US banker fired for giving $20 to broke customer
Oregon: A bank employee from Oregon, United States, has claimed that she was fired from her job for handing out $20 of her money to a customer who was in desperate need.
Fox News quoted the Oregonian to state that Emily James, who worked as a senior banker at a Portland call centre received a call from a man the day before Christmas Eve whose paycheck was put on hold.
The Customer Marc Eugenio, had more than $1,000 stuck with the bank and was told by James to visit the local branch the next day.
Unfortunately, Eugenio was left helpless when he visited the local branch.
No one there was able to assist him with the process because of Christmas Eve.
According to Fox News, the man then found himself stranded at a gas station with no money to refuel and go back home. He then dialled up the bank helpline and requested to talk to James and told her the whole scenario. He expressed his wish to “just have 20 bucks to get home”.
Responding to Eugenio’s distress, James drove to his location which by chance wasn’t too far from her workplace and gave him $20 so that he could drive back home for Christmas.
However, right on the
New Year’s Eve, the lady was informed that she has been relieved from her job as a consequence of “unauthorised interaction with a customer”.
As reported by Fox News, Jame’s employer told New York Post that “at US Bank, we have policies and procedures in place to protect our customers and employees. Ms James was terminated following an internal investigation into her interactions with a customer. During this review, it was determined Ms James did not use the available solutions to remedy the customer’s situation and instead put herself and the bank at risk with her actions”. — ANI