So, I wandered down to Burwood today to pick up a stash of paper notes, and while I was there I checked out the new CBA they moved into last week.
The day before the move I joked with the staff that the new place is half the size of the old branch two doors down, and that they were doing it to halve the rent.
Well, I was wrong. Its more like a corridor with machines lining both sides. Machines to accept and dispense coins and notes on the left, terminals for the one or two staff to stand at on the right. And not a teller anywhere in the building.
When I expressed disappointment at not having humans to deal with and get my coin fix, the response was that since only 11% of customers ever visit a branch, this new format was the way of the future. And anyway, if I want a 'real' branch, I can always drive to Ashburton or Burwood East, opposite the RSPCA.
I dunno.. I can remember not only supermarkets with more than one checkout chick, but actual SERVICE stations where they'd fill your tank, wash your windscreen and all that, without you even having to get out of the car on a freezing wet night.
I get the idea that branches need to change, but the new Westpac at Chadstone, or any Bank of Melbourne, is more the way to go in my book. If I want to do everything online, I'll use CUA, which offers far more than any bank on that front.
RIP Noodling in the not too distant future, methinks. :(
What do you mean, "in the future"?
It is already here in some parts of Melbourne.
Quote from: 'Goldseeker' pid='74358' dateline='1434352359'It is already here in some parts of Melbourne.
Nah, one day, after you're all recovered and all, I'll drive over and prove it to you. :angel:
On previous form; whatever the banks decide is the right way to go (and they don't seem to agree with each other) will be shown, down the track, to not work very well.
They will then invoke the streaker's defence -"It seemed like a good idea at the time" - and proceed to a 'new' scheme which is actually a resurrection of what they had before -but, too much loss of face to actually admit that.
Many banks did actually admit they made a mistake closing many, many branches some years ago and, in recent years, have been opening new branches, But they are 'new and different'; If what Fulvio suggests is correct they may well be different -but not equal, or even better, than what went before. A phrase from a song just came to mind..."When will they ever learn?". Indeed, where have all the flowers gone?
Our economy (and career paths) have become much more service oriented in the last decades and customers respond favourably to service with personal interaction. Large institutions that consider the return to the shareholder the only measure of their worth seem to be prone to this type of decision.
"but actual SERVICE stations where they'd fill your tank, wash your windscreen and all that, without you even having to get out of the car on a freezing wet night."
yep - used to do that
ALWAYS had to ask the customer about having the oil checked too
even offer to check the tyre pressure ....
but the oil sales was where the money was, apparently
"but actual SERVICE stations where they'd fill your tank, wash your windscreen and all that, without you even having to get out of the car on a freezing wet night."
yep - used to do that
ALWAYS had to ask the customer about having the oil checked too
even offer to check the tyre pressure ....
but the oil sales was where the money was, apparently
This sort of banking has been with us in some form for many years now.
EFTPOS machines and internet banking are the "Norm" now, That's self serve isn't it?
Banks are there to serve commerce and lets face facts here MOST of the shops and services get their payment via electronic means these days so there is less need to have 10-12 people employed at a bank to process all those funds now, its called progress folks :ok:
Personally the only time I need hard cold cash is at a boozer or at an auction.
Most business now consider a direct deposit to their bank account a cash payment anyway :)
Come on McDuck, you keep flogging the idea of crypto currency that most certainly doesn't have a bunch of bank tellers in every town dispensing cold hard cash and yet you groan and moan about the banks getting "slightly Digital" :laugh2:
HMMM :angel:
cash is still very much part of most places down here, in fact they charge 5% if you use a card, and some places have signs that say cash only
Quote from: 'Australian coin' pid='74376' dateline='1434367270'cash is still very much part of most places down here, in fact they charge 5% if you use a card, and some places have signs that say cash only
Do you guys still get paid in cash ?
nah, haha unless your doing training or off the books
Quote from: 'Australian coin' pid='74378' dateline='1434368619'nah, haha unless your doing training or off the books
I doubt that many people get paid in cash these days and that is why the banks have been "down sizing" over the years as well.
Most banks still provide a personal approach when it comes to opening an account or something like that But they used to spend 90% of the time simply receiving cash or dispensing it, This largely does not happen anymore :ok:
I can envisage a time when if you don't have a business account with a bank you won't be able to withdraw coinage for personal use/noodling without incurring a fee :angel:
Quote from: 'trout' pid='74374' dateline='1434364864'Come on McDuck, you keep flogging the idea of crypto currency that most certainly doesn't have a bunch of bank tellers in every town dispensing cold hard cash and yet you groan and moan about the banks getting "slightly Digital"
Fair point, except for two things...
1. You can't noodle Cryptos. Its just money. And as money, who cares? I've been banking with CUA and its predecessors for 30+ years now, and I've probably been to a branch on average once a year.
2. This is not "slightly Digital". This is a whole new ball game, which does for banking what those accursed Armaguard coin dispensers at the supermarkets do. What are we going to do when all the branches are like that? Stand there siphoning rolls out of the machine all day in the hope of hitting a good one?
QuoteDo you guys still get paid in cash ?
Regularly However, I am not an employee of anyone else and most of my jobs are for individuals and only relatively small sums (a few hundred dollars is typical).
QuoteThis is not "slightly Digital". This is a whole new ball game, which does for banking what those accursed Armaguard coin dispensers at the supermarkets do. What are we going to do when all the branches are like that? Stand there siphoning rolls out of the machine all day in the hope of hitting a good one?
I don't think the bank took into account your noodling needs when they designed their new infrastructure Mate :laugh2:
Quote from: 'trout' pid='74385' dateline='1434401629'I don't think the bank took into account your noodling needs when they designed their new infrastructure Mate :laugh2:
I knew that.
Point is, noodling is a big part of our hobby. If we're not going to become just a captive audience for manufactured rarities, aka 'granny bait', we need to have access to circulating currency, and in high grade.
The tendency is towards removing all access progressively.
We can no longer buy direct from the mint
We can no longer deal with Armaguard direct
Retailers were always a pain, but dispensers remove any chance there as well
And now banks are doing the same
Where are we supposed to source our coins from in a decade or so when this new model becomes the norm?
Hobby collecting is not a factor in the Big Business Model. They couldn't care less.
The sooner they get rid of cash, the better, they believe.
I see a similar thing happening with stamps. Australia Post regularly advertises special stamp issues, albums, collecting paraphernalia and such. But do they want you to use stamps on your mail? NO -print out a postage label on-line, buy a label over the counter or purchase a postage pre-paid envelope, satchel or bag.
Heaven forbid! Why would you want to soak old, cancelled stamps off a postal item? How quaint!
Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='74401' dateline='1434421564'the Big Business Model. They couldn't care less.
Isn't this part of the problem, and not a solution?
Taken to the ultimate level, every aspect of our lives would be plugged directly into some corporate's rent-taking business model, and nothing would be free. Even the air we breathe would either be 'Pay-per-Breath' or filled with ads, and there's be a service charge for CO2 emissions. :diablo:
I dunno, maybe I'm too old school, but I don't think our personal interests align with those of the commercial world, nor do I think they're any less important.
And yes, I know I'm in a minority.
Make that a minority of two.
Make that three.
The nearest old fashioned suburban centre to where I live is Holland Park. When I was a child, there were four bank branches there. The other three closed back in the Nasty Nineties, but not Commonwealth - they even had a sandwich board out on the footpath saying, "the other banks are closing up, but we're staying here!".
A couple of months ago, they finally closed up too and simultaneously opened a new "branch" inside the nearby Greenslopes mini-mall. It's all self-service machines with no tellers, as the OP reports. The branch in the nearby Mount Gravatt shopping centre likewise "renovated" a month later, so don't take their word that "if you want full-service, you can still go to..."., because the suggested "go to" place will likely become roboticized in a few years, too.
The new coin deposit machines are OK, I guess - last time I used one, I found five foreign coins in the reject tray! - but my mum hates these newfangled "branches". Every month, she gets a pension cheque from Canada she has to bank, and she has to deposit it manually at a teller because even though it's in Australian dollars, the automatic cheque-readers in the ATMs can't read foreign-printed cheques. She now has to catch a bus out to the nearest Westfield megamall (Garden City) just to bank a stupid $25 cheque.
Quote from: 'trout' pid='74379' dateline='1434369312'I can envisage a time when if you don't have a business account with a bank you won't be able to withdraw coinage for personal use/noodling without incurring a fee :angel:
Hm, I've seen a QTMB that has fees for handling any more than $100 worth of change at a time.
Quote from: 'Sapyx' pid='74413' dateline='1434434747'the automatic cheque-readers in the ATMs can't read foreign-printed cheques. She now has to catch a bus out to the nearest Westfield megamall (Garden City) just to bank a stupid $25 cheque.
Are there no old-school ATM's left there?
CUA shows a branch at Carindale and a ton of ATMs surrounding you... AFAIK the don't do the cheque-reading thing yet. http://www.cua.com.au/about-cua/contact-us/locator
Just went to my local branch where I take my noodled leftovers. They let me exchange coins for notes one last time. Their coin counting machine leaves the premises tomorrow.
Can still deposit the coins there automatically but proceeds must go into an account then you need to withdraw cash to re-start the cycle to feed the coin machine.
Will have to put the thinking cap to come up with a cleaner option but at least with the automated coin machine it now means I will be able to get rolls there that I haven't noodled before.
Pedro
I always get rid of coins to my bank to put directly into my account
another 10 years and we might get these machines but I hope not, one good thing about living in the bush :winkextra:
Power outage overnight, change machine down. Long live automation :(
Pedro
:laugh2:
Now that wouldn't be a facetious remark would it Pedro :) but it really is all a really bad joke, shame it's not funny :(