I'm glad my account isn't with the HSBC. We went there to pay a bill but it turned out to be one of their many branches where they've got rid of counter service. They had a 'podium' in the middle of the branch where you could wait for service but if there was no staff around, you could be waiting for ages.

It also meant that whenever any staff wander in from the back of the branch, they might not see you waiting and could serve, for example, the bloke who wandered straight to the back of the branch without waiting. It's a bit crappy of the staff to not check whether people were waiting first.

Pretty well anything you need to do in the branch has to be done using the machines. This isn't always self-explanatory. To pay a bill, you have to use the 'Paying In' machine, but nowhere does it mention paying bills. The machine looks like it's designed for depositing money into your account rather than paying bills. And if you ask a member of staff for help, you run the risk of being talked down to in a very patronising manner.

It was not a pleasant banking experience.