Keep going up

I hope that I don't sound grumpy with this blog, because I actually am quite happy with the result.
I have been having troubles with the bank charging me extra service fees. I had called in the summer and thought that everything had been resolved, but when I was checking my account information today, I saw that I had been charged for the old fees. To give you an idea as to how much extra I am paying in service fees, I will tell you that the difference between what I should be paying in a year and what I AM paying in a year is $180. That is just for the priviledge of being able to have a bank account with the bank. ( and that is the DIFFERENCE between the two!!!) I personally think that this is alot of extra money that I am basically just handing over to the bank for no reason.
In the summer, they said that they were sorry and they would correct the bank charges. I was happy with that. Today. . . well, let's just say that I wasn't impressed. I called the bank and very calmly explained what the problem was and how they had said that it was fixed in the summer and how it didn't get fixed. The lady kept on saying that they had no record that I had even called and that she could do nothing about it. She kept on saying that I must have done it through the branch. I told her, that I did not do anything through the branch because they are the hardest people to try and get ahold of so I had called the main center and they had done it for me. I even gave her exact dates, and detailed descriptions of what had gone on. She kept on telling me that nothing was wrong and that there was nothing they could do.
Okay, now my mother would be proud. . . . here it comes. . . are you ready? She told me that she was going to transfer me to the branch so that I could take it up with them. I told her that instead of doing that, she needed to give me to someone who was higher up than her. She got flustered and told me that he wouldn't be able to see anything that she couldn't see. I told her that that was okay and that I would talk to him anyways. So, I got put on hold for 10 minutes. When she came back, she told me that her supervisor couldn't see anything different and so she was going to transfer me to the branch. I was very frustrated so I said FINE. Well, about 5 minutes later she came back onto the phone and informed me that the branch was closed on Mondays and did I want their number so that I could call them. Ummmmm. . . does this question sound as absurd to you as it did to me? I asked her that if the branch was closed, why on earth would I call them? It would do me no good. I then asked her to tell me why the branch would be able to help me when the main office couldn't. She told me that they had a different system. I then asked her what specifically they could access that she couldn't because all of my files are sent to the main office? She gave me the run around for a minute or two more and then. . . . are you excited yet. . . . she put me on hold.
I sat there patiently. . . there was no way I was going to hang up now. . . I had been on the phone for an hour with her. . . .seriously, I got an entire load of laundry done in the time that I had a conversation with her. She got back on the phone and quickly told me that the main supervisor was also on the line and he was going to take over.
Let me say that there is an angel up in heaven named Neil. He was VERY nice and he asked me to explain what had happened and what I would like for them to do. When I told him, he said that I was a very good customer of theirs and that he valued my business and that my request was very reasonable. He then said he would take care of it personally and he gave me his direct line so that if I ever have a problem again, I can call him personally!
THAT IS WHAT I CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!
Generally speaking, I am very understanding when it comes to customer service. I have had to deal with issues from customers myself, and so I try to be as nice and as patient as I can. However, I have also been taught by my parents (who both have slight problems with authority themselves) that if someone says something to you that doesn't make sense. . . call them on it because if they don't know, they should just say so and not make something up. Like I said, I try to be as understanding as I can, but if I don't understand why you are telling me something that doesn't make sense. . . I will ask you about it. . . and I won't stop until I understand fully what you are telling me. Does this make me rude? I don't think so. . . my mom would say it is called getting things done!
So what is the moral that I want my kids to learn from this???? If someone tells you something that doesn't make sense to you, ask for someone higher up on the authority chain than them. They won't like it, but it will get things done!