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SCMP Reporter

HSBC's new customer queuing ticket system  may be putting bums on seats, but is not  always living up  to its name - Smart-Queue.

'It is good to have the seats there, but the estimated waiting time printed on the ticket was not that accurate,' one Personal account holder said.

'It said I just needed to wait for six minutes. Instead, I had waited for 15!'

The banking giant has introduced  the queuing system in many of its  branches across Hong Kong.

According to a spokeswoman, it  is designed to help customers manage their time better.

'With the estimated waiting time printed on the ticket, customers can now have an idea on how long they need to wait before they could be served,' she said.

Customers entering branches using  the Smart-Queue system must choose from  a control  panel carrying   six buttons -  A-C for  Premier, Powervantage and Personal accounts, and  D-F  for business accounts, document collection and personal financial consultants.

HSBC claims that showing the estimated waiting time on the ticket gives  its customers the flexibility to carry on with other activities while waiting  their turn to be served.

Although many  customers approached by Sunday Money welcomed the opportunity to take  a seat while  waiting, some were sceptical about  time-management potential.

One Premier account holder said the ticket showing the estimated waiting time was not much help.

'Sometimes my actual waiting time is way shorter than the estimated, but sometimes it is the other way around,' she said.

Many  customers  said they were unlikely to take advantage of the waiting time to leave the branch and would rather wait to be called to the counter.

Some were unsure what would happen if they missed their turn.

'If customers have missed their turn but come back within the estimated waiting time listed on the ticket, they will be served immediately,'  the spokeswoman said. 'If not, they would have to queue up all over again.'

The system was piloted last year  at the bank's Cityplaza branch in Taikoo Shing and received positive feedback from staff and customers, she said.

Two other high street banks, Standard Chartered  and Hang Seng,  are still using  conventional queuing  and have no immediate plans of adopting a Smart-Queue-type system.

'Our current queuing arrangements at our branches are appropriate,'  a spokesman for Standard Chartered said.

'We have service ambassadors standing by [to]  guide the customers to the appropriate counters and queues for service.'

HSBC sister bank Hang Seng Bank said it was considering the new system.

'We are  studying the Smart-Queue system along with other systems, a spokeswoman said.

'But we are not planning to adopt the Smart-Queue system for now.'



Mixed  reaction  to HSBC smart queues