NedBank Queuing system unsatisfactory!

There are 3 banks in a banking cluster on the western side of Kolonade in Pretoria. They are ABSA, FNB and Nedbank.

I use all three. Generally FNB handles its external queuing the best, although at times its teller capacity leaves a lot to be desired.

Now yesterday's experience was similar to the other two during the past 6 weeks and it is dismal with all kinds of people making unkind remarks about the branch!

So yesterday I need a POA from Nedbank and join the queue. The old man in front of me states that the even older man at the front of the queue has been there for 40 minutes and indeed by the time he is invited in, another 15 minutes passes. Thus by the time he enters the bank he has spent at least 20 minutes getting to the front of the queue plus 45 minutes. Just like my experience! The queue supervisor is out of his depth! People seem to come and go at will. Lots of people leave the bank but no one enters. A young man jumps the queue to request the supervisor to just get his papers stamped. He does so. A woman who has been waiting 40 minutes already went ballistic because ALL she wanted was a paper stamped but no one asked.

I enter the bank and about 5 people are in the internal queue. I sit and wait like a good customer, endlessly bombarded with a voice message about being patient. Looking past the pleas for patience one can see that the tellers are not only badly managed but there is a capacity problem there too. That it is lunchtime is NOT a valid excuse. I started in the queue around 11h30 and finished after 1pm!

I, having extensive work study and process engineering experience, watch as tellers come and go (not talking about pee breaks) and at the peak there are 4 briefly with the average being two in operation. Another teller joins them and there are three while my queue is shortened. Imagine to my annoyance that a man who had been 3 behind me gets called up before me! Then it happens again! So I ask my teller who can process what and she informs me that they can all handle any enquiry or cash transaction. Fortunately this teller was very helpful.

Nedbank, these are basics and to wait over an hour and a half just to get a POA is not satisfactory. Experience of the others spoken to, as well as my recent visits, indicates that it is a common issue causing much dissatisfaction with the branch. Putting somebody in front of me, maybe a high level customer without knowing who I am, is not on either!