What The Banks Taught Me About Having A Good System In Business
Ponder over these real scenarios that I encountered when I try to open a business current account in two different banks.
BANK A:
The environment of this bank is quiet and silent like there is not much activities around. When you walk in and take your number, it could be your turn immediately.
1. Went to the bank.
2. Officer in charge out for lunch.
3. Waited until 3pm.
4. Submit my forms and was told that account will be activated next week.
5. The week after, went to bank, ask about account status.
6. Bank told me account was not ready yet and will call me once it is ready.
7. Waited for about 2 weeks and got a call telling me account is ready.
8. Went over to bank to ask about banking in my check.
9. Officer in charge not around, another officer search for files, power up the computer and started to create account in front of me.
10. Waited for 45 minutes and still waiting.
11. Was wasting my time. I told them I will come back next day.
12. Went back the next day to bank in check. Was told that first check book will take at least a week to be readied.
13. Was also informed that I need to bank in RM1000 cash for the current account. I was lost for words, here I am banking in a five figures check and they still need RM1000 cash in the account immediately.
14. Went out to bank in cash and check using ATM.
15. Current status today: still waiting for them to call if my check book is ready.
BANK B:
The environment of this bank is extremely busy. Officers and assistants are ready to help you although busy. Sales officer are very friendly, jokes with you and remember your name!
1. Went to bank.
2. Fill in forms, wait for turns to submit my forms and check together.
3. Told that account will be readied by next week.
4. A week after, got a call from bank.
5. Went over to collect my check book and were able to withdraw cash right on the spot with the check.
Can you guess which banks I am referring to?
These encounters actually taught me a lot about having an efficient system in any business. I was trying very hard to revamp my eBay system for delegation and expansion. Being in these situations allow me to see how much difference a smooth system can really affect a business image. I learnt a very important lesson.
What situation and who have you run into today? Did you learn anything from your encounters?
Tomorrow’s post: Why Systems Are So Important For Your eBay Sales and Business
A = Maybank? B = CIMB ?
just a rough guess.. haha… Excited about your next post.. looking forward to it.. 
I had a problem with Public Bank here the other day, wanted to open a saving account for Tristan but they needed birth certificate !! They won’t accept the MyKid card (Identity Card for kids), I was so upset because that was my only half day off that I can get this thing done & I have other errant to run following that …
LOL Iry, you got a near-correct guess!
BeeLee, do they mean the MyKid Card is not a valid identification? What is the real purpose of MyKid Card actually if it can’t be used?
Bank A - CIMB.
Bnnk B - Public Bank.
Not only the banks are inefficient, even the McDonald’s and KFC are inefficient now. Long queue, slow services, and limited counters. Once I decided to go to the next door Pizza Hut after waited for more than 15 minutes at the KFC, even though I’m queing up at no. 3 only. Fastfood is no longer fast services.
Bank A - May Bank
Bank B - Public Bank!
Maybank have a bad services. I remember the first time I visited Maybank in miri, the officer is not friendly and the banking process is so complicated.
Public bank located at a very busy district in Miri, and it also have a very long queue every working day. I had to queue about an hour to reach the front. But, everything seems friendly and the process is fast!
Well, I’m not malaysian, so many bank that I don’t have clue, but I happen to follow my sister and running from bank to bank. I think the answer will be them! :p
i have no problem with CIMB and public bank.
public bank: I get my account on the day i apply it.
CIMB: i get it the next day because i went there at 4p.m lol.. too late..
lol, Bank A = HSBC
Bank B = Maybank.
Am I right? Im encoutering the same situation too.
I tell you this is my answer.
Though I only lived in Malaysia for very few yrs. I have never had any good experience with Malaysian banks though one of my uncle used to be one of the vice president for one of the local bank. I complaint to him till his ears got water coming out !
Bank A has to be Maybank
Bank B has to be Hong Kong bank or chartered bank or Bank of America.
I had very good experience with Hong Kong and Shanghai bank in H.K’s cetnral district branch. I think it is their main center there.
When u walk into the bank, there will be long lines of people queing (at least 120 people).
There will be lines that are categories into :
Withdrawal
Deposit
Wire
Others (it could be payment for apartment, electricity bill etc).
There is a 1 to 1 ration of front teller and a back end officer.
The front person receive and pass whatever necessary verification to the back person.
I have never waited for more than 5minutes for any kind of transaction I have done with HK bank in H.K.
I remembered I was dam impressed when I wanted do a bank draft.
All in one it took the teller/bank end officer to finish the draft within 5 mins. No kidding.
And when I was working in KL’s WangDangi road many years back, there was a Maybank branch at the building. I went to the bank at 9:30am, waited till 10:30 and I told them I have to go up to my office and pick up the draft later. I came down at 12:30noon, they have not finished. I waited till 12:45pm. A total of 3 hrs and 15mins to get a dam draft from Maybank. Extremely inefficient !
Efficiency is the key to successful business. A well trained staffs and efficient retrieval of information, and well mannered staffs are some essential ingredients for successful business.
I used to run a franchise computer school many years back. We used to stock brochures in the brochures stand we have in the front where the reception desk.
Whenever customers work in, they will ask this that and the receptionist would pick up the brochures to show them what are the course offrered, how long and how much.
Err is human, a lot of times, my stocking clerk forget to refill the brochures, so what happened, chased around the building to get the brochures.
So, I gotten one very good Indoensian technical stuff to do an intranet system for me. All brochures are online web base and they can be printed as needed.
After that , a briefing to marketing staffs, reception staff, sales staffs how to to retrieve and print this info.
Never did we ever chased around the building for brochures anymore.
Knowledge based in the way to build business.
In fact, I am also frustrated when I worked in Malaysia, really tak ada system. I love US’s system because a lot of things are so standardised, like a template !
Why I write so much because I am having a break reading my dam hard medical book in the library !!!
Cheers
Jamy
And another ironic thing is I currently have a personal account in Bank A. Yet the law is, I can’t transfer that rm1k from account to account. I need to manually withdraw it from atm and then bank in from the atm.
I like CSY’s guess although it is half correct
Jamy, I really like all these experiences you are sharing with us. Searching for things are a waste of time and suggest a poor system, like Bank A. I learnt to be neater myself too.
Jenny, a lot of typo errors, did not proof read before I hit that publish button. My sincere apology !
Sadly to say, d management of the nation like bank A too…….
A = meimeibank ?
B = pubic bank ?
and the answer is?
Yesterday I went to Public Bank Damansara Utama, PJ to bank in my cheques at 2pm. It took me only 5 minutes to complete the transaction
Normally I will only going to the bank at around 3pm, just to avoid the lunch hour long queue.