If you want to expose the service flaws in a financial institution or relish in the high-service quality, a branch is the place to do it. A visit to any financial institution branch will speak volumes about the institution's culture, approach to service and overall efficiency. I recently visited a branch of one of the nation's largest banks (one of those banks that has more assets than the entire credit union industry) to conduct some business. Before I get letters on this, of course my primary financial relationship is with a credit union, but some life events forced me to also form a relationship with this large bank.
I was intrigued by what I discovered in what I expected to be a very routine visit. It was 12:30 in the afternoon. I entered and saw a customer service representative, the greeter, who basically takes the customer's name, gets an idea of what they need and determines whom they need to see. If it's not something that can be handled by a teller, the rep shuffles you off to either a loan or investment person that you typically see in the open office space of a branch. I needed to see one of these people, so I waited behind the person in front of me who was having a dramatic conversation with the rep about her son's high school prom plans. I wasn't eavesdropping, but the bank was incredibly quiet and it was hard not to hear all about the prom plans. I thought the prom talk was very good on one level – there was a folksy relationship there. It certainly wasn't a bank treating its customers as numbers, which was refreshing. That shoots down one credit union criticism of banks. On the other hand, the conversation seemed to go on much longer than the business being conducted. I was on my lunch break and was hoping things would move along a little quicker, or there would be another employee to help me.
A few minutes later, while still waiting for the talk to wrap up, an older gentleman entered to conduct some teller business. The problem was there were no tellers. No tellers! This is in New Jersey nonetheless, the most densely packed state in the country. Were they not expecting any customers? There were plenty of teller windows, they just weren't occupied. The guy turns to me and says, "I've never seen a bank with no tellers." Since there were no tellers, he saddled up behind me to wait to talk to the greeting rep. That conversation finally wrapped up and I was next in line, with the older gentleman still hopeful for a teller.
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I explained my business and was told to have a seat, someone would be right with me. At that point a teller finally arrived on the floor, still munching on some lunch, and quickly assumed her post to help the older gentleman. I guess it's not a big deal to some people, but the whole lack of tellers made me lose some faith in that branch. You want to see professional tellers in their windows ready for business when you enter a branch, not them hurrying out from the back to help customers as they arrive. Sure it was lunchtime, but the bank has to schedule appropriately.
I am not a branch designer, but as I waited I noticed some odd things about the branch's configuration. The "waiting area" I was in was about 15 feet back from one of the teller lines. Essentially, if there was a long line at that window, the customers on the teller line would be meshing with the customers in the waiting area, making for what I felt was a very poor layout. In most branches there is a buffer zone between the teller lines and the waiting areas. I tried to watch some financial news that was playing on a television, but the television was not in a good position for viewing from the "waiting area." Again, poor design. I couldn't help but think that DEI, HBE and some of the other well-known CU design firms would have a field day with this branch.
I only waited for a few minutes when I was promptly escorted to one of the open offices of a branch rep. She was very courteous and professional. I explained my issues and she started pecking on the computer to see what she could find out. I was having a lot of problems making deposits in my account. The problem was my account was opened in Florida, but I now reside in New Jersey. When I visited a branch, it would take the tellers a long time to find my account. This goes back to service. The good tellers, after just a few minutes, would ask where the account was opened, which was the key to finding my account. But some tellers would spend a lot of time talking to fellow tellers and others trying to find the account. Yes, I know I should have told all the tellers from the get-go that my account was opened in Florida, but this was all part of research for columns like this!
My wife was surprised we would have any problems making deposits given it is a gigantic national bank with branches all over the country. What difference is it if we're in Florida or New Jersey? Having written a lot about data processing, I know that sometimes systems don't talk to each other across state lines. This bank also had acquired a number of banks over the years and who knows if the DP systems were even converted to the same single platform, chances are they weren't.
The solution, according to the rep, was for me to close all my accounts and reopen them as New Jersey accounts. Fair enough, do it. But of course my wife has to be present and it does take some time. Given the timing of various direct deposits and electronic bill payments, I would have to do this very strategically and gradually so as to not interfere with those electronic payments, and of course all the account numbers would change so direct deposit information would need to be adjusted. This became a much bigger deal than I envisioned. In this age of do-it-yourself online banking, and I do it all online, this situation showed me that having a branch nearby is still very important. I certainly wouldn't want to tackle this on the phone and through the mail.
The rep offered me another solution – out-of-state deposit tickets. These are deposit tickets you don't typically see out in a branch. They look like a bingo card across the top where you mark out what state the account was opened. It seemed very rudimentary for such a large bank.
While not a horrible experience overall, this mega bank certainly didn't leave an impression of being a well-run, sophisticated institution. Credit unions can still win on service. Having efficient, well-designed branches, and knowledgeable branch employees go a long way to keeping members happy. I expect most credit unions can do better than this monster bank did for me.
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