Disjointed

There appears to be no joined up thinking at HSBC. Today, the Rhuthun/Ruthin branch closed for a month, for refurbishment. I guess that we should welcome the investment. We hope that this ensures the longevity of our remaining bank. But there can be no guarantees. Stranger things have happened: mid-way through building a new supermarket near Llangollen and Sainsbury's pulled out.

Patrons were clearly caught out by the closure. There were even a few expletives

Back to that joined up thinking. Would it have been better to have done this before the Dinbych HSBC branch closed early last month? This would've meant a 16 miles round trip to an alternative. Now, according to the signage on the door, our nearest branch offering full service is Y Fflint. That's just over double the distance. That at Yr Wyddgrug/Mold is a 'digital branch' without counter service, apparently.

But why Y Fflint? Nearest it may be but who's going to go there when Wrecsam is 1.1 miles farther. Wrecsam as a shopping centre may be in sharp decline but it offers much more general facilities and options than Y Fflint. If you walked up to someone in the street and asked them where you might go for alternative facilities for anything, they aren't going to say Y Fflint. It simply isn't in our orbit.

Of course, what's happened is that someone remote to us has asked Google for the nearest HSBC to Rhuthun. It's thrown up Y Fflint. What's missing is the intelligence to realise that as a service centre Y Fflint is far inferior to Wrecsam.