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1.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Aug 4th, 2006 @ 7:11pm

   
   

   Archie: Wanda, do you have any idea what it's like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing, of saying to someone "Are you married?" and hearing "My wife left me this morning," or saying, uh, "Do you have children?" and being told they all burned to death on Wednesday. You see, Wanda, we'll all terrified of embarrassment. That's why we're so... dead. Most of my friends are dead, you know, we have these piles of corpses to dinner. But you're alive, God bless you, and I want to be, I'm so fed up with all this. I want to make love with you, Wanda. I'm a good lover - at least, used to be, back in the early 14th century. Can we go to bed?
   
   - Sorry, just watched that today... saw the connection. (First!)

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2.  

   Calling BS on this one

   

   David Huckabay, Aug 4th, 2006 @ 8:07pm

   
   

   My best bud is married to a BritChick, so I have had many opportunities to spend time with her family, friends, etc. Also, I spent time in Britian while in the USN. I don't know that I have ever met a Brit I would call shy - quite the contrary. They all seem very outgoing and friendly. Actually, I think I prefer them to Americans.

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3.  

   Hey! Lay off us Brits

   

   Dave Birch, Aug 5th, 2006 @ 3:00am

   
   

   I worked on a project, several years ago, putting "loan ATMs" into (if I remember correctly) the southeastern US. I can remember being told then that people didn't mind being turned down by a machine but were embarassed to be turned down by a person. So it's not just us!

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4.  

   Err...

   

   Andy``, Aug 5th, 2006 @ 5:54am

   
   

   Tbfh, anyone with financial problems would be embarassed to go into a bank, with lots of people about, and say it out loud. Shyness is nothing to do with it, and saying it does implies the "chronic shyness" affects more than just banking.

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5.  

   It's the barriers....

   

   Tyshaun, Aug 5th, 2006 @ 9:50am

   
   

   It's those barriers between the tellers and you. You have to yell just to hear anything. It makes any transaction like placing that transaction on the local radio station for all to hear.

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6.  

   I have accounts in both the UK and the USA

   

   Anonymous Coward, Aug 5th, 2006 @ 11:43am

   
   

   and I think that it's much more about convenience than shyness.
   
   To open an account in the USA I just walk into a bank and somebody is happy to help me. In the UK I have to line up for 10 minutes in order to make an appointment, for which I'll have to take more time off work.
   
   In the US I can call my bank and press button 3 to speak with somebody in my branch. Somebody who has the authority to make decisions no less. In the UK I get put through to "Dave" in Mumbai, who can't even understand the question.
   
   It's a fact that, at a time when UK banks are reporting record profits, customer service is at an all time low.
   
   And finally, note that the "research" was paid for by Lloyds TSB. This bank was castigated for a system where it would, when customers missed a credit card payment, send a text message to their 'phone saying "call 0870 xxx xxx to discuss your account". Customers calling the number were immediately asked for their card #, security questions etc. Talk about training your customers to be victims!
   
   Finally, just for the record, I'm a Brit.

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7.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Aug 5th, 2006 @ 9:52pm

   
   

   i hate brits

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8.  

   Re:

   

   d.k., Aug 6th, 2006 @ 7:51am

   
   

   Re "i hate brits" - what a valuable contribution. Thank you for taking the time to write on this board. Have you ever left your street? Without your parents?
   Surprising that Lloyds would need to justify e-banking with a study citing "embarrassment" as a key driver for using online tools. You'd think sheer convenience would be a more compelling argument (especially if banking in the UK is still as archaic as it people say it is).

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9.  

   

   Me, Aug 6th, 2006 @ 9:24am

   
   

   I don't know about embarrassing, but humiliating might be a better word for it ... these days if you want to discuss your debts and errors of financial misjudgement with a 'personal banker' (a.k.a. a slightly better trained bank clerk - no 'bank anager' meetings anymore!), you have to do it in an open-plan office environment right where anyone can hear!
   
   No wonder people would rather handle such issues via a more anonymous medium than in ear-shot of the general public (many of whom might well be your neighbours if you've lived in the kinds of places I have!)

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10.  

    Re: Calling BS on this one

    

    NYC_CIVIL, Aug 6th, 2006 @ 11:04am

    
    

    Just one more thing to contribute to world loathing and self-loathing Americans...

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11.  

    

    rata, Aug 6th, 2006 @ 7:55pm

    
    

    larga vida a la reina!

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12.  

    Me I'm not scared to yell it's all their fault!

    

    Andrew Strasser, Aug 7th, 2006 @ 2:52am

    
    

    Normally in America if you do ever have banking issues that would cause you to go to the branch though I'm still wondering where that part comes in. I usually am mad that somehow I've made some stupid math error and was off by 3 cents so they decided to charge me 34 bucks for it. Usually this isn't the best time to be in public when not happy. It's also not wise for you to subject yourself to a situation that you may not be able to handle. This could also add to the shyness factor. They may have percieved it as shyness, though it was more of a I'd rather just have a lil more privacy than yelling for the bank manager to get over there before I strangled his help.

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13.  

    Re: I have accounts in both the UK and the USA

    

    claire rand, Aug 7th, 2006 @ 4:33am

    
    

    and yet all uk banks.. lloyds included tell you not to give details out when you are called or unless you are sure of the number..
    
    cases like this you call the normal banking number, who have no clue anyones trying to get hold of you...
    
    oh and the fraud department is 'non-customer facing' so try reporting it.
    
    plus when they do call you its a 'number withheld'.. yeah right like i'm gunna give you any details on anything..

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