How Banks Rate for Customer Service

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Monday, November 23, 2009

Who Rates Best (& Worst) in the San Francisco Bay Area? Now You'll Know.

Bank Service Quality

	Banks have to deal with thousands of customers. They have to survive on thin margins in a highly competitive marketplace. Can you expect gracious, efficient, knowledgeable service? Well, in fact, you can. According to area consumers, a number of banks in the area give superior service. We've evaluated 61 area institutions. From Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK Magazine
	Read our article and findings (available exclusively to CHECKBOOK subscribers)	Back to Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK Table of Contents.


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	Name	Number of ratings	Checkbook's top rating for quality ()	What percent of customers rated firm "superior" on our survey for "overall quality"	Areas in which the bank has branches (see key at bottom)	Approximate number of branches in area
1.	1st United Services Credit Union	59 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
2.	Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union	41 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
3.	AEA CU		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
4.	Alliance Credit Union	17 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
5.	Bank of Alameda	24 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
6.	Bank of America	1645 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
7.	Bank of Marin	33 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
8.	Bank of Petaluma	11 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
9.	Bank of Rio Vista	11 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
10.	Bank of Santa Clara	19 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
11.	Bank of the West	431 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
12.	Bay Federal Credit Union	39 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
13.	Borel Private Bank & Trust Company	29 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
14.	Cal State 9 Credit Union	41 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
15.	California Bank & Trust	52 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
16.	Chevron Federal Credit Union	36 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
17.	Citibank	468 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
18.	Coast Commercial Bank	11 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
19.	Comerica Bank	59 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
20.	CommonWealth Central Credit Union	20 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
21.	Contra Costa Federal Credit Union	32 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
22.	Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union	10 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
23.	Downey Savings	65 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
24.	Exchange Bank	15 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
25.	First Bank & Trust		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
26.	First Metropolitan CU		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
27.	First National Bank of Northern California		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
28.	First Pacific FCU		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
29.	First Republic Bank	69 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
30.	Fremont Bank	69 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
31.	Golden Bay Federal Credit Union	28 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
32.	Guaranty Bank		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
33.	Heritage Bank of Commerce	21 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
34.	Kaiperm Federal Credit Union	10 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
35.	KeyPoint Credit Union	24 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
36.	Luther Burbank		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
37.	Meriwest Credit Union	73 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
38.	Metro One CU		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
39.	Mission City FCU		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
40.	Mount Diablo National Bank	11 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
41.	My Credit Union		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
42.	National 1st Credit Union	11 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
43.	Pacific National Bank	54 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
44.	Pacific Postal Credit Union	10 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
45.	Pacific Service Credit Union	23 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
46.	Patelco Credit Union	159 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
47.	Provident Credit Union	115 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
48.	Redwood Credit Union	44 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
49.	SafeAmerica Federal Credit Union	23 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
50.	San Francisco Federal Credit Union	31 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
51.	San Francisco Fire Credit Union	19 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
52.	San Francisco Police Credit Union	21 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
53.	San Mateo Credit Union	45 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
54.	Santa Clara County Federal Credit Union	22 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
55.	Sonoma Valley Bank	13 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
56.	SRI Federal Credit Union		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
57.	Stanford Federal Credit Union	54 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
58.	Star One Credit Union	148 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
59.	Sterlent Credit Union		Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
60.	Tamalpais Bank	10 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
61.	Technology Credit Union	66 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
62.	The Golden 1 Credit Union	47 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
63.	The Mechanics Bank	161 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
64.	Travis Credit Union	24 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
65.	UNCLE Credit Union	38 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
66.	Union Bank of California	173 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
67.	United Commercial Bank	12 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
68.	US Bank	218 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
69.	USAA	50 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
70.	USE Credit Union	14 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
71.	Valley Credit Union	16 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
72.	Washington Mutual	1036 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
73.	Wells Fargo Bank	1833 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
74.	Westamerica Bank	122 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
75.	World Savings	334 ratings	Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 63 local banks. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.

Subscriber Comments/Reviews

CHECKBOOK provides subscriber comments on their experiences with the firms they use. Please remember that individual subscriber comments are informal. Subscriber comments may give you insight into the types of features and problems that exist in a service field, but are not the best basis for selecting or rejecting a specific firm. To assess the quality of a firm's performance, we recommend that you give more weight to the percentages of favorable ratings. Those percentages are generally based on much larger numbers of consumers' ratings (the number of consumer ratings is noted above).

Subscriber from FREMONT, CA wrote about WELLS FARGO BANK, , on 11/22/09: Never had an issue. Have my personal, business, mortagage with them, and a brokerage account........

Subscriber from CUPERTINO, CA wrote about WASHINGTON MUTUAL, , on 11/20/09: Very dissatisfied after Chase takeover. Poor performance and very high fees. Lot's of wasted money..........

Subscriber from SAN JOSE, CA wrote about ALLIANCE CREDIT UNION, , on 11/18/09: Online banking is convenient as well........

Subscriber from SAN JOSE, CA wrote about BANK OF AMERICA, , on 11/18/09: Long lines are generally the norm........

Subscriber from ORINDA, CA wrote about WELLS FARGO BANK, , on 11/14/09: orinda branch.......

Subscriber from EL SOBRANTE, CA wrote about BANK OF AMERICA, , on 11/12/09: Online banking is great, I rarely have to go inside........

Subscriber from SAN JOSE, CA wrote about BANK OF AMERICA, , on 11/10/09: Because they raised their fee's, we stopped banking with them........

Subscriber from SAN JOSE, CA wrote about WASHINGTON MUTUAL, , on 11/10/09: I think they should upgrade their ATM machines, since they take forever to process a..........

Subscriber from SAN MATEO, CA wrote about FIRST REPUBLIC BANK, , on 10/19/09: I am a new customer this year. I was amazed at the high quality customer..........

Subscriber from SAN MATEO, CA wrote about WORLD SAVINGS, , on 10/19/09: This bank no longer exists--has been taken over by I think Wells Fargo who I..........

Subscriber from SAN FRANCISCO, CA wrote about WELLS FARGO BANK, , on 09/28/09: Banked with them for 23 years. Normally quite good, but following the WaMu acquisition, this..........

Subscriber from SAN FRANCISCO, CA wrote about CITIBANK, , on 09/21/09: Key is finding a branch with good manager then all transactions flow smoothly........

Subscriber from SAN FRANCISCO, CA wrote about BANK OF AMERICA, , on 09/21/09: I had to use Bank of America for several years due to a trust situation...........

Subscriber from ALAMEDA, CA wrote about US BANK, , on 09/21/09: The Alameda Webster Street branch has to be the most poorly managed bank I have..........

Subscriber from RICHMOND, CA wrote about WASHINGTON MUTUAL, , on 09/19/09: Chase has turned the branch closest to me (El Cerrito) into a glum place. The..........

Subscriber from SAN FRANCISCO, CA wrote about US BANK, , on 09/17/09: My experience was positive due to the quality of the manager and staff. The bank..........

Subscriber from EL CERRITO, CA wrote about BANK OF AMERICA, , on 09/15/09: Staff not very knowledgeable, and wait time for service is terrible.......

Subscriber from MENLO PARK, CA wrote about WELLS FARGO BANK, , on 09/15/09: Difficulty making deposits; tellers delay while alerting bank officers, who in turn try to sell..........

Subscriber from EL CERRITO, CA wrote about BANK OF AMERICA, , on 09/12/09: After over 50 years of dealing with Bank of America, they have recently demoted me..........

Subscriber from EL CERRITO, CA wrote about CITIBANK, , on 09/11/09: AFTER WEEKS OF PHONE CALLS TO RESOLVE AN ISSUE,MANAGER WOULD DISSAPEAR WHEN SHE WOULD SEE..........

Subscriber from CASTRO VALLEY, CA wrote about PROVIDENT CREDIT UNION, , on 09/10/09: I do not have any loans or a credit card with Provident Central Credit Union.Checking..........

Subscriber from SAN FRANCISCO, CA wrote about BANK OF AMERICA, , on 09/10/09: Currently paying zero interest on money market accounts and claimed that no other bank is..........

Subscriber from MARTINEZ, CA wrote about US BANK, , on 09/09/09: LKarge variance in pleasantnes and knowledge of staff depending on location........

Subscriber from LOS ALTOS, CA wrote about US BANK, , on 09/09/09: There's rarely much of a line when I go there, yet US Bank is proliferating,..........

Subscriber from SAUSALITO, CA wrote about REDWOOD CREDIT UNION, , on 09/09/09: Credit Unions offer much better service than banks, and won't nickel and dime you at..........

See more comments at Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK.

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