I would like to draw readers’ attention to the poor customer service I and my fellow sufferers recently experienced at the HSBC Bank branch in Sliema.

It took 55 minutes for me to get two cheques cashed on the morning of August 7. After 35 minutes in the slow-moving queue, I asked to speak to the manager and the assistant manager appeared 45 minutes later.

I and 17 others waiting in the queue complained about the long wait. I said I wanted to register an official complaint and the assistant manager took my particulars to convey to her still-invisible superior.

Four days later, I was still waiting for an apology and an explanation from the manager.

I think it reasonable to conclude that s/he has no intention of contacting me.

I would like to know how long the manager thinks it acceptable for us to queue for a cash-related service. I feel 10 minutes should suffice.

Many of the people in the queue were elderly and complained that though the branch is obviously a busy one, yet, it has been failing to match staffing to customer demand for several years now. With $10.2 billion pre-tax profit in the first half of this year, I think HSBC could afford to build and staff a third counter for busy periods like Monday morning.

I imagine the manager is sufficiently competent to be able to make staff provision for this too, even if lacking in the most basic customer relation skills.

I hope this letter will provoke not just an apology from HSBC but action leading to significantly improved customer service very soon.