell site in Seattle providing wireless Internet via Clear to several residences and businesses. I was one of the business victims. So was Subway Shop #4091. Subway was using the connection for credit card payments in the store. (I frequent the store and saw the Clear modem, which is why I got their side of the story.)

There was no notice to any of the affected users that service was going down permanently (both confirmed by Clear/Sprint representatives).

There was no concern by Clear/Sprint customer service that it was stopped when a call was made asking what happened to the service.

There was no concern by Clear/Sprint customer service that there was no notice: “It was an engineering decision.” In other words, there was no concern for existing customers.

The best options Sprint/Clear could offer: put the modem outside or cancel the account. Putting the modem outside is not nearly as easy as suggesting it, and actually shows the ignorance of the representative. You can’t simply stick an electronic piece of equipment outdoors without proper protection from the various weather elements. Then, there is the problem of running power and ethernet cables. Placing outside is not much of an option. Who is going to pay for non-service? Cancellation seems to be the best option.

if your service got cut off without notice and you were then met with basically uncaring representatives that want to pass the blame to engineering, then what would be your long-term thinking in relation to doing more and future business with the provider? Seems obvious to me.

Frankly, having been a former Sprint cell phone customer for about 12 years, this recent action regarding the company’s wireless Internet customers does not surprise me. Sprint, in my opinion, never had any concept of what good customer service was or is.

As more people defect from Sprint on their own and as more paying customers have their service terminated, one has to wonder how much longer Sprint will be around — and that’s something to consider when thinking about being a business customer.

I recently had a Kenwood KDC-X798 radio installed into my car.

The AM reception was terrible. I went back to the business that sold the radio and installed it. I had them pull the radio out again to check the antenna connection. I could see that everything was connected. The installer and other workers at the business claimed the problem was the antenna on the rear window.

I wrote to Kenwood hoping to gain some insight. The best Kenwood could tell me was to check the antenna connection.

Lacking any information from the professional installer or the manufacturer, I began to do my own research on and off over a couple weeks, combined with a group consultation with a few very savvy ham radio friends.

The bottom line from my own research: my vehicle has a hidden antenna amplifier that needs power. Power was supposed to be injected into pin 14 of the vehicle’s radio connector. The Kenwood radio’s solid blue wire labeled “Ant Cont” (antenna connection) that was connected to pin 14 was not, after putting a volt meter to it, not putting out any power.

The manual for the radio showed the solid blue wire marked Ant Cont — but there was a little note in small print saying “not used.” (Why is it marked “Ant Cont” then?)

More research suggested that the unused PCont (power connection), a blue and white wire, might be the correct wire to connect to pin 14. So, I pulled the radio out, removed the solid blue and applied the blue-white wire. Apparently, that is all that was needed, because the AM radio came to life with good reception and the FM radio (with HD digital) also worked better.

Would it be too much for Kenwood to accurately label the solid blue wire “unused” — to match the manual — rather than “Ant Cont”? This would give the installer a heads up and reduce the number of dissatisfied Kenwood customers. And apparently, the professional installer was unaware that there was a hidden amplifier in the car that required power.