Chaotic Branch Opening Times

Emily_Joy

I wonder whether this situation is "normal" or should I be making a complaint.

The local branch which I really need to visit (another branches won't do) seems to have totally unpredictable opening times. Last Friday it was supposed to be open as usual according to the website, but when I got there it was shut down with a notice "this branch is closed today, we will be open on Monday". I couldn't come on Monday so I visited again today (Wednesday) to find a similar notice "this branch is closed on 15th and 16th of May, we will be open again on Friday".
I am pretty certain (based on google reviews) that this happens every week.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Most bank branches are being phased out stealthily. A lot of the services are available at the post office or online.

Milarky

It's a sign of the times, isn't it?

Robin9

Perhaps a small branch hit by a combination of illness and holidays?

20SmthngSver

A lot of them are reducing their opening hours, but I think the staff are still there before and after. Leeds Building Society changed theirs last year to open later and close earlier. They were 9-1 on a Saturday and now it's 9:15-12:45.

Apart from Metro Bank, no banks are even open on a Saturday in London. And during the week a lot of them are 10-4, which strikes me as very odd given the number of people.

They want your business and custom but they don't want to have to pay for any spaces for it. I think it will reach a point where it will go the other way as people do really want branches. There a things that a computer just can't do, not all cases are binary. And Telephone Banking can be so annoying.

[Deleted User]

Milarky wrote: »

It's a sign of the times, isn't it?

Was there a pun intended there?

Emily_Joy

20SmthngSver wrote: »

A lot of them are reducing their opening hours, but I think the staff are still there before and after. Leeds Building Society changed theirs last year to open later and close earlier. They were 9-1 on a Saturday and now it's 9:15-12:45.

I don't mind reduced hours (e.g. 1:00pm-4:00pm on Wednesdays), but it's really annoying when advertised opening times have nothing in common with reality.

20SmthngSver

Emily_Joy wrote: »

I don't mind reduced hours (e.g. 1:00pm-4:00pm on Wednesdays), but it's really annoying when advertised opening times have nothing in common with reality.

I do because that means they are never open when a lot of people can get there. If you work in a high street, you could get there on during a lunch break. But if you work 8:30-5 like a lot of people do and out of town and it's open either 9-12 on Saturday or just closed, really you're left with little to no option to get there.

Brings me back to my point about banks wanting custom but not making it easy for a lot of people. Everything else is open a full day on a Saturday and even Sunday, so banks should really be open and for longer on a Saturday, even it's is 9-3, 10-4 etc.

Takmon

Emily_Joy wrote: »

The local branch which I really need to visit (another branches won't do)

What do you need to do that means you have to visit one specific branch?

I've never needed to visit a branch in my life and i have accounts with lots of different banks.

Emily_Joy

20SmthngSver wrote: »

Everything else is open a full day on a Saturday and even Sunday, so banks should really be open and for longer on a Saturday, even it's is 9-3, 10-4 etc.

Just a quick search on Lloyds website shows that there are branches in (very) central London which are open 9am to 4pm on Saturdays, and 37 branches in total with Saturday openings.

Emily_Joy

Takmon wrote: »

What do you need to do that means you have to visit one specific branch?

To collect foreign currency I've ordered in advance (from my foreign currency account with the bank in question).