"The current waiting time is ...."

 There is growing pressure from business to contact them online. Generally this is through a call centre or centralized branch (Auckland).

Here's the hype the banks and others feed us.

Profound technological changes, and the ease with which customers can access their accounts digitally means that our physical branch network is experiencing a sustained fall in demand. In fact, the majority of our customers (74 percent) now choose to interact with us via telephone, online, or mobile banking.

Here's the image we imagine on the phone.

In truth it is more like this.

Call centres are notoriously unpleasant places to work. Poor recognition for effort, little promotion opportunity and of course abusive customers.

I had an item on my credit card via text (think you are safe with two step verification? No!) I couldn't explain, after racking my brains and finding no explanation I rang the bank.

"Our current waiting time is 20 to 30 minutes". Hmmph, I was at work and couldn't justify that.

 Thinking that the transaction would not happen without that code being entered by myself I left it for a couple of weeks until I checked my Credit card and found a mysterious $40 had been spent in Auckland!

This time I was on leave so had time to wait if needed.

"Thank you for your call, our current waiting time is 15 minutes".

This time I got through and the recommendation was to stop my card and reissue a new number. Surprisingly the chap at the call centre was aware of every business that had my card number stored. There were about seven, and he cancelled them all. A dispute was started by the bank then with the company that had accepted my card number. I am still waiting to hear the result. That's all good. But I wonder why we have to wait so long at call centres. It's not just the banks. I can understand waiting at 'work and income' or other government agencies , but private business should have better provisions for customers. After all they are saving heaps by closing, it would seem, every second branch!

That's my Curmudgeonly post for the week. 

Have fun but do not sin.