I had a good experience calling Wells Fargo, which was reassuring because I am looking at moving retirement accounts there, and I was nervous about the entire process. It's nerve-wracking to pick a new bank to move my 401{k} to, but it had to be done once I retired. My plan was to go with a large banking institution so that there was a good chance my money would be protected. However, I don't do much fancy banking or have an accountant, so I was worried about how the process would go.
There are probably a lot of reasons why people call Wells Fargo, so I was expecting to be on hold for a while, but I felt it was a reasonable amount of time. People could call about bank accounts, retirement accounts or business accounts, and all of those can be complicated questions that can tie up the phone lines. However, as I said, I got through the phone directory quickly and then the wait time was only about 10-15 minutes, which wasn't horrible.
When I first called, I heard the trademark Wells Fargo jingle, and then over the top of it, a voice said, "Welcome to Wells Fargo." It then warned me that the call might be monitored or recorded, and a Spanish message played that I am guessing was about changing the language of the call. Then it told me, "For account access or questions, say your account or card number one digit at a time or enter it followed by the pound sign. For anything else, say other options or press 1."
I said other options since this didn't fit my situation, and it told me, "Alright, other options. You can say open a new account. Verify an account number. Find a branch or ATM. Merchant card services or retirement. Otherwise, say your account or card number." I then said retirement and it asked me back, "Which do you want? New accounts or existing accounts?" I found that follow-up question odd since I already said I wanted to talk about retirement and wasn't sure if it was relevant. Still, apparently, it was the right answer to say new account because then it told me to stay on the line to be connected with a business retirement specialist. Then, after a pause, it said, "Please hold while I connect you with a banker who can help you."
This is when I finally got to hold music, and I know I waited over ten minutes, but no longer than 15, and then Jason picked up the phone; he was very useful in answering my questions.