Uninformed Staff

If FNB is going to offer a service to their clients, it might be a good idea to make sure that all of your staff are informed on the subject . I app**** for a passport online with the intention of going through your Cornubia branch (it being the only branch in KZN to offer the service) rather than hassling at Home Affairs. Coming to the end of the process, I entered numerous dates between now and May next year in an attempt to schedule a branch appointment for my biometrics, with nothing showing as available at all.

Finally, I called FNB Cornubia to check whether they were in fact still offering this service. The first woman I spoke to (I won’t mention names here) sounded as if she resented having to help me, and finally put me through to Home Affairs where (unsurprisingly) nobody ever answers. Calling Cornubia again, I got through to a gentleman (again, I won’t mention names) who informed me that there was a problem with the booking system, but that if I came through to the branch anytime between 9am and 4pm from Monday to Friday they would be able to sort me out. I double checked with the guy that I was understanding him properly, and he reiterated that they would be able to help me.

Today I drove to the other side of Durban (Cornubia is not nearby) to sort out my biometrics. Upon arrival I joined the queue outside, only for an FNB employee to come out a moment later and inform us that if we didn’t have an appointment, there was no assistance there for us (quoted almost verbatim), and we must go and sort it out at Home Affairs. He then called the handful of people who’d apparently secured an appointment and disappeared inside, leaving nobody to field any questions.

Needless to say, I wasn’t happy. I’d just driven 23km based on advice I received from the branch itself, just to be told that they couldn’t help me. Surely if you’re going to offer a service in your branch, you make sure that either everyone in that branch knows how it works, or everyone knows who to direct queries to when they come through? You don’t waste your client’s time and money by telling them anything to get them off the phone. I’ve been banking with FNB for 9 years, but this experience (along with the attitudes of the staff I encountered) has soured things to the point where I think it’s time I started looking into what your competitors have to offer.