Administration and customer service at commercial banks are terrible

Aug 08, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Last Friday I visited the Republic Bank at Water Street at 1 PM. The line I was greeted with was like over 200 customers. The line was not moving; it was very hot and the sweat emanating from customers in the line was not a nice picture to see. With no fan in sight it makes it worse. I counted 18 teller booths but only 5 tellers were working until the bank was about to close.
I left that line in like 25 minutes and went over the Foreign Business Department to a line with just twelve customers. I stood up there for one hour and the line did not move. I counted 8 booths there but only 2 tellers were working and they will leave their booths for very long periods to verify documents and return in like 30 minutes so all I can see was 8 empty booths with no tellers but plenty staff can be seen in their new Friday Bank shirts and jeans just gallivanting the bank; just idling their time away while customers standing for hours waiting like helpless ones to be attended to. I saw a short guy who appeared like a supervisor assisting the tellers to verify documents but he doesn’t seem to be concerned about the empty booths.
I wonder who is the manager for this Bank? Mr. Editor here is a bank that was recently attacked in a robbery but they still have a very low profile security. They have no regard for the elderly and pregnant mothers and those who just have an hour lunch break from their jobs to conduct a transaction that will last hours. In my personal opinion this Bank has no regard for customers’ time. They have no proper system in place. The line that takes cheques into your account has just one teller but he/she doesn’t give you cash you have to make it to another line. These staff seemed to be going on a very long lunch break and return way past the time allotted for lunch break .My questions to the managers and CEO of this bank are as follows:
What time does your staff go on lunch break and for how long? Why is the bank closed at 2 PM while many are turned away and folks are inside the bank until 4PM? If staff goes on lunch break at 12 Noon why some can’t go for lunch at 11 AM and return to replace those at 12 who go for lunch.
Why they have 18 booths and only 5-6 staff working?
Why they have 8 booths at Foreign Department and only 1-2 staff working?
Why security is not beefed up since the recent robbery.
Why so much time is being consumed and so much incompetence from staff.
Why NO special lines for working folks and those with emergencies?
Why no toilets or wash rooms at the bank?
All these are questions that bothered me for some time now. At most banks, here in Guyana we are greeted with long un-moving lines and may I say lines are everywhere because they have staff that shows little agility in their tasks .Our banks need a more efficient and comprehensive system of administration to help customers or sooner or later they will have to close their doors A gentleman made this line I was in for 3 hours to buy some foreign currency but was shocked when he was told they have no foreign currency.
Now the Bank Governor is telling us here in Guyana that we have no shortage here for foreign currency but I am a witness that we have no foreign currency to sell at the banks. It’s very sad that this man made a long line for three hours and cannot get his business done. All they had to do is put up a computerized notice on the walls stating ‘’No Foreign Currency is for sale’’ or get 2 staff to ask customers their business in the line. My biggest shocker was when I was asked by a staff if I was born at the hospital or at home.
I wondered only in Guyana I can hear these ridiculous questions when they have a ton of information for me in their data base. I was about to go wake my dead mother to inquire where was I born. Guyana is an area of profound darkness and absolute stupidity and after 51 years of independence we are indeed a fallen state where the half educated rises like the sea waves from day to day to rule us like puppets on a string.
Rev. Gideon Cecil

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