Branch-based retail banking is an antiquated industry, groping around in the dark for some magic strategy to stay competitive going forward. Some banks have recognized the need to change and reacted accordingly. Not here. In a way, that's "quaint". But it's also "head in the sand", hoping that the world somehow got it wrong and we're not in a new technology-driven era.
"Carrots and sticks" motivational philosophy is outdated.
The skills and knowledge you learn are not portable to other industries:
- You have sales goals to meet, yet you don't have the freedom to practice newer sales methodologies being used in other industries. You're either pestering customers who don't want to buy, or order-taking from those that do. You're also relying on friends and family to help meet sales goals. That's not selling in my book.
- The technology is several decades behind what you need to learn and be using to stay ahead in today's job market.
- Service is closest to any useful, transferable skill-set acquired here, but it's a far cry from the quality provided by other customer-facing retail industries.
The role is demeaning on several levels: (i) senior management knows you're a dispensable resource to experiment with until they find "a better way" (ii) branch management have free rein to behave however they want with no consequences (iii) you know inside that you're now part of the "club" of dying stereotypes that most people avoid--the glad-handing used car salesman, the pushy retail sales clerk, the infomercial pitchman (iv) customers can look up most queries on their cell phones in a fraction of the time it takes to navigate through the archaic, layered platform--making you look stupid.
