Europe To Make Sure That Investigators Work... >>
<< Hard-Hitting Study Shows People Get...
 tdicon 

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Carlo Longino

Wed, Dec 14th 2005 10:20am





It's All A Matter Of Perception

from the jedi-mind-trick dept

A bank company in the UK is removing clocks from its branches to make it harder for people to complain about long waits. The bank says it's taking the clocks out because a survey said they weren't something customers thought would "enhance their banking experience," but one employee is quoted as saying it simply makes it easier to dismiss customer complaints about how long they've been in line. No word on if customers will soon have to check their watches at the door, too.

9 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  •  
    identicon
    MissingFrame, Dec 14th, 2005 @ 10:49am

    I remember ...

    when they gave you $5 for waiting in line for more than 5 minutes.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    •  
      identicon
      Anonymous Coward, Dec 14th, 2005 @ 11:43am

      Re: I remember ...

      Our local DMV solves this problem by having everyone take a timestamped ticket... AFTER you stand in the primary line for about 2-3 hours. Then they serve you by the tickets and collect the "waiting time" data -- which of course shows that "everyone is served within 30 minutes" as required by the legislature. Always remember "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics!"

       

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Dante, Dec 14th, 2005 @ 11:35am

    whatever

    It's Capitalism at it's finest.
    "Lets stop buying clocks, (saves money) then tell people that their wait time is all relevant.
    relativism. Blech.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    melancolico catrin, Dec 14th, 2005 @ 11:40am

    Confiscating is next, after that...

    Confiscating your watch is next, after that they will attempt the Jedi mind trick, if that still doesn't work they have already arranged to use any of the many "secret" CIA prisons all over Europe to help you forget about your problems...

    CIA Dispatcher: "What?!?! Somebody is complainning about delays at your bank?! A black van will be at your location in 2 minutes to sanitise it. Have a nice day."

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Charles R, Dec 14th, 2005 @ 12:18pm

    No Subject Given

    Banks might try filling their waiting areas with a specially prepared haze of ultracold sodium atoms. That would slow time down to a crawl and may keep complaints to a minimum.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Rob, Dec 14th, 2005 @ 1:44pm

    Made Money Off this

    I used to make $5 everytime I had to wait for more then $5 at a TD bank. I figure I made over $100 during the life of this promotion which I guess they figured was too expensive to keep running!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    aNonMooseCowherd, Dec 14th, 2005 @ 5:51pm

    pocket watches

    Then they'll have to install X-ray machines to check for pocket watches, PDAs, cell phones, etc.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    •  
      icon
      TechNoFear (profile), Dec 14th, 2005 @ 9:46pm

      Re: No Clocks

      Nothing new, I used to work at a large casino that took this to the next level.

      So you would not be distracted from punting the casino does not have any clocks or even windows. Staff are not allowed to wear watches and while I was there all electronic devices (inc. mobile phones) were banned from the gaming floor.

       

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Tim, Dec 15th, 2005 @ 2:02am

    No Subject Given

    My experiences of the Natwest and RBoS (owners of the group including the Natwest) is that they suck for customer-service, or indeed having a clue at all.

    How can I fill in a paying-in slip to accompany a cheque when there's no clock to say what today's date is?

    (Well, my current financial establishment of choice doesn't use paying-in slips, so that's not a problem any more, I guess.. :)

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
Europe To Make Sure That Investigators Work... >>
<< Hard-Hitting Study Shows People Get...
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Flattr rss rss
A word from our Sponsors...
Sponsored Resource
Essential Reading
Techdirt Reading List
Techdirt Insider Chat

A word from our Sponsors...
Recent Stories

Saturday

12:00pm: Sophisticatedjanedoe / FightCopyrightTrolls Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week (5)
9:00am: Awesome Stuff: Cool Product Designs (2)

Friday

7:39pm: Rice University Professor: SkyNET's Gonna Take Ur Jerbs! (43)
6:33pm: Make Art, Not Law (7)
5:27pm: AP's Attempt At DRM'ing The News Shuts Down (11)
5:00pm: DailyDirt: DIY Junk Food (3)
3:40pm: Suburban Express Goes Double Or Nothing On Their Aggressive Behavior (6)
2:34pm: Want To Destroy Any Hope Of Serious Cybersecurity? Give The DOJ Its Desired Backdoor Wiretaps On All Communications (18)
1:34pm: Nintendo Exchanges Goodwill For Control; Issues Mass Monetization Claims On Let's Play Videos (30)
12:32pm: Indian Publishing Firm Can't Take A Little Criticism, Threatens Blogger With $1 Billion Lawsuit, Criminal Charges (10)
More arrow
A word from our Sponsors...

Close

Email This