As a result of the present times, one would imagine that after having lockdowns and closed borders, the need for workers in essential services such as a bank would be of paramount importance. However, at any given period, clients of just about all the major banks in the British Virgin Islands are met with extremely long lines, which result in hours of waiting to see a teller. Imagine, having one hour for lunch and spending that entire hour, and in many cases longer, standing in a line at a bank; only to be met with unenthusiastic tellers or better yet, as you approach the front of the line one or two of the three tellers closes his or her station to go on lunch. This is simply inconvenient.
In conducting investigations with tellers and senior bank officials at all banks in the territory of the Virgin Islands, one gets a totally different response for the lack of care and consideration for the time and business of bank clients.
On one end, when hardworking bank tellers describe the level of work attached to being a bank teller versus compensation, one could be inclined to sympathize with the lack of zeal by tellers and the high turnover rate experienced with tellers in the BVI.
A female teller at one of our local banks said, “The pay is degrading, and despite standard work hours being 8am-5pm, you usually have to be in by 7am and don’t leave until after 6pm, sometimes 7pm or whenever you can really. I’ve worked many days with a 30-minute lunch break or sometimes I don’t get to take lunch at all. So nobody wants to be a teller.”
A male teller said, “Tellers behave so because they don’t get treated well, so they don’t care anymore, you just end up looking out for yourself because nobody is looking out for you and take your lunch when you can even if the line is out the door.”
Upon entering local banks, the low number of tellers are immediately noticeable. On average, no more than three (3) tellers. In some cases, during peak hours or during pay periods when banks become flooded with check cashers, there are less than three (3) tellers.
Bank officials have once again blamed COVID-19 for the low number of tellers, stating that tellers are required to go overseas for training and due to COVID-19, applicants are unable to travel and pay quarantine costs. However, the fact of the matter is that the low number of tellers has been a problem way before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Let’s take First Bank and Banco Popular for example. Applicants are required to go to St. Thomas for training and officials say this has served as a major deterrent in securing successful applicants because while hotel accommodation and food is covered, quarantine cost have to be dealt with by the applicants.
Republic Bank and National Bank officials stated that the training of tellers is done internally and tellers do not have to travel overseas. Additionally, they seek to allow tellers the opportunity to rise within the ranks of the bank based on performance. However, poor succession planning in replacing tellers when promoted is evident based on the low number of tellers.
Furthermore, bank officials stated that the BVI is still very much a cash driven society and some persons refuse to utilize the many paperless and technological services offered in an effort to minimize interaction and time spent by clients in the institutions. As a result, these clients will continue to experience delayed services and misused time.
Many residents still stress that after considering the frustration clients endure on a daily basis in trying to conduct business at local banks, a few things become evident. Bank officials seem unbothered by the poor customer service received by clients when hours are consumed standing in bank lines.
To add, their poor management of tellers, results in an extremely high turnover rate making this essential job a major turnoff to applicants. In such difficult economic times, why isn’t such an important role respected with an admirable salary along with organized hours and shifts to ensure tellers are comfortable? Why aren’t bank tellers guaranteed a proper lunch schedule and meaningful succession planning that would allow them to see this as a stepping stone for greater professional growth?
What about improved customer service and consistency along with care and consideration for the time of the clients that bank with you along with greater respect and regard for the very vital bank tellers that service the public? Don’t you believe that this would then allow these tellers to serve the public with more pride, pleasantries and patience and not as thou they are being held at gun point?
When considering all the fees clients pay on a monthly basis, this is not a big ask. Furthermore, agencies that govern local banks like the Financial Services Commission should be paying more attention to the operations and poor level of service exhibited on a daily basis.
Recently, during a surge in COVID-19 cases, Banco Popular essentially forced an entire territory to solely access services through their drive thru services for weeks even after cases had significantly decreased.
These repetitive acts of no consideration for clients and prospective clients of banking institutions in the Virgin Islands is simply unacceptable.
So the real question is, where is the simple empathy, care and consideration for client centered customer service in the British Virgin Islands? And who will see to it and residents receive the services they rightfully deserve?