by Ron Delnevo, Managing Director, Bank Machine

Customer Service

As I travel round the UK and elsewhere, I get first hand experience of customer service standards in transport, hotels, restaurants and shops.

I have to be honest: customer service is usually very poor.

The catch phrase "Anything Is Too Much Trouble" covers the general situation.

At best, most organisations seem to pay "lip service" to meeting the needs of their customers. They want to collect the Publics (that's you and me, by the way!) money whilst giving as little as possible in return.

At Bank Machine, we really try to do better than that. We are focused on giving our customers the best ATM service they will ever experience.

From weekly sample telephone surveys of our customers, it appears they generally appreciate the service Bank Machine delivers.

This positive feedback can be primarily attributed to the fact that our ATMs are "in service", giving our customers convenient access to cash, for longer each month than any of our competitors.

Perfection is as yet beyond us, but the desire to get there is undiminished.

If you have any observations to make in relation to our service standards, please drop me personally a line at rdelnevo@bankmachine.com. Compliments and criticisms will be equally welcome.

One thing I can assure you is that all of us at Bank Machine learn from our mistakes - and always strive to do better the next time.

We had more than 6 Million Customers in a calendar month for the first time in July 2010, so I am delighted to say that we have many "next times" in our business!

June 2010

Cards V Cash - No Contest!

Cash remains the Worldwide public (that's you and me, by the way) first choice payment method. For example, around 80% of our planets retail purchases are made using cash.

Having trumpeted the victory, cash can now afford to be generous to the vanquished.

Cards have an important role.

Firstly, of course, each of us currently requires at least one card to obtain cash from an ATM..

Secondly, a further card should ideally be kept as a back up to cash use.

Thirdly , a card can be useful if one really has a need of the credit facilities offered by certain issuers.

There you have it :

First, cash.

Second, a card as a "distressed" back up to cash.

Third, use of a credit card if such credit facilities are really required.

As we all know from the Olympics, finishing in the first three should never be considered a failure.

May 2010

Choice - use it or lose it!

I have always wanted choice.

One of the things that most concerns me is that our - that's you and me, by the way - freedom of choice is speedily eroding.

I am proud that we at Bank Machine have given the public more choice in terms of where to get their cash. Most of our customers get our service for nothing - over 75% of our cash withdrawals are made free of any charge - but all at Bank Machine still appreciate that our customers could have gone elsewhere - but didn't!

One of the biggest choices of all faces the British Public in May - we all get the right to choose our next Government.

Strangely, 30% plus of those eligible to vote will not do so.

So here's the thing. I, a man who has always argued for choice, firmly believe that no voter should have the right NOT to vote.

In my view, to choose not to vote is to opt out of the Society in which we all live - and that is not acceptable. We are all in this together. We must live - and choose - together and that includes the choice of who is to govern us..

If people don't vote, they should be fined and, ultimately, imprisoned. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT.

As I say, if you want to opt out of voting, go somewhere else to live.

Try Australia - oops, voting is already compulsory there!

So there really are no new frontiers. You had better stay - AND VOTE - right here!

April 2010

General Election - Let's Welcome Good Ideas From All Parties!

One of the particularly unattractive elements of political elections is the need for adversaries to be painted as having views that are completely without merit. Now in one way this can be seen as "normal" : giving one's opponents any credit can easily be portrayed as a vote-losing strategy.

In reality however, it would be very odd if all the good ideas came from one party. Every member of the human race is capable of coming up with a good idea - that's one of the benefits of having a brain! And not many politicians are lacking in "Grey Matter". How could they be, when many of them, whatever political hue they favour, went to the same Universities - Oxford or Cambridge.

March 2010

Cheques Checking Out?

The Treasury Select Committee has decided to enquire into the future of cheques.

This could be seen as trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

It is true that some people remain attached to cheques as a means of payment. However, the fact has to be faced that there has been a rapid decline in their use in the last decade. Quite simply, for most people, there are now better ways of making payments.

Cheque clearing is due to end in 2018. In the intervening years, further replacements for cheques will emerge so that the current remaining users will have no reason to mourn their end.

I am personally actively involved in encouraging alternatives to emerge, in my role as Chairman of the Payments Council Cheque Replacement Steering Group. All of those serving on the Steering Group are committed to ensuring the end of Cheque Clearing is used as an opportunity to make more efficient payment methods available to the UK public.

Of course, cash is and will remain the "King" of payment methods, with the public continuing to prefer warm "tenners" to cold plastic. That will not change by 2018 - or at any point in the future.

I look forward to a new and exciting future for payments in the UK, with King Cash being challenged but never usurped by "Young Pretenders"!

February 2010

Please Can We Have Our Football Back?

Britsh Football has become both the target and the victim of foreign speculators. Some people think that money is the root of all evil. It certainly causes horrible greed.

With the advent of Sky Television, money poured into British Football as never before. For a while that money stayed within the game, which is right and proper.

Then, along came the new wave of football club "owners".

First, there was a Russian Billionaire. Many were worried by this intrusion BUT at least he WAS a Billionaire i.e. he had money to invest in improving the club he bought.

The second wave of foreign intervention was, however, even more worrying. People with large appetites for profit BUT little or no money of their own arrived on the scene. Liverpool and Manchester United are now both owned by such opportunists. This has lead to successful clubs, with sound profitability - and proud histories - becoming debt vehicles.

It is time to call time on these dangerous profiteers.

Football is too important to become the plaything of "business" men who care nothing for the game, other than its potential to provide lining for their pockets.

If they leave of their own accord, well and good. If not, they must be ejected by any legal means available.

Football can then be given back to the Public - that's you and me, by the way!

January 2010

Happy New Year - And That's A Bonus!

I must say that I think it is more than a little unfair that bankers bonuses have been singled out for so much criticism.

In truth, I think the public - that's you and me, by the way! - feel that ANY Multi-Million pound bonus is over-the-top, whatever industry the recipient happens to work in..

Of course, some would argue that objections to huge bonuses stem only from simple jealousy. Perhaps so, but part of the problem is surely that recipients of such bonuses seem all too ready to claim "I am worth it".

You know, I have never, ever, heard a supposedly spoilt footballer claim that he is "worth it" in terms of the massive tranfer fees and salaries they command. If they comment at all, it is invariably with a mixture of humility and embarrassment.

So if those in business - ANY business - want less criticism in relation to Multi Million Pound bonuses, they should take a leaf from the footballers book - AND SHOW SOME HUMILITY.

After all, the "Public" are also your Customers - and whatever consideration you can give to a Customer is definitely "worth it"!

On The Button 2009

British Management - It IS the Business!

As someone who is lucky enough to travel the World, I am well-placed to judge the impact of Team UK around our Planet.

The first thing to say is that the BBC World Service remains the most respected and trusted provider of news. In every country where it can be heard, those listening rely on the World Service to give them the Truth.

If, in the words of the X Files "the Truth is out there", it is in large part out there because of the BBC.

Secondly, British Managers can be found in important positions everywhere.

It is clearly widely recognised that "Brits" bring personal and team-related qualities that are far above the norm.

Those qualities are in great demand and make British Management an irreplaceable asset around the Globe.

My countryman Robert Burns recognised that it is right and proper that people have a "guid conceit" of themselves.

Whilst complacency must always be avoided like the plague, British Management can rightly have the "conceit" that they continue to set a standard that others can only have as an ambition.

Pay For Convenience OR Have A Nice Walk. That's Choice!

As you may be aware, the Bank Machine Team are very proud of the work we have been able to do to bring ATMs to communities which have not previously had ATM services or where High Street Banks have closed their branches/removed their machines.

Sometimes we are able to operate these ATMs as Free To Use. On other occasions, only Pay To Use is viable.

In any event, what we bring is a high level of service that the community in question has never enjoyed before.

In light of the good work we have been doing, I feel able to take issue with some individuals who have contacted me in relation to providing Free To Use ATMs for their areas.

Their requests are often couched in language such as "it is a disgrace that no free cash machine is available".

Disgrace? Well, if a High Street Bank has simply walked away from a community, taking its ATM with it, there may well be a genuine cause for complaint - and Bank Machine will always try to help neighbourhoods that have suffered in this way.

However, where no Free To Use ATM has ever been present, I do not believe any criticism can be leveled at the operators of Pay To Use ATMs.

They have stepped in to provide a new service and that service has to be economically viable to survive.

Part of that viability is being able to afford to pay reasonable rents to local shopkeepers. Such rents are often important in helping those shopkeepers survive, so the new ATM can be seen to be supporting the local community in two ways.

It should also be remembered that Bank Machine suggested to Link (who connect up all the ATMs in the UK) several years ago, that ALL ATMs in particularly needy areas should be subsidised so they could operate a Free To Use service.

That idea did not suit Link at the time because it may have cost as "much as" £20M a year for the whole UK..

With hindsight, most fair-minded people would see that as a tiny price to pay, particularly in the context of the losses many High Street Banks have subsequently run up in complex mortgage lending around the World.

Finally, sometimes when I am told in correspondence that there is no local Free To Use ATM, I find there actually IS such an ATM in the neighbourhood, but the writer does not feel like walking a few hundred yards to the machine in question!

Whilst appreciating that some people cannot get about very easily or even at all, it does have to be recognised that ATMs cannot literally provide a "home delivery" service.

For most of us, a nice walk would be a bonus in terms of getting out of the house and keeping fit.

So "Take Up Your Wallets And Walk" would be my sporting message to those able-bodied individuals who perhaps complain too much!

Farming Tragedy

I was listening to BBC Radio 4 Farming Today this morning and heard a very sad story.

John Rowland, a dairy farmer in the South West, is selling his herd, ending more than a century of milk production under the management of his family.

John runs a large herd and is very efficient. He employs several people and has tremendous support from his wife and children.

For thirty years, the Rowland family worked for almost nothing, taking the optimistic approach that "next year" would be better. But "next year" never arrived.

Each month, John has been writing cheques out to the 40 suppliers who meet the needs of his farm. What was left in his bank account equated to pay of less than £2 an hour as the "reward" for all Johns hard work.

I have no easy answers. I just hope that the next time you pick up a carton of ridiculously cheap milk at your local shop, you do the same thing I did this morning. Shed a tear.

Ron Delnevo

Too Much News

In the good old days, before we had 200 TV Channels and, specifically, dedicated (to what?) News Channels, the BBC TV and Radio News were the services people all over the World relied on. And rely they could, because the news was as factual as could be achieved and presented in as sober a manner as possible.

Nowadays, we have 24 Hour News Stations employing photogenic and charismatic actors and actresses as news readers. There obviously are not enough soap powder adverts to fully occupy such members of Equity.

My suggestion?

Firstly, go back to selecting newsreaders for their brains, not their looks and acting talents.

Secondly, limit each news bulletin to the length of time it takes to convey the "real" news available. In other words, no fixed duration news programmes - once the news runs out, occupy the spare time with music, restful visuals - or even Soap Powder adverts!

Ron Delnevo

A Fiddle? We Need A New Tune.

Is anyone else getting a little(?!) tired of the MPs expenses story?

Whilst there may be a little amusement value to some in the discomfiture of the "Great and the Good", the fact is that all the monies overclaimed over the years would not pay for two miles of well constructed motorway.

Whilst MPs are spending their time defending claims that were in 99% of cases within the rules (however silly some of those rules may have been!), the vital business of getting the UK economy working again is now at about item 10 on the National Agenda.

It is time to move on - and to realise that there are no "better" politicians lurking amongst the British Public (that's you and me, by the way!). Just more average human beings likely to make the same mistakes as the current lot.

Ron Delnevo

Looking to blame someone? Just look in the mirror!

We live in a Society where each of us has a tendency to want to blame someone else.

Neighbours, fellow commuters, bankers, social workers, politicians are all convenient scapegoats in various circumstances. Taken together, they are usually asked to carry 100% of the burden of guilt none of us as individuals want to share.

A President of the USA once had a sign on his desk proclaiming "The Buck Stops Here". Today, it always seems to stop elsewhere.

Each of us, in our own little way, is an expert in passing the buck. That's the way we avoid seeing ourselves as less than the perfect human beings most of our mothers imagine they gave birth to.

Anyway, we owe it to our fellow human beings to regularly carry out a reality check, a self-audit, if you like. In most cases, that process would lead us to admit we are at least as much sinners than sinned against.

Next time you find yourself blaming someone else, pause to consider whether you might like to share responsibility. If the answer is "yes", you have taken the first step towards making the World a better place for all of us, even if it is a little less comfortable for you personally.

Ron Delnevo

Drive Your Country To Better Times!

The worst impacted sector in the UK economy currently (apart from housing) is the car industry. Many thousands of jobs depend on our car manufacturing base, so it is time to act!

Car sales are down around 50% at the moment - yet most people who would normally have been buying/leasing a new car are better off than ever, because of falling retail prices and mortgage repayments.

Any savings we have at the moment are earning diddly-squat in terms of interest - so why bother saving?

GET OUT THERE AND BUY OR LEASE A NEW CAR - THE DEALS ARE FANTASTIC!!!

And the biggest deal of all?

YOU WILL BE HELPING TO KEEP THOUSANDS OF HARD WORKING PEOPLE IN THEIR JOBS!

Ron Delnevo

We Are Still Working - AND Spending!

One of the most revealing statistics to appear in the last week was that ONLY 86000 more people in the UK became unemployed in the last three months of 2008.

I use the word ONLY quite deliberately.

From the media coverage it could easily be imagined that nobody has a job any more, that all of the British Public's (that's you and me, by the way!) money has suddenly been confiscated and that all British Banks are on the verge of closure.

There is something akin to hysteria being generated by the media currently. They need a few pills or, better still, to take up Yoga.

Relaxation, not panic, should be the dish of the day on the News Menu!

No one is pretending that times are easy - and it is no fun if you are one of those just made redundant. However, caution is now beginning to slow down the economy - we need more spending: and by individuals, not just Government.

So the message for February is simple - if you have been saving for a rainy day, be assured the deluge has arrived - so now is the time to SPEND!

Put another way: IF YOU HAVE GOT IT, FLAUNT IT!

Ron Delnevo

P.S. Start by buying a new car: you know you really CAN afford it, whatever the media say!

On the Button 2008

Sold Short By Short Sellers

The latest financial crisis has highlighted the wonderfully profitable activities of those in the City who cause share prices to fall.

Wait a minute, I hear you say, don't you mean FORECAST share prices will fall?

NO , I DON'T!

These particular bottom-feeders are not satisfied with the relatively subtle art of forecasting. They want to cause favourable (for them) outcomes, not just forecast them.

And the power of these people to influence outcomes is immense.

Don't be fooled by their protestations, e.g. "we only controlled 3% of the HBOS shares". Their downward manipulation of share prices can cause a stampede. RIP the target company.

Interestingly, the Short Sellers do not even own the shares in which they trade. They simply borrow them from the Pension Funds which manage the Public's (that's you and me, by the way) retirement nest eggs. Having loaned the shares, the Pension Fund Managers then watch to see what the Short Sellers do (er, move the share price down, stupid!) and then rush to follow.

That explains why the HBOS share price went from over £2 to about 80p in a few minutes - Short Selling followed by a stampede of the Pension Fund Managers.

When the share price has fallen, the Short Sellers buy them back cheaply and return the now less valuable shares to the Pension Fund from which they were borrowed.

If that all sounds a little crazy, that's because the interests of many - the prospective pensioners in this case - are sold down the river to suit the ends of the small number of people who short sell for a living. They become multi-millionaires whilst everyone else, including an estimated 40000 redundant HBOS staff, move closer to the poverty line.

Let's hope the temporary ban that has now been imposed on short selling in Bank Shares is made permanent. This particular facet of the Free Market needs to be curbed whilst we still have have some semblance of a Capitalist economy left.

Ron Delnevo

Leaving Team GB?

There has been quite a bit of publicity in the last few days about companies leaving Britain because of "high" corporate taxation.

When the facts are examined, it turns out Britain still has amongst the lowest corporate taxation in Europe but the Irish have slashed their company tax.

Ireland is a lovely country, but of late the economy has apparently been a little rocky. It's understandable therefore that they have taken the route of becoming a Tax Haven ( like some of the smaller Carribean islands) to try to kick start their finances.

Britain, of course, is NOT a tiny island. We remain one of the Worlds significant economic players and, as Team GB proved at the Olympics, a major force in EVERY aspect of activity on this planet.

On a personal level, I can tell you that I have travelled very extensively but never found anywhere better to live than Britain. Most Russian Oligarchs seem to agree with me because they have moved over here in their droves!

So my message to those that jump ship is quite straightforward: GOOD RIDDANCE - and wonderful Team GB won't miss you!

Ron Delnevo

Talk Cheapens

Have you ever had the feeling that the British Public (that's you and me, by the way!) are being talked into a recession?

Whenever there is the slightest sign of a problem in the economy, some "Guru" emerges to gladden our hearts by announcing things will soon be much, much worse.

And because they say so, it generally comes to pass. No doubt all of these "experts" are products of fine Universities and their brain cells could probably fill the Grand Canyon to the brim. Still, it can't be right that such people get paid by the media purely to predict doom and gloom. When did you last see an expert wheeled out to tell us that everything is wonderful?

"Happiness Headlines" apparently don't induce people to read newpapers or switch on the television news. Odd, because we DO watch films like Mama Mia. In some ways it may be the worst movie ever made but certainly does one thing the experts can never achieve - IT LEAVES US FEELING GOOD!

Ron Delnevo

Building Societies - A Far From Rocky Future!

Some people are dismayed that the Northern Rock is back in public ownership - but not me.

The truth is that the Northern Rock should have remained a Building Society in the first place. Its move to PLC status has turned out to be a disaster, with all the values that make Building Societies great seemingly forgotten.

There are still over fifty Building Societies in the UK, mostly doing their business quietly, efficiently, and most important of all, with the best interests of their members firmly as their top priority.

Savers are returning to the Building Societies in their thousands as they realise the value of the genuine security and peace of mind the Societies offer.

We should all welcome the resurgence of a movement that has served the British Public (that's you and me, by the way!) well for two centuries.

Ron Delnevo

On The Button 2007

THE NATIONAL PAYMENTS PLAN - MAKE IT YOURS!

In the very near future, public consultation on the National Payments Plan will commence, with the objective of finalising the Plan during the first half of 2008.

There is a grave danger that the public will see this as an intellectual exercise, with no practical impact on their lives.

NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

The Plan could impact almost everything we do in our daily lives e.g.

• Will we have cheques in a few years time?
• Will we still have the same coins as we have now?
• Will cash use still be as easy as it is today?
• Will there we be common standards for contactless cards and mobile phone payment technology?

Etc, etc.

If the public don't make their wishes clear, we could end up with a Plan that suits Banks and Card Issuers but which deprives the rest of us of that most valuable asset - CHOICE.

So please don't waste this opportunity to play your part in the future of our country. Check out the UK Payments Council Website - AND MAKE YOUR VIEWS CLEAR BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

Ron Delnevo

CONTACTLESS CARDS - ARE CARD ISSUERS LOSING CONTACT WITH REALITY?

Bank Machine will during August 2007 publish research that blows apart the case for "contactless" Debit Cards.

Full details will follow shortly, but just as a taster, I can today reveal that only 15% of those interviewed during the research said they were "very likely" to use a "contactless" card for purchases under £10, that amount being the maximum amount that can be approved initially without proper security e.g. a PIN, being used.

SO, SURPRISE, SURPRISE, 85% OF US (that's you and me, by the way!) ARE QUITE HAPPY TO GO ON USING CASH - YES, THAT SAME CASH THAT THE CARD ISSUERS KEEP TELLING US WE DON'T REALLY WANT ANY MORE!

This in turn has two further implications:-

Firstly, Retailers are being asked by Card Issuers to spend money on / give up counter space to accomodate this new equipment, EQUIPMENT THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE PUBLIC (that's you and me, by the way!) HAVE CLEARLY INDICATED THEY DO NOT WANT TO USE.

Secondly, no time will be saved in queues: IN FACT THERE ARE LIKELY TO BE FURTHER DELAYS, WITH THE FEW PEOPLE WHO DO TRY TO USE THESE NEW CARDS NOT BEING SURE HOW THEY WORK - OR EVEN WHETHER A PARTICULAR STORE ACCEPTS THEM.

The Card Issuers are planning for a launch of this "contactless" (£-less?) society in October this year. Thankfully for those who prefer the warm feeling that cash brings, it looks unlikely this particular "launch" will ever get off the ground. Never mind though: I am sure the Card Issuers and their sponsoring Banks will recover the wasted investment in the usual manner:

FROM THEIR CUSTOMERS (that's you and me, by the way!).

Ron Delnevo