Thursday, June 16, 2022

A Friendly Encounter with a 2nd Generation Fil-Am at Bank of America


The other day, Carenna drove me to the Bank of America, Citrus Heights Branch. We did some business with David's Life insurance funds that I received as his beneficiary. During our visit, the teller who was a Caucasian middle age lady was surprise that I am not a member of their preferred customer award noticing the amount of balance in my checking and saving accounts.  I told her I will enroll if there are benefits. The teller then called the manager of the day ( in-charge of all the tellers that day). I notice he has Asian features, but was not sure if he has Filipino ancestry. This man was probably in his mid-30's. He initialed my deposit after checking if the teller deposit was correct and informed Carenna and I that after our transaction with the teller to go to another window and he will enroll me as a Preferred Member.  

While he was activating my account in the computer, I notice his name- Justin Sebastian. I was 99% sure he is a Filipino-American even though there was no trace of accent in his conversation with us. He started a friendly conversation about our plans for the day. Because of his friendly attitude, I was not hesitant to ask him if he has Filipino roots. When he said yes, our conversation run smoothly about Filipino food and restaurants, various dialects in the Philippines and playing mahjong. Carenna identified with a big smile when Justin mentioned playing mahjong.  I learned that he is a second generation Fil-Am ( born in US) but his parents were originally from Zambales, Philippines. It was a pleasant experience banking at the BA with a friendly 2nd generation Fil-AM.

Justin Sebastian enrolled me as a Preferred Gold Customer with the following benefits:

B of A Credit Card Bonus (25%), Advantage Savings Interest Rate Booster ( 5%), No fee transactions at non-B of A ATMs in the US, Foreign Exchange Rate discount (1%), New Mortgage origination Fee Reduction ($200), Home Equity Line of Credit interest rate Discount ( 0.125%)  and an auto loan interest discount of 0.25%.  This Preferred Reward Status is for customers who maintained a 20k to 50K three-month combined average daily balance.    

It was indeed a pleasure doing business with a friendly B of A employees like Justin Sebastian.  I hope there are more B of A employees like Justin Sebastian. Listen B of A Over-All Manager of the Citrus Heights Branch,  I recommend a Customer Service Award for Justin Sebastian.

 Meanwhile if you want to know more of the Filipino-American story read this:

 https://thefilipinoschool.com/the-filipino-story/

       

 

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