Branch Spotlight: Lambton Quay

In this entry in our Branch Spotlight series we travel to Wellington to speak to Hayden Rix, Branch Manager of ASB Lambton Quay, a short stroll from the Beehive and Parliament Buildings of the capital.

Have you noticed any major changes in how your customers bank over the years?
“Definitely. More and more people are moving to our online channels FastNet Classic and ASB Mobile.  With smartphones being the current must have for a lot of people, our mobile banking app ASB Mobile has been one of the things that more and more of our customers want and use.”

What’s the most unusual customer request you’ve ever had?
“Beer!  I had a customer once say that “if your branch served beer, I wouldn’t leave!” I took that as a great compliment but I don’t think it’s something we’ll be introducing any time soon, though.”

Does your branch get involved with any community events?
“Yes.  We support our local schools with galas and fundraising.  We also get involved in activities outside of schools like the Weetbix Kids TRYathlon, our people volunteer their time to help out at these events.”

How does Lambton Quay differ from a normal suburban branch?
“Our client base is very busy and likes to get things done quickly.  We’re always promoting other digital channels to use so that their banking doesn’t impact their personal time too much.  Our peak time is from 11:30am to 2:30pm when everyone is off work for lunch. It can be quite busy over this time and we ensure that we have as many people on the floor as possible to assist our customers.

Our customers have high expectations around the quality of service that we provide and this is where we take the initiative and look for ways in which we can help them get their banking done faster.”

Does being so close to many government departments change the way your branch operates?
“Yes and no.  With government departments they tend to have strict timeframes they have to be meeting, so we make ourselves available to see our customers when they can see us.  This is why we try and look outside of the typical Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm time slots to be able to assist them.  We’ve recently changed our opening hours on a Saturday to reflect the demands of our customers.”

What do you enjoy most about working at Lambton Quay?
“The speed of this environment!  No two days are the same.  While we’re near the government departments, we also have a diverse range of customers from students flatting for the first time to homeowners with very complex financial needs. Our branch also features a very young team (I’m the second oldest at 37).”

Check out our previous Branch Spotlights here, have we visited your local ASB?

Will we put the spotlight on your local ASB branch? Be sure to check the ASB Blog regularly for our next Branch Spotlight.