Barclays branches - accessibility roadshows taking place in 2014

Former_MSE_Wendy

Hi all

During 2014 Barclays is holding accessibility roadshows around the UK.

Over to Barclays to tell us...

What to expect

The aim of the roadshow is to bring to life some of the accessible services Barclays provides to make customer's lives easier if they are elderly or have disabilities.

When you visit a roadshow, you will find:

• Demonstrations of Barclays accessible services, such as Talking Cash Machines and ‘high visibility’ debit cards for people with visual impairments, or Sign Video for BSL users.
• Examples of how Barclays is working with charities to help them understand the needs of their customers.
• Our dedicated Digital Eagles team will be on hand to assist those who might be missing out on the benefits of getting online, banking on the internet and using technology safely and securely.

Where are they taking place

The roadshows will be touring round the UK all year and will be in each branch for a week, Monday to Friday.

Subscribe to this thread and I'll update the locations each month or check the Barclays website for more info, including locations and dates.

MSE Wendy

Former_MSE_Wendy

13 January to 18 January, London, Fenchurch Street (City)

20 January to 25 January, London, Stratford Broadway (East London)

27 January to 1 February, London, Piccadilly (West End)

Former_MSE_Wendy

3 February to 8 February, Swiss Cottage (North London)

10 February to 15 February, Ealing (West London)

17 February to 21 February, Streatham (South London)

24 February to 28 February, Walton on Thames

MarkyMarkD

It is rather strange that all the forums scheduled for the first two months - January and February 2014 - are in London's suburbs.

I can understand the principal of running the first sessions in major cities where they are at least in theory accessible by most of their customers - but London, Birmingham, Glasgow, etc. would be a start rather than SEVEN London suburbs.

Cyclamen

I am unsure as to how much help this would be to a disabled person.. and query if it is a publicity stunt or tick box exercise so they can say they have satisfied some criteria.

A letter to customers or posters inviting them to talk to staff at their local branch at anytime would be far more useful in my opinion. I would want staff to be knowledgeable when i happened to be in the bank or be able to get an answer and phone me back.

I am looking to change banks to a more accessible one. My barclays branch is less central and the pavement to it is horrendous.. hardly their fault but deciding factors for wheel chair users. One of my questions to possible new bank was about getting a larger 'pin sentry' machine for logging into online banking.. the advisor nipped off to ask someone and came back with an answer. That is of far more use to me.

p.s. another reason to leave my barclays is they sadly don't have a lower window in their newly refurbished branch near me so I can just about poke my nose over the counter when talking to the cashier. This is where roadshow money should have gone in my opinion and on 'sample equipment' for every branch.

Kathryn_T

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

It is rather strange that all the forums scheduled for the first two months - January and February 2014 - are in London's suburbs.

I can understand the principal of running the first sessions in major cities where they are at least in theory accessible by most of their customers - but London, Birmingham, Glasgow, etc. would be a start rather than SEVEN London suburbs.

Hi Marky MarkD,

We are doing the roadshow a region at a time, kicking off with London.

Once we've finalised the dates and locations for the next regions, these will be posted on the Accessibility page on our Barclays website.

We're hoping to get to around 50 locations over the whole of 2014.

I hope you can make it along to one, I'd love to hear your feedback.

Kathryn - Accessibility Lead at Barclays

Kathryn_T

Cyclamen wrote: »

I am unsure as to how much help this would be to a disabled person.. and query if it is a publicity stunt or tick box exercise so they can say they have satisfied some criteria.

A letter to customers or posters inviting them to talk to staff at their local branch at anytime would be far more useful in my opinion. I would want staff to be knowledgeable when i happened to be in the bank or be able to get an answer and phone me back.

I am looking to change banks to a more accessible one. My barclays branch is less central and the pavement to it is horrendous.. hardly their fault but deciding factors for wheel chair users. One of my questions to possible new bank was about getting a larger 'pin sentry' machine for logging into online banking.. the advisor nipped off to ask someone and came back with an answer. That is of far more use to me.

p.s. another reason to leave my barclays is they sadly don't have a lower window in their newly refurbished branch near me so I can just about poke my nose over the counter when talking to the cashier. This is where roadshow money should have gone in my opinion and on 'sample equipment' for every branch.

Hi Cyclamen,

We have found that there is a need to raise awareness with colleagues and customers about the accessible services that we can provide, and the roadshow is just one way that we're trying to do that. It brings to life some of the services available, including demonstrations and sample equipment.

Also, you may be interested to know that a more accessible PIN Sentry is something we are currently looking into.

If you would like, let me know the name of your local branch and I can check about the counter accessibility - Does it have 'open counters' or 'closed counters' (glass)?

Cyclamen

Cheers Kathryn

I guess if roadshow is to help staff as well thats great..

personally as a disabled person i'd never be able to turn up just to see what was there .. but expect staff to either answer my questions or take my details and get back to me... and to eb able to see things online..

I have no complaints over my staff in local branch they're really helpful.. the high counter is a pain but not enough to make me change banks.. my big problem is the branches location with the pavement being bumpy and at funny cambers.. and sadly you can't fix that... and i can't tolerate the terrain in my wheelchair... that's teh only reason i'm looking to change banks

Kathryn_T

The Barclays Accessibility Roadshow is in Stratford (East London) this week, in the shopping mall (not Westfield, the other mall).

We've got some demonstrations of things like 'high vis' debit cards, which may be useful for people with visual impairments or those who have conditions such as dyslexia.

There's also a giant iPhone, which is a great way to demo some of the ways you can find out about the accessible services which might make your life easier.

If you make it along to the roadshow, I'd love to hear your feedback about it.

Next week it'll move on to our flagship branch in Piccadilly Circus, central London.

Kathryn_T

The roadshow has today made the third pit stop of its UK tour, so if you're in Central London, head over to our flagship branch at Piccadilly Circus (next door to Boots) to take a look. It's there from today until next Friday. I'd love to hear your feedback on the roadshow, or any of the accessible services we offer.

jacques_chirac

Welcome to MSE Kathryn. Please be aware that you need to contact the forum team to post as a company representative. You can do this using the Report button on your posts.