This Scotiabank ATM (automated teller machine) situated at The Courtyard Mall on Robb street has – presumably for one reason or another – been out of service far too frequently over the past several months. There are occasions on which the loss of service extends into several days. On other occasions the facility would suffer an inexplicable ‘relapse’ within hours of being serviced. This picture was taken at around 13:00 hrs on Wednesday. A few hours earlier the machine had been ‘up and running.’ Commercial banks, including Scotia, provide several ATMs and the available evidence suggests that this particular one is frequently used. This newspaper has witnessed various manifestations of customer disappointment (some of them decidedly unpleasant) arising out of discovery the facility was out of order. We have drawn this problem to to the senior officials of the Bank on quite a few occasions, pointing out in the process that the problem has been the subject of complaints to the newspaper by upset customers.
Earlier this week Stabroek Business spoke to Scotia’s Senior Manager (Business Support) Joan Humphrey who readily acknowledged that the machine had presented “challenges” – a euphemism, we assume, for the facility being frequently out of order – but that Scotia was doing its best to continue to provide its customers with a worthwhile service.
One of the recent problems that resulted in a period of down time arose out of what we were told was an attempt to rob the ATM.
While this newspaper takes the Bank at its word, the frequent, sudden and unexplained cessations of service by this ATM amounts to an unacceptable inconvenience to customers and it is altogether reasonable to draw this to the management’s attention and to ask that something be done to significantly reduce the frequency with which this facility is out of service.
