Forty-one years with the same bank. My “relationship manager” is now a chatbot that thinks I’ve forgotten my password. I haven’t. I’ve forgotten why I’m still with them.
Nobody asked us whether we wanted the branch shut. It just went, like the teller who knew my name, replaced by a QR code and a cheerful message about my banking journey. I am not on a journey. I am trying to pay a bill.
Here’s the thing that stings: we were loyal customers for decades, and loyalty now means being first in line to be automated. So — who should actually carry the cost of a human being behind a counter?
Comments 8
Join the conversation. Comments are reviewed before they appear.
My branch closed and the nearest one is now a 40-minute drive. For a signature. In 2026.
I actually like the app. There, I said it. Pay my bills in bed with a cup of tea.
It's not the app I mind, it's that there's no human when the app is wrong. And it's always eventually wrong.
Rang the "24/7 support" at 9pm. Spoke to a robot, then a person in another timezone, then the robot again.
Devil's advocate: “Apps are fine” has a cost too, and someone pays for it — probably you. Before you pile in behind “Keep the branches”, who foots that bill?
Hold on. Everyone's cheering “Keep the branches”, but what does “Apps are fine” get right that we're too annoyed to admit?
Forty-one years with the same bank and now my 'relationship manager' is a chatbot. I've forgotten why I'm still with them.
I remember the personal service when going into a branch.
Join the conversation
Tell us who you are to post a comment. We'll remember you next time.