"THE times they are a-changin’", sang Bob Dylan all those decades ago. And, today, his words are just as relevent as they were back then – maybe even more so.
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Just ask the residents of Manilla and surrounds, who yesterday lost their Westpac Bank branch after many years.
There was a lot of sadness in town over the loss, along with bitter disappointment and genuine anger over the decision made earlier this year, and which has affected other branches across the region.
Customers who were coming in for the last time yesterday reminisced about the high level of service they’d received over the years and the staff who knew all their names and treated them like friends, rather than just an account number.
How nice it would have been if the people who made the decision to rationalise branch numbers all those months ago could have been there to see the emotion from both customers and employees.
But, from Sydney, Manilla must seem an awfully long way, away, and its population a mere blip when compared with communities on the other side of the range.
If you’re going to close branches, then why wouldn’t you target a small one where the impact would be minimal?
Well, the impact’s been huge, and despite the bank arguing the local post office will take up the slack, Westpac customers won’t have access to the same services they’ve been used to.
So, it’s a trip into Tamworth, which is not possible for everyone, or a surf of the internet, which, for some people, particularly older Australians, is foreign territory they don’t wish to enter.
Despite the warm and fuzzy ads on television, banks – and we’re talking about the institutions, not the staff – no longer put their customers first, at least not their smaller customers who make up the bulk of their transactions, but whom they are increasingly treating with contempt.
The personal attention of the country bank branch is sadly a thing of the past as the bottom line dictates policy, with faceless internet transactions a lot cheaper than the face-to-face ones.
Unfortunately, what’s happened to Manilla’s branch is a sign of the times – and they are a-changin’ – but not always for the best.