Visits to banks seem to be an necessary evil these days and, even if you're not struggling financially, the trip to the bank can still be full of stress. This is certainly the case at Abbey Woking.
The branch, situated in the Peacocks Centre is bright and well-lit. There's a cash machine on the outside of the bank and an internal lobby with a further two cash machines and a phone line to their telephone advisers. Unlike some banks the lobby is not accessible when the bank is shut.
Recently the branch has undergone some cosmetic changes to offer a little more privacy to those talking to advisers because, with the exception of three small rooms, advice is given in the open in the area between the lobby and the customer service desks at the rear of the branch. Privacy was always poor. Now it has improved slightly but is still not great.
There are 5 cahsier positions in the bank although if you find more than 2 manned you'll be lucky. This is one of my gripes as often there is quite a long queue. Although staff will sometimes line walk to see if anyone is just paying in a cheque it would be great if they could increase the cashier numbers at busy times - there always seem to be a lot of staff seemingly milling around.
Staff at the counters are generally friendly but the same cannot be said of those who staff the front desk (incuding some of the management). They will try to fob you off at every opportunity. They are also unwilling to offer any flexibility for finance review meetings. The branch opens at 9am but the first meeting cannot be arranged until 10am because of staff meetings. They clearly don't want the custom that badly.
In terms of selling to you, Abbey are not that bad - they're not perfect, but they're not bad.
This really is a branch that's let down by poor management. read more
