Nat West Bank on Bangor high street is very much like all other high street branches. However this…read moreone deserves special mention on account of three factors. One: the cash point will more often than not dispense five pound notes quite a rarity these days. And very handy if you are a little skint. Number two: the customer service levels are excellent, truly unparalleled in the world of high street banking. Why am I making such a fuss of this you might ask/? It could be because I am constantly losing my card, going over my limit and so on but they have always done their best to keep me happy. Go team Nat West Bangor!

I visited Barclays bank in Caernarfon last week to pay a Studio Cards and Gifts bill. The bank is…read morelocated near the city centre, on the road out towards Bangor, and is built into an old stone terraced street. There's a single cash machine outside, which, being outside the main shopping area, isn't particularly popular so having to wait to use the machine isn't a problem. Upon entering, there's a single blue upholstered chair for customers to wait by, and, at the opposite end, there's a single desk for meetings with a staff member, and a counter towards the front. Despite there being nobody else in the branch, when I entered and stood waiting for a cashier to acknowledge me, she was busy sorting out papers and left me there for around five minutes. There was a hole in the roof, and it looked like they were in the process of some kind of reservation. Overall, I'm neither impressed nor unimpressed with this particular branch of Barclays Bank.

Nationwide opposite Woolworths in Caernarfon is situated about 150meters from the center of the…read moresquare.The street is a pedestrian walkway and is easily accessed for the disabled as the building is on the same level as the street.The cashpoint is situated on the right side of the society from the outside saving anyone going in.The reception area is samll with only enough space for about four customers.Two cashiers till s on the right.Again this can be busy depending what time of day you go.Looking from the public are the work place for the staff there looks a little dated and cant help but notice there seems a lot of clutter behind the screens.

Barclays in Bangor is a pretty good branch to deal with. We're not talking about a sprawling…read moremetropolis here, so the services they offer are decent enough in that context. There is a specialised student finance advisor on hand, and a couple of private office for customers to talk to financial advisors discreetly, and a couple of desks in the open plan main room to talk about day to day stuff with an advisor. Most of the established staff are good at what they do. Usually you need to book an appointment, which can be a pain, but when you turn up for the appointment the process of going through any issues is dealt with by competent staff in a smooth manner. I've never experienced any hard sell tactics, but this may be due to the fact that it's pretty obvious that I'm financially aware and wouldn't fall for it. I like to think it's because they're not used car salesmen in dusguise though. There has been one instance where cash wasn't paid into my account properly by what seemed to be a newish member of staff. Luckily I kept the receipt and the issue was resolved relatively quickly by a more senior member of staff. I'm unsure whether or not the error was a genuine mistake by a new junior member of staff, or if he was on the take. Either way, I won't let this one inept staff member colour my judgement of the branch. I haven't seen him there again, and this is the only problem I've had in over ten years of dealings with the branch. The staff are courteous, and do their job well. I never dread visiting the branch!