Recommendations
I will be moving to St. Thomas in late May and would appreciate a couple of recommendations from locals: first, has anybody had any luck finding a bank that provides good customer service? There was a posting a while back with warnings about a couple of banks, but nobody posted any positive experiences. Does every bank take six weeks to clear a government check, or are there some that are better than others? I would have next day availability here, and even accounting for the slower pace of island time I would call that horrendous customer service.
Second, can anybody recommend a company to use to ship my car. I found one that I thought shipped cars, but I have tried to email them for information and they have not responded for two weeks. This makes me worry again about the level of customer service. Anybody with any positive experiences that would recommend any particular shipper? Or, am I just thinking in mainland terms and is it my thinking that needs to change instead of the customer service level of these companies? Thanks for any help you could provide, and thanks to all the regulars for making this board so incredibly helpful.
Hey Nansemond, congrats on your move!
Banking--I bank with Banco Popular. I have a love-hate relationship with Banco Popular. Nonetheless, I have found that the Main Branch on Veteran's Drive provides better customer service then the Hibiscus Alley or Lockhart Garden branch. Still not perfect, but better. I have not heard anything about First Bank or Scotia.
Shipping--We did not ship our car, but we did use Tropical Shipping for our household goods. Good rates and everything arrived as promised. I would recommend them.
As you suggested, we have had to adjust our concept of customer service. We have found that if you establish a good relationship with an individual at a certain business or organization, you may get customer service above and beyond what you would get on the mainland.
Good luck on your move and come bacnk and share your experiences!
Hello Nansemond,
Banco Popular seemed to work fine with me.
As for emails not getting responded to. Heres the scoop - many island business have web sites and email however they tend not to be interenet and email answering savvy and although they would like to help you, if you called them or contacted them directly, contacting them by email is not always the best way. So if you contact a business via email and they dont get back to you in two weeks try and call. But dont consider it bad customer service, consider it a lack in being up with the e-world.
--Islander
re: car shipping... i shipped through crowley [jacksonville was closer for me] and had a pleasant experience, and i have heard similar things about tropical shipping. just make sure when you talk to them that they know youre a first-timer, and theyll fax you a bunch of checklists of what do do before shipping, once you pick the car up, etc...
good luck! =)
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