Putting a Positive Spin on Closing Changes

Answered by:

Question:

In one of our smaller locations (6 employees) we are looking to close the lobby on Saturdays. Our Drive up will remain open during the morning hours, we also have 24 hour telephone banking, internet banking, night depository, and ATM availability. Our main reason for closing the lobby on Saturday is for security purposes. Do you have any ideas how we positively communicate this to our customers? Do we state that it is for security reasons? This is a small town of under 1000 people.

Answer:

How many customers do you typically have in the lobby on Saturdays? If you don't have many then I would suggest you start telling those who come in each Saturday that you will be converting to drive through only service in 30 days. If drive through isn't convenient to them suggest coming in another day of the week. See what reactions you get. If you don't get much either way, close the lobby. Put up signs to make sure everyone gets the message well in advance.

First published on BankersOnline.com 2/09/04