NatWest Branch Closures - Misleading Info on Customer Use?

jimjames

So Natwest have announced another round of branch closures. I completely understand the reasons for this but the information they're giving to support the decisions seems completely fabricated. Our local branch has queues every time I go past yet according to Natwest only 2 customers used it per week so for 3 days out of 5 there should be no one there. Either their definition of customer and use doesn't correspond to standard or they're making it up.

Has anyone else noticed this for the ones in their area being closed?

https://www.natwest.com/banking-with-natwest/other-ways-to-bank-with-natwest/natwest-branch-banking/branch-closures.html

Section62

jimjames said:

So Natwest have announced another round of branch closures. I completely understand the reasons for this but the information they're giving to support the decisions seems completely fabricated. Our local branch has queues every time I go past yet according to Natwest only 2 customers used it per week so for 3 days out of 5 there should be no one there. Either their definition of customer and use doesn't correspond to standard or they're making it up.

Has anyone else noticed this for the ones in their area being closed?

In other cases I've seen (with other banks) there is usually some weaselly wording around the 'customer use' statistic which is something like 'exclusively use'.  In other words, customers who have signed up for online/App banking, or occasionally pop into another branch, are discounted from branch usage statistics regardless of whether their main/primary banking activity is conducted in that branch.

When BR closed railway lines and stations in the 1960's they used similar approaches to measuring use - something which with the passage of time they have been widely criticised for doing.  It will probably be another 20 or 30 years before the same thing happens with the banks, but by then we'll probably have forgotten that banks ever had branches.

cymruchris

It's their definition of a 'customer' - not the fact that NO customers use it - but you have to follow a certain pattern of behaviour to be classed as a 'customer' of the branch - and not just be a random person from Cardiff wandering in to the Birmingham branch to deposit some cash for example - they wouldn't be a 'customer'. I remember reading (but can't find at the moment) that a customer was someone who had an account at that branch, and used it at least X times per a certain timescale - and by twisting the figures a local branch of Barclays was only deemed to have something like 4 regular 'customers' even though as per your experience, the branch often had queues of people.

DullGreyGuy

Would help if you say which branch it is you are talking about so we can see the same data. 

Looking at Ramsgate, as a random selection, their definition of a personal customer is someone who used it in 22 of the 26 week period and for business customers its someone who used it 12 or more times in the period. IE they are only counting regular users not someone who goes in once every 3 months/years. Clearly those that use it regularly are going to be the ones that are most impacted. 


Queues every time I go past can be a poor measure too, if you always walk past at lunchtime only then its not surprising and you aren't seeing the hours where no one is going in outside of opening time, closing time and lunch.

WillPS

It's a meaningless statistic unfortunately. Regulation should have occurred in to force all the banks to work to a common agreed definition of regular customer, but it didn't happen and it's probably too late for it to be useful now.

penners324

Surely using such metrics is pretty pointless anyway, it looks like a PR reason to close a branch.

Actual reasons are probably more accurate, building lease coming to end, down to only 1 or 2 members of staff, the branch needs a overhaul, etc etc

Hoenir

jimjames said:

Our local branch has queues every time I go past 

Bank branches operate on far fewer staff they once did. Many services are now appointment based. Business banking was removed from branch level operation many years ago. What's left of retail banking can generally be conducted by other means. 

WillPS

Hoenir said:

jimjames said:

Our local branch has queues every time I go past 

Bank branches operate on far fewer staff they once did. Many services are now appointment based. Business banking was removed from branch level operation many years ago. What's left of retail banking can generally be conducted by other means. 

For larger city centre branches, yes - you've gone from having a row of 10-20 teller windows to a small desk with 3 or 4 positions, one of which is often reserved for a small subset of customers.

For the smaller local high street branches, not so much in my experience. They only ever had 3 or 4 positions and whenever I visit one, two positions are open just as they always had been. This was the case with the Lloyds branch up the hill from me which sadly closed last Summer. Always had a decent amount of foot traffic through, but you were never waiting more than a minute or two.

The thing is, as much as I appreciated that branch, it hasn't changed the amount of business I offer LBG at all - in fact the only difference is I don't bother carrying my Lloyds debit card any more since that was the only place I used it. Cash just gets paid in at the Post Office (using another bank's debit card; the one I carry on the off chance I need cash while out and about). I appreciate I'm not everyone, and the impact on others will be different - but the reality is even if you are in need of branch services, where are you going to go? In fact, the next nearest bank branch of any sort is... the main Lloyds in Nottingham. You can sort of see how it becomes a no-brainer closing down these 'useful' urban high street branches.

jimjames

Hoenir said:

jimjames said:

Our local branch has queues every time I go past 

Bank branches operate on far fewer staff they once did. Many services are now appointment based. Business banking was removed from branch level operation many years ago. What's left of retail banking can generally be conducted by other means. 

That's true but they've also introduced a lot of automation into the branch for depositing cash for example so someone  visiting to do that won't be counted in the stats as they've not actually used the counter but will still be inconvenienced when the branch is no longer there.

GeoffTF

I recently poked my nose inside Barclays in Bradford, a city of half a million. There was one till open in a big hall with a long winding queue. Anyone who stood in that queue is not going to want to go back again.  Most of the banks are are still in their big Victorian buildings, but that does not make a lot of sense any more.

Rob5342

I expect it's like making people redundant where they know what they want to achieve and then work backwards making all the policies and definitions fit. 

It's amazing there are so many branches left really, it's hard to imagine why anyone would ever have any need to visit one, especially as you can pay in cash at pay offices