A survey conducted by business Day has revealed that most banks in the country don’t have restrooms for their customers, a situation which has become a matter of grave concern to many stakeholders in recent times.
Clients queue for long hours in the various banking halls and have to walk out of the bank premises to use washrooms of nearest neighbour.
At GCB Bank at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, dozens of customers queue inside the banking hall for different services such as withdrawing, depositing, loan application, among others.
When our reporter got to the banking hall, three men get out of the banking hall in a hurry – just like someone rushing for an appointment.
They are seeking a different service. One of the men asked the bank van driver at the parking yard; “Where can we find the restrooms?” he asks before the driver leads them the way.
You cannot find a labeled door that leads you to restrooms at this bank that has been here for so many years. The only restroom at the bank is for the bank’s staff.
To access GCB’s restrooms, you need a guide. Otherwise, it will require you to drop what you are doing and walk out to look for a public restroom either at the city hall or a neighboring building if you cannot confront the bank staff.
The situation at the nation’s commercial bank, often compelled its clients to take the risk of crossing the street to access the Vienna City hotel’s restrooms right opposite the bank’s premises.
At the Darkuman Branch of Ecobank Ghana, officials told Business Day that there are no plans now or in the future to put in place restrooms for customers. They also disclosed the same as their competitors that they are always ready to share their private spaces with customers only if the need be.
“There are no washrooms for our customers. But those seeking the service can always ask our staff to help them. We do this on the basis that most of them (customers) spend less time in the banking hall,” an official of the bank told Business Day.
On a rather twisted look to this story, Business Day while on its quest to unravel the reasons behind lack of restrooms for customers came into contact with two banks namely UBA and Fidelity Bank, which have provided washrooms for clients.
Officials of the UBA banks branch, located at Dzorwulu, a suburb of Accra, claimed the bank saw the need to provide private rooms for their customers who until recently, used to share washrooms located at places that were deemed as out of bound for customers.
The bank official recounted how inconvenient it was those days when bank staff and customers had to share the same restrooms.
“Often crowded, staff and workers had to wait for minutes before using free restrooms. This created problems for both customers and workers because every minute in the banking sphere counts for money gained or lost and just as banks provide other customer care services, restrooms should be given equal attention,” he stated.
Fidelity Bank, residing within the same of Dzorwulu also have restrooms for our customers located outside the banking hall.
“It finally occurred to us that we were being unfair not to provide restrooms for our customers. It was just wrong on our part to assume that clients won’t need to use washrooms while they are to be served.”
He further expounded that their restrooms are looked outside the building to easily differentiate between staff and customer restrooms. He said that this initiative is also for security reasons
“You never really know who walks into a banking hall these days. You cannot even tell the difference between a hacker and an ordinary customer. Sharing restrooms at vantage points tagged to be “for staff only” is always a dangerous ground to tread upon,” he explained.
According to Daniel Mensah – Executive Director, Ghana Institute of Bankers, there is no regulation prohibiting banks from providing washrooms, but it is only a matter of planning.
“There are no international standards that determine whether or not a bank should have restrooms meant for customers at their premises. My observation is that it all depends on whether the premises that a bank chooses to use for a banking hall can be modelled to accommodate restrooms for both customers and staff,” he told Business Day.
Banks have made great strides in putting customer care at the forefront of their operations over the years but this very important issue also needs to be addressed in equal measure.
Mr. Mensah however, said that in most modern buildings where banks have set up branches, landlords have made provision for shared restrooms which are adequate for all visitors. In that case, he said there is no need for a bank to have separate rest rooms.
“Unfortunately in many cases, the buildings that banks rent for their branches are not adequately serviced with public rest rooms and banks have to contend with sharing available rest rooms between staff and customers,” he said.
Mr. Mensah hopes that with construction of modern branches and refurbishment of old ones, banks will take the matter of public toilets into consideration while renting premises.
By Gabriel Odonkor
