Up Close and Personal in Banking:
Designing Environments for Quality Customer Interactions
By Timothy Bachman, President, Bachman Design
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| Timothy Bachman |
How do you make the activity of banking a more personal, service-oriented
experience? According to Frank Stipes, Chairman and CEO of Westernbank
of Puerto Rico, “Banking encompasses three basic elements:
product, people, and place. Products tend to be the same wherever
you bank. What sets a bank apart from its competition is the quality
of its people and the branch environment.”
With this in mind, Westernbank hired Bachman Design of Dublin,
Ohio to create a high profile, state-of-the-art banking facility
in historic Old San Juan. The goal was to bring the teller “out
from behind the counter” to interact with customers in a more
retail-like setting. Mr. Stipes wished to create a customer experience
that is up close and personal.
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Working with architect Roberto Aybar-Imbert, Bachman Design maintained
the historic character of the building exterior, but transformed
the interior into a vibrant, contemporary space with the latest
in technology. The original building, dating back several hundred
years, was a nondescript warehouse with minimal architectural details.
The design team explored Old San Juan, photographing notable buildings
and developing a period look that would help integrate the proposed
branch with other buildings in Old San Juan. The resulting renovation
features architectural details found on many buildings in the neighborhood.
The design creates a more distinguished facade that accurately reflects
the time period of the building. In addition, the exterior is painted
a vibrant yellow that resonates with the tropical island culture.
This unique branch includes a drive-thru that actually goes through
the building. Parking in Old San Juan is very limited, and drive-thru
service in this busy tourist area is almost nonexistent. The design
challenge was to accommodate customers in every way, from valet
parking to drive-thru service. Westernbank negotiated with the city
of San Juan to change the one-way direction of two adjacent streets
so customers could drive into the building and access the bank’s
drive-thru.
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A primary goal for this project was to move the tellers from behind
the traditional teller counter out into open space where they could
interact with customers in a more personal manner. Bachman Design
initiated this challenge with several on-site visits to observe
tellers working at their stations. An inventory of the contents
of each station was recorded down to every detail, including how
rubber bands and paper clips are used to organize checks and deposit
slips. The challenge was to build a transaction station or “pod”
that streamlined the customer/staff activities into as minimal a
space as possible. Eliminating dated practices of redundant paperwork
and leveraging the power of digital technology, we created a highly
functional unit within a small footprint of space. The entire pod
unit was literally “suspended” over the vault to appear
as if it floated above the floor. Drawers were redesigned to fit
newer forms, and coin dispensers were positioned to service the
customer with easier access.
The standalone teller stations, or “service pods,”
allow tellers to freely interact with customers and roam the branch
floor. The 360º accessible service pods contain easy-to-use
drawers, a cash dispenser, double-teller access to a vault, and
CPU storage. Glowing blue panel lights are integrated into the fixture
design to attract attention and to designate “cash transaction”
areas in the branch. The tellers, outfitted with eyewear equipped
with tiny video screens, can converse one-on-one with customers
while viewing customer account information without looking down
or away from customers.
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While the exterior of the branch with its Spanish character blends
easily into the Old San Juan community, the inside of the branch
pulsates with the latest technology. Colorful images of people and
cultural events as well as scenes of Puerto Rico’s landmarks
and natural beauty move across a 14-foot wide multi-screen video
wall to the rhythms of lively music. This video wall, tilted on
a 5-degree angle and positioned near the entry of the branch, is
visible from the street. The branch, which is strategically located
a short walk from cruise ship docks, uses this multimedia presentation
to attract attention and create a memorable brand image for Westernbank.
Younger customers are a vital part of Westernbank’s future.
Mr. Stipes personally wanted to create a welcoming and high profile
area within the bank for young children and young adults. Following
this directive, the design brief recommended the development of
a personalized area for kids (Westernkids) and teens (Westernteens
Banking). The design team needed to understand which messages
would be appropriate for each age group. Prototype messages to encourage
responsible banking and money management were circulated and tested
for appeal. Each program introduces banking with a youthful ‘attitude’
for the younger customer, and a progressive ‘attitude’
for the young adult. The Westernkids program allows young customers
to manage their own personal accounts and uses incentives to reward
them for banking responsibly. Currently, Westernbank is pursuing
outreach programs with local libraries and bookstores to teach responsible
banking.
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In Puerto Rico families frequently visit bank branches. The design
brief outlined the use of flexible private platform offices that
could accommodate up to 6 visitors at a time within a conventional
space. Bachman Design created a flexible and convertible office
space that features movable storage units that double as extra seating.
Steelcase’s Bix chair was specified to provide a privacy wall
as well as seating while maintaining a traditional office space
configuration of approximately 100 square feet.
Westernbank wanted to provide a relaxed, comfortable area within
the bank that could be used to demonstrate online banking to customers,
or provide an area where customers could explore online banking
on their own. The team designed a coffee/cash transaction bar to
appeal to customers. The café atmosphere with a counter area,
comfortable club chair seating, and Web access encourages customers
to linger, talk and experiment.
Westernbank’s Old San Juan branch reaches out to its customers
in a way that is truly up close and personal. Westernbank—El
Banco del Pueblo—provides environments where people actually
want to spend time visiting, interacting, and banking.
As President of Bachman
Design, Timothy Bachman provides the vision and strategic overview
for implementing integrated communications and merchandising programs
into ‘prepared’ retail and workplace environments.
His 30 years of experience includes strategic
planning, design of knowledge-rich integrated retail environments,
corporate identity programs, visual communication design, merchandising
displays, and interactive multimedia communications. Tim has worked
with banking, manufacturing, specialty retail, communications, and
healthcare clients throughout North America.
This article appeared in the February
2005 eBulletin.
Feedback on DMI Viewpoints and article proposals
are always welcome! Please email jtobin@dmi.org.
All articles reflect the opinion of the author and not the Design
Management Institute.
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