I worked for BOA for over two years as a teller.  It was my first banking job ever, and when I applied I honestly did not know the difference between a big bank like BOA or a locally owned bank or a credit union.  I was just working cash office at a retail store and wanted to go into banking.  I love customer service and I love working with money so it seemed perfect.  I applied at BOA and was  hired.  Perfect!  It was ok at first.  i noticed my first week there people that worked there were disgruntled and already filling my head with stories but I shrugged if off and thought " I am here to do my  job to the best of my ability and go home"  that is what I did.  I was always honest, my customers ABSOLUTELY loved me and I did all I could for them.  Things got worse with time though.  BOA is so ridiculous with policy and procedure, and there is NO room for common sense or human error.  For example, the branch I worked at was smaller, somewhat slow and we had basically the same customers in day in and day out, older established people.  We were expected to sell 3 products a day no matter what.  Ok, so this didnt even make sense, I understand we have a job due to the products we sell and have but seriously, I do not feel comfortable selling a credit card to a 90 year old man who does not need it.  Or offering a credit card to a new immigrant who has no idea how they even work, however I have no problem with telling someone with a free checking account with a high balance about a money market, ect.

I think refferals should be quality and should be a case by case basis, I HATED HAVING TO THINK OF THE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF ME AS A SALES GOAL insted of the individuals they are.  Trust me, being a teller at BOA is nothing but a sales job. 

We worked 9 or 10 hour days with a 30 min lunch that was timed to the minute from when you locked your computer to when you unlocked it, it was ridiculous.  Scheduled bathroom breaks, because as a 25 year old honest person I cannot be trusted to know when I need a pee break and have to go when they decide I  need to go.  No water or drinks allowed at our station, because God forbid the customers know we are human and walk in and seeing us take a sip of water, THAT WOULD MAKE THEM HATE US AS A BANK!  No radio allowed in the bank because we would be sued for copyrights, so lets just keep it dead silent and let everyone hear everyone talking about their financial problems because the bank is too cheap to pay for even padding in the flooring. 

I also worked with a lady in her mid 60's who had worked for the bank for 30+ years, she was a teller as well, she had a broken foot once and was told she could NOT sit in a stool and if she could not stand she should not be at work.  It took her foot over six months to heal properly including a boot, because she was denied a stool despite a drs note. 

Everything was cut and dry, no room for anything.  For example like I said it was a smaller branch with the same people in day in and day out.  I had one customer who came in EVERY WEEK with the same check cut from the same lady ( who I knew personally from banking with her)  He was a non customer and it was usually a larger check.  I knew her checks, knew the non customer knew her sig ect I was still required to go through the hassle of looking up the account and looking for warnings and documenting it on the check.  One time we were slammed and I did not and got a final for that. 

We had a huge ice issue here last year that we are not used too in this area and although it took me 6 hours to get to work and 3 hours to get home to work at the bank for two hours I did it, one lady was not as lucky, the DM got on the phone and demanded the banks open, and insted of sending us to branches close to home ( I had two a mile from my house) we had to go to our branch.  One lady was killed trying to get to work.  ALL as that asshole demanded we get to work from the comfort of his home.

I have so many stories about working for BOA, and I do think it is a good place to work for and get trained in the basics of banking but never work for a big bank and expect a rewarding career.  I left and work for a tiny locally owned credit union.  You ARE allowed to do the best for the customer.  You are thought of as a human and not a number, your customers are humans and not numbers.  Common sense is allowed to rule over " bank policy" 

I have so many more stories, but I will leave you with this.  My last day at BOA was the day they announced they would be  charging the fee for debit cards they had been pressing people to get for so long.  I complained to a manager about it saying " this is silly if they didn't charge the fee everyone from wells and chase would come over here"  His response was " Bank of America will only be losing poor people over this charge, they do not care about poor people anymore than they do for you and me"  The sad fact is, he was right.