Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Travelling, shopping, money from Santander, banks and seats

While you are shopping in London, for example, in Harrow on the Hill (Met line or Metropolitan line) or Brent Cross Shopping Center (lots of buses go there) you can pay into Santander bank or get money out. I like branches of banks which have chairs. Hatch End, (Euston to Watford railway line, H12 and H14 buses) has a branch of Natwest with a car park behind, and inside are a couple of seats if you are waiting fro somebody else standing in line. (Unfortunately the seats are at the back which is fine if you are waiting to go into the room at the back for a private discussion, no good if you are waiting for the 'till windows just to pay money in or take it out.)
     Santander in Hatch End is more seat-friendly. They have two seats if you are waiting for the two windows. When you get to the windows, a seat for you to sit and talk.
    Not everybody wants to sit down. Some customers prefer to stand or hop from foot to foot. They often offer a seat to you.
    I know I spend too much time sitting down, according to the latest health surveys. But I like the choice. I have newspapers to read, lists to make. I can sit and sort the letters I need for the transaction.
   For me the Santander branch with seating is customer friendly. If I have to decide which of the two branches to visit, I choose the one with the seats.
   I also feel safer in a place with seating. Fewer people coming and going. It's not that I really expect a pickpocket or bank robber. (Though we've had a few.) But if you are sensibly alert to your surroundings, both by instinct and a matter of policy, your attention is distracted by movement around you.
   I often glance through the windows of a branch of a building society or shop. If I see a seat I am more likely to go inside.
   In a suburban shopping centre near where you live, you tend to do your banking. But on a long trip, you can often catch up on your banking by going into another branch. You just need to be sure to memorise your pin number.
   In addition to the conscious decision, there is the programming of your mind by stored information you don't have time to think through consciously. Subconsciously you - or I - have registered, that branch with seats when I'm tired after shopping, is a good place for me to go.
   If you feel guilty about shopping and spending money instead of saving it, you can get something sensible done, like checking your accounts, or paying in a cheque.
   In Singapore some car hire companies have a water dispenser near the seating. I'm sure that waiting is less arduous if you have seats, water, and newspapers. Many car show rooms in the UK have seats and newspapers.
   So, congratulations to the branches of banks and building societies which provide seats. 

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