I never was a fan of telephone banking. Apart from its impersonal approach and pseudo customer care mantras, it really is an insult to right thinking people.
Those of you who continue with telephone banking may wish to reflect on who you are actually talking to at the end of your phone, if you get talking to someone at all.
Many telephone banking organisations screen your call with various (and irritating) options menus: some utilise voice recognition responses and some with keypad tones.
Eventually should you get through to someone, you’ll be asked to identify yourself with responses to security questions: this can be awkward if you are in a public place.
Finally, as you discuss your finances with your telephone banker, don’t be surprised if the conversation is side tracked to selling you something, like credit card insurance or travel insurance.
What may surprise you is that it’s extremely unlikely that you’ve spoken to your bank at all; you’ve more likely been connected to a call centre, either in the UK or somewhere else in the world.
Call centre staff are not banking staff, but that’s who is dealing with your money: if you want proper banking staff dealing with your money then stop dealing with them over the phone and start seeing them at your local branch.
It’s only when you take a view from afar regarding how banks have changed their approach to customers (that’s you) do you realise how much of an awkwardness you are to them.
Despite the increase in online commerce, the supermarkets have increased the number of their stores, even though they offer an online order and delivery service.
Recently Nat West have started to open their branches on a Saturday morning, a direct response to customer demand, which goes to show that if you put enough pressure on a bank, you can get a result.
My advice is simple, quit telephone banking altogether and demand that you see your bank at its branch. If shops can open late in the evening and Saturdays, then so can your bank, or move to another bank that does.
Those of you who continue with telephone banking may wish to reflect on who you are actually talking to at the end of your phone, if you get talking to someone at all.
Many telephone banking organisations screen your call with various (and irritating) options menus: some utilise voice recognition responses and some with keypad tones.
Eventually should you get through to someone, you’ll be asked to identify yourself with responses to security questions: this can be awkward if you are in a public place.
Finally, as you discuss your finances with your telephone banker, don’t be surprised if the conversation is side tracked to selling you something, like credit card insurance or travel insurance.
What may surprise you is that it’s extremely unlikely that you’ve spoken to your bank at all; you’ve more likely been connected to a call centre, either in the UK or somewhere else in the world.
Call centre staff are not banking staff, but that’s who is dealing with your money: if you want proper banking staff dealing with your money then stop dealing with them over the phone and start seeing them at your local branch.
It’s only when you take a view from afar regarding how banks have changed their approach to customers (that’s you) do you realise how much of an awkwardness you are to them.
Despite the increase in online commerce, the supermarkets have increased the number of their stores, even though they offer an online order and delivery service.
Recently Nat West have started to open their branches on a Saturday morning, a direct response to customer demand, which goes to show that if you put enough pressure on a bank, you can get a result.
My advice is simple, quit telephone banking altogether and demand that you see your bank at its branch. If shops can open late in the evening and Saturdays, then so can your bank, or move to another bank that does.
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