ALMOST four months after the Rosewood National Australia Bank Branch closed its doors, many locals have raised questions about customer service.
The branch was closed on November 3, last year, after 121 years of service to the community and the Automated Teller Machine was also decommissioned.
The reasons for the closure, according to Retail Customer Executive Thomas Quinlan, were that “more and more customers are choosing to bank online”.
Anger soon followed the closure of the bank.
Rosewood resident Elaine Davis said that she was shocked when she found out the bank was closing, even more so when the automatic teller was closed.
“Walking into a bank and talking to someone can make all the difference for many people, and I know this from speaking to others who also feel that same,” she said.
“During the first few weeks of the bank closure it was explained to me that the options for National Bank customers were to carry on banking at the Rosewood Post Office, change banks to Bendigo Bank, Rosewood or use the Bendigo Bank Automated Teller which charges a fee.
“Well basically it just has not been the same, and having to travel into Ipswich to actually receive the one on one customer service that I prefer sometimes is not an option for me, which is really frustrating.
“My challenges are no ramp access at the post office, not being able to drive so dealing with public transport and the fee to withdraw money out from the Bendigo teller which soon adds up … for the elderly like me it is all very sad.
“I also struggle with technology, so phone banking and internet banking is completely out of the question, and just through having to phone the bank you also can expect to sit through long and annoying phone banking options.”
She queried where “is the care and understanding from these big banks for their customers?”
“I believe it has simply been lost”.
Elaine’s concerns were also for the staff that are currently still employed within the branches that are still operating, saying that her observation when she has had to travel to the Ipswich branch was quite concerning.
“The lines are so long, and the wait times can sometimes take up to one hour.
“It makes me wonder how the staff cope with so many inquiries each day.
“Stressed and rushed are the two main feelings that I get from the staff members who are working to try to resolve each customer’s inquiry quickly so that they do not get frustrated with long waiting times.
“What was once a relaxed and pleasant visit to the bank has now turned into customers feeling as though they are a number.”
Logging onto internet banking and driving to other branches may seem like a simple process for some but for residents like Elaine it can be daunting and complicated, ending up with feelings of hopelessness and while the Rosewood branch is now a thing of the past, Elaine hopes that customer service is not too.
