Banks Suck

Going to the bank in Spain is, among other eligible choices, the last thing that I would ever wish to do.

Once you pass the entrance, you will feel the air of idleness and inefectiveness floating around the hall. Everything seems to be normal, which is absolutely abnormal. The small number of the staff with impassive look on their face, regardless of the branch, can't possibly attend to the endless numbers of agitated clients that are hopelessly finding someone to serve them. The only solution is to wait between 15 to 4o minutes until it's your turn...well, this is an average waiting time. If you got 15 minutes, consider yourself fortunate and buy a lottery. The only solution for us, the loyal clients of spanish banking, is to go there early and spare yourself lots of time. If we can't change the way they work, just adapt ourselves to them, take prozacs and complain less... (Wow! sounds easy!)

As for service, you get lucky that they don't bite you for asking them a favour. Oops, a lil' bit exaggerating...I mean...just don't expect the clients-are-king kind of service. This is not Asia; the "service-minded" is an unknown word in the Spanish vocabulary. Try to go in the morning, the staff tends to be happier than the late hours (logically).

The administration of documents is, in general, disastrous. My thai friend, Now, waited for almost 2 months for her credit card because they had sent the card to the address in Thailand, instead of the one in Madrid, TWICE; the first was a mistake, but the second was a stupid mistake. In my case, it took them a month because they sent the blessed card to Thailand just once...lucky me. (If I want a credit card in Thailand, why the heck did I have to fly here to apply for it?!?).

I consider these the most common problems. In fact, each person may encounter different kinds of administrative wonders in each bank or branch, depending on his/her luck.

But be warned, this patrons' nightmare doesn't keep its limit to banks only, but it's also lurking in every corner of some hospitals in Spain as well...

To be continued.

Case study for this article: Banco Santander, Avda. Complutense. The renovation of the office doesn't improve the service at all, why bother?