Fix NCB ATMs in St Ann

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I have read with interest the stories about the unprecedented profits of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) for the first quarter of 2017. However, my recent experience with the bank has led me to wonder whether it has pursued profit at the expense of customer service.

After attending the recently held Diaspora Conference, I have been spending a few days of vacation with family in the Runaway Bay area. On Monday, I drove out in search of an ATM from which I could withdraw money. Of the three NCB-operated ATMs between Runaway Bay and Discovery Bay, only one was operational.

To be fair, the ATM operated by Scotiabank was also not operational on Monday. However, this seems to have been because it had run out of cash (pre-holiday), and when I checked the following day, the Scotiabank ATM was working.

Not so with the NCB machines. The ATM in Runaway Bay has not been working for close to two months, I have been told. Of the two NCB machines in Discovery Bay, one has also not been working for some time.

A disgruntled customer with whom I was waiting in line on Monday for the sole machine operational within 10km, said that he had no hopes that it would be repaired anytime soon. I suggested to him that he should seek another bank.

I had a car in which I could travel from Runaway Bay to Discovery Bay, so I suffered a minor inconvenience that was quickly resolved. What of those persons who travel by public transportation or foot?

It gives me pause that a bank could be celebrating record-making profits while its customers are left to struggle to access their own funds, which the bank has used to generate these profits. Time to change banks?

ANDREA EWART

Washington, DC