Reference no: EM133538821

Canadian Pacific and International Bank

Stressful Times at a CPIB Branch

The downtown branch of the Canadian Pacific and International Bank in Brandon, Manitoba, is known for its friendly service and high levels of employee morale. Although the branch gets very busy at times, the employees regard it as a good place to work. There is a spirit of co-operation among the employees, and the bank manager, Marsha Cobourg, is well liked by the staff.

Roselynn Barkhouse, a 26-year-old customer service representative, has been employed at the Brandon branch for just over nine months. In general, co-workers describe Roselynn as a good, solid worker, but most also agree that she is somewhat shy.

Three weeks ago, Roselynn was working at the counter when Roy Romanowski came in to deposit money into his business account. Roy has operated his small convenience store, which is located about three blocks from the bank, for 31 years. He is a loyal CPIB client and visits the bank at least once a day. Everyone in the area knows Roy-while he is a very hard worker, he is also an impatient man and not overly friendly. Some area residents refuse to buy anything from Roy's store because, in the words of one woman who lives near the store, "He is just so unfriendly, cold, and abrupt, I will never support his store." However, Roy's wife and children, who also work in the family store, are well liked in the community.

Roy approached Roselynn's counter and gave her his deposit bag. A careful count of the money revealed that Roy had $2,314 to deposit. Roselynn filled out the deposit slip for Roy, had him initial it, and went to the computer to enter the transaction. However, Roselynn mistakenly pressed the withdrawal button (instead of the deposit button), so when Roy looked at his passbook, it showed a withdrawal from his account of $2,314. He noticed the error immediately because he always keeps a close eye on his account.

Upon seeing the error, Roy started to scream at Roselynn. The following conversation ensued:

Roy: "What are you doing? Are you stupid or something? You trying to steal my money? I work real hard for my money."

Roselynn: "I am very sorry, Mr. Romanowski. I will fix up the mistake right away."

Roy: "How can I trust you? I have always gone to this bank, and they always treated me right. Now, this happens. How many mistakes have you made before? I want to see the manager. I want to get you fired. There is no room in the bank for stupid people."

At this point, two other employees and the manager, Marsha Cobourg, arrived at Roselynn's counter. Roselynn was in tears, and once again apologized to Roy. Within seconds, the error was corrected, and Cobourg also offered her apologies to Roy and walked him to the door.

Since the incident, however, Roy has continued to come into the bank at least daily (and more often when his store is busier). Whenever he enters the store, he makes a rude comment to Roselynn if she is working. Often, his comments are overheard by other customers. At times, he also tells other people to avoid going to Roselynn's counter. Both Marsha Cobourg and Roselynn's co-workers have reassured her that her work is fine and have advised her just to ignore Roy.

Two days ago, Roy entered the bank and, as luck would have it, Roselynn was the next available representative. Roy, however, refused to go to her workstation and made this known to all the customers around him. The bank was very busy at the time, and Roselynn burst into tears, left her counter, and went home. The next day, she called Cobourg and told Marsha: "I am totally stressed out and just can't take it anymore. I'm quitting and am going to look for work somewhere else. The job is just not worth it." Marsha tried to comfort Roselynn and after much discussion, was able to get Roselynn to come in for a meeting the next day.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. The day of the meeting between Roselynn and Marsha has arrived. Was arranging such a meeting a good idea?

2. What should Marsha try and achieve during the meeting? Were there any steps that could have been taken to prevent this incident from occurring?