Listening to the Absa CEO, on a recent radio interview, I thought wow, this guy really knows his stuff!
He has awesome depth of banking institutional knowledge of both domestic and international issues.
But his bank falls flat on its face when it comes to “on the floor” relationship banking. In fact, it is scandalous. They do not have enough experienced people to assist those with banking queries even during trading hours.
On a recent visit to the East Rand Mall Branch there was one person assisting with what was a complex customer query. And the rest of us just sat ... and sat ... and sat ... and the queue simply grew longer and longer.
The point I am trying to make, is that those institutional bigwigs, who sit behind sculpted mahogany desks, in their lofty towers, have absolutely no clue about what is going on in their banking halls. And if you think that supervisors and managers are on top of their game, think again.
I walked out, as my “co-sitters”, shook their heads ... annoyed and exasperated.
Ja-nee, banking is sadly not what it used to be.
Peter Bachtis
Benoni