Bank Cashiers? Do they sell to?

[mochamoo]

I am unemployed and recently applied for a position a cashier at Abbey. I was told there would be no selling involved but after reading several of the threads in here I am beginning to suspect otherwise.

 

So my question is as a cashier would I be expected to sell to customers?

 

I have a second interview with them next week if selling is involved I will not be attending the interview. I do not have the energy for a high pressure job at the moment.

[ab123uk]

Mochamoo- Yes cashier's do sell, 'cross selling, offering customer's new products to suit their needs' ( if I need it i'll go out and look for it)

 

But I would ask them- I know the Halifax have a system that suggest's products (Ironically- Customer SALES Process its called, or was!) - when processing transactions, this would offer products, or would guarantee acceptance to them- eg. it would enable you to guarantee a customer £1000 limit on a visa, more likely to say yes if guaranteed!

 

And they're bound to be targetted.

 

But hey- Im only a salesman!!!! lmao.

[mochamoo]

Thank you. I don't think I will be going for the job! I am a beauty therapist by trade, I like making people relaxed and happy, not sure bank cashier will be the right job for me!

[Guest NATTIE]

This is an interesting question which can be cloked in various ways of putting it. Are you selling to tell someone that you can save them money on say their mortgage? Are you selling to someone who say is paying huge amounts of money on credit cards when a loan(excluding the PPI) will save them money for them? Is it is selling to offer a cash ISA to someone who gets peanuts on a current account? It is a matter of interpretation and there are many times when i think we are selling and many times when i think we are serving our customers. It is a sales job but it is how you interpret selling/service that counts really.

[PeteCC]

Hi, Nattie,

 

I quite agree with you that it's a matter of interpretation.

 

I work for a 'Media Company', in the sales department, so the customers who come through to us EXPECT to be sold to. (That's mainly why they are calling.)

 

Our training is such that we let the customers know which services are available to them, find out which ones they want, and then question them about their needs. ie, which programs they want to have on the TV, to what useage the internet will be put, (downloading, games playing, simple browsing etc), and how much and when the telephone is used and the types of call.

 

We then RECOMMEND which services would be best for them and the reasons why. (This is the theory, at least, and one which is generally adhered to.)

 

Funnily enough, when this process is NOT followed, there tends to be UNDERselling, as the customer may not have the information about the differing services we offer, and may take the cheapest, but not necessarily the most cost-effective, option(s).

 

If the same sort of criteria were applied to banking/financial customers, then there would be far less accusations of staff being pressurised into selling as the process lends itself to guiding the customer to the products which are right for them. The customers would have an understanding of what they were purchasing, and more importantly, why.

 

As you rightly imply, matching products/benefits to needs is ethical selling, and there the banks seem to fall down, (not only banks of course, overselling is prevelant in many industries), but, it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.

 

PeteCC

 

And as a BTW, I recently went overdrawn bya few pounds, was willing to reluctantly accept the 'penalty', then had charge upon charge applied to the tune of £190.00. All successfully waived.

[Advoc8]

I agree with the sentiments of Nattie's post. I don't use counter services very often but if a cashier can suggest a better product than the one I'm using then I'm happy to listen and act on it if I feel it is appropriate.

 

What I do object to is (for example) going in to pay in a cheque to have someone try to sell me a loan. They've enough adverts around the branch for that sort of stuff and I don't need 'advising'.

 

I do however realise that they're just acting on instructions and I can't think of an occasion when a polite 'no thank you' hasn't dealt with the matter.

[mochamoo]

My main concern, is being pressured to sell things to customers! I have no qualms about suggesting other services if it will help them.

[kippy2]

My main concern, is being pressured to sell things to customers! I have no qualms about suggesting other services if it will help them.

 

my motto in life is: "if in doubt dont." you are clearly doubting embarking on a career as a cashier

[mochamoo]

my motto in life is: "if in doubt dont." you are clearly doubting embarking on a career as a cashier

 

Good Advice! Just need a job quick as I have a mortgage to pay! Supermarket checkout chick here I come!!!!

[Seahorse]

My eldest lad worked for the Abbey for a while, then left for the RBS (which he has also kicked into touch since.) He reckoned there was more pressure to meet targets in the Abbey than there was in the RBS. And staff turnover was VERY high.

[kippy2]

Good Advice! Just need a job quick as I have a mortgage to pay! Supermarket checkout chick here I come!!!!

 

supermarket chick at least there you would get lots of discounts.

[bally35]

I have worked in a nmber of institutions including Abbey and RBS.

I agree with Nattie, that I would personally only ever recommend better products to customers.Then again I viewed the whole process a lot differently from my managers!!(lol)

I remeber being in trouble when a customer wanted to pay a sum into a (client of his) bank account (in different bank).

Colleague was going to get a Transfer done at the cost of £35.00 or thereabouts.

I suggested that since he had the other customers bank details, why didn't he withdraw money in cash and pay it directly in at our local branch of his clients bank .(This being free)

Customer was delighted, manager was not.

My response was well my job title says "customer service" and in the long run this may advantagous for us i.e the customer feels that we are trustworthy and not always trying to rip customer off!!!!

Its all about the way that you approach customers.We had "suggested phrases" which I ignored.

Often been told off about discussing things which were not connected with banking.My point here is that this was the way I built up customer relationship.I knew my customers and after having left RBS some years back, still get stopped when doing shopping etc by customers for a chat!

But that is going back a while. I eventually left banking because of pressure to sell and not to serve.

Abbey definitely more pressurised than RBS, due to normally having less staff in smaller branches to spread it out.

[MattyH]

IMO, pressurised sales is NOT a good environment to work in, depending on the amount of pressure and the kind of person of course.

 

I find that Sales is a "people game" Customers don't buy from companies, they buy from people. My customers buy from me because:

 

1. We offer a good price, along with a good service. We're not always the best on price, but we're damned good at delivering the goods!
   
2. People trust me to do what I say, and I'm honest when I say it.
   
3. They know and trust the company I work for.

Simple really. Not sure how this compares to a bank though, becuase I can imagine it's a "one time sale" rather than repeat business that I work with.

 

Just my 2p's worth.

 

Matt

[Seahorse]

My own branch of the RBS can't make much in the way of bonus's. I usually just get a polite "is there anything else I can help you with?", and that's it. Just how I like it. I must say, through all my claim, my branch has been nice and understanding. Just shows the difference between the human face of the bank, and the Turpin-like mentality that appears to filter down from Edinburgh.

[indebtstudent]

Just checking in again, I would say to the thread starter do not work for Abbey. I've heard they are particularly bad for pressure and not a good company to work for.

 

I agree with sentiments that customer's buy from people. I work for Nationwide and we do have targets of sorts. I do particularly well on my leads but the reason is simple. I just look for products that will benefit the customer.

 

Like Nattie said people having lots of cash in a current account (since the interest rate normally drops after a certain amount). I can't get through to some managers though that, when they see me just chatting, it helps the business. I mean would you buy from someone if you paid one item in and they said so where's your mortgage? Or would you be more likely to listen to that person if you had had good service over weeks/months/years. I rest my case!

 

I know it might not look as good in the present in terms of results but we all know it costs more to retain customers than gain new one's. No one financial services provider has the best value or cheapest product in every category, they would make no money, so all you're really left with is reasonable value across the board and an organisation with people you trust.

 

I'm know I'm rambling a bit here but I have seen targets and add on sales becoming more widespread in retail in general and I wish comanies would grasp that they would have more success long term if such add on sales didn't involve flogging stuff which was rubbish. I have a paticular sports store in mind but that's all I'll say

 

MattyH reading your post I believe this is exactly how banks and Buidling socites SHOULD work, whether they actually do is another matter.

[eyeofhorus]

Only just joined this forum as im getting really fed up with where i work. Abbey cashiers or CSA's as they are known do indeed have targets. Each day they must make a minimum of 4 referals. That means either booking an appointment or the customer sees someone on the spot. Failure to continually meet these targets will lead to you being 'performance managed'. Their bonus scheme is linked to their referals and % over target. They also are required to fill out various questionnaires while you are at the counter. These will cover savings, mortgages etc. On some days they will have a 'race day' and gain prizes for doing the most.

[indebtstudent]

It is similar in other institutions but I can honestly say if you believe in what you are doing then it doesn't not have to come across as hassling customer. I believe in Nationwide's products in general, I believe it is better to have an organisation that is (at least in principle) supposed to be run for the benefit of its members.

 

When I speak to people I have to judge how clued up they are about thier finances. If they are confident and knowledgeable then that's fine but lots of people are not. That is where we come in, I can honestly say people have saved thousands of pounds as a result of my work. If I had not gotten to know thier committments and needs etc then they would have been worse off. I am not saying that they are getting the best possible deal on every product, the marketplace is competitive, but I do believe we are able to benefit large numbers of consumers.

 

This is the reason why I find Nationwide's head in the sand responce to charges so bizarre. They campaing for things like free cash withdrawals and have a positive order of payments on credit cards. If you are not sure what this means check YOUR credit card. I would put money on the fact that yours will pay off the cheapest debt first (thus maximizing the interest you pay).

[bella86]

What I learned from working for Abbey is that the branches are not there to deal with your banking needs, they are essentialy a shop, selling products. If you have an enquiry they will point you everywhere but them to deal with it, either by phone, post, fax, internet. Its unreal!

They are trying to wean customers from visiting a local branch and putting the focus on selling products in branch !!

[indebtstudent]

Its not so hard to understand why, there are stil LOTS of people that stick with one provider for all or most of thier products. this is very profitable hence the focus. I do agree though that, across the industry, the provision for customers in branches is pretty shocking.

[bella86]

Yes cetainly i agree with you. I was working in the call centre and found that alot branch if not most refuse to do anything for the cust. Most include allowing them to wait in line to be told to phone us for there balance or simple transactions. This is after all apart of their job description! They are simply focused on opening new accounts/credit cards/mortages etc

[Guest louis wu]

This is after all apart of their job description! They are simply focused on opening new accounts/credit cards/mortages etc

 

I think the job description involves filling your quota of sales/referals, which although is a sad indictment of the bank, only reflects the staffs need to comply to the sales pressure put on them by management.