ATLANTA - Bank of America Corp. says a series of "express" branches it has begun testing around Atlanta in recent weeks will add a crucial ingredient to its services: speed.
The Charlotte, N.C., company has remodeled four branches in the "Bank of America Express" format as part of a "prototype market" experiment in Atlanta, where it is trying out retail concepts it hopes will win higher customer satisfaction ratings - and more business.
The company says it picked some of its busiest sites in Atlanta to test the "express" idea. One is in an office park; another is in a shopping mall; and two are in grocery stores.
These branches are a cross between the traditional banking office and an upscale coffee shop. They are designed for basic banking transactions - deposits and withdrawals - and are built around a series of well-lit teller windows reminiscent of an airline ticket counter. The offices also have extra tellers and automated teller machines, self-service "quick info zones" with Web banking terminals, and even small coffee bars.
They lack desk-bound bankers waiting to take applications for new accounts or loans, though customers can apply for these products in special rooms equipped with videoconference links with bankers elsewhere.
The company also hopes to use the extra employees to steer customers toward less costly - and sometimes quicker - self-service channels, such as ATMs, online banking terminals, and videoconferencing links.
Amy G. Brady, the Bank of America senior vice president who is overseeing the Atlanta prototype market, said it chose the name "express" to convey the idea that the branches emphasize "fast, accurate, and friendly service" but have limited capabilities. "And that's what we want to portray. You're not going to get everything there because it's cut back on some services."
Each express branch is sited near a more substantial "financial center," which offers basic transactions, financial planning advice, loan origination services, Web-linked computers, and even education programs.
Though the company would like customers at the "financial centers" to spend time discussing their financial needs with bankers and learning about products, the "express centers" are supposed to give on-the-go customers faster service, Ms. Brady said. "We want these to have a zero- to three-minute wait time."
The experiment has inevitably prompted comparisons with one of the banking industry's most notorious recent branch banking failures: First Union Corp.'s "Future Bank" initiative in which the company slashed branch staff and tried to steer customers away from tellers but instead drove some of them to competitors.
Ms. Brady said the Atlanta prototype market is not like the Future Bank project because as a whole it tries to offer customers more banking options, not fewer.
Besides the express and financial center branches, the prototype market experiment also features about 15 traditional branches, which executives plan to spice up with some of the best ideas generated at the two types of test branches.
Nancy Bush, an analyst at Ryan, Beck & Co., said she sees some differences between Future Bank and Bank of America's version of an express branch.
"Future Bank was sort of a heavy-handed attempt to get customers to use technology that they didn't necessarily want to use," Ms. Bush said. "I think that to a certain degree, there is a difference" in Bank of America's approach. "They are picking already heavily used branches, not sort of banging customers over the head and saying, 'You must do it our way.' "
As customers enter an express branch, they are greeted by a "service specialist" whose job is to identify the person's needs and point them to a teller, telephone, computer, or videoconferencing room. The specialists also steer customers towards ATMs or online banking terminals and help them navigate the machines.
Employees at the Bank of America Express branch in the Peachtree Lenox shopping mall in Atlanta's upscale Buckhead district demonstrated a videoconferencing link last week to a customer service operator at a B of A call center in Richmond, Va. The video link was clear, if a bit shaky, and audible, and it was easy to imagine a back-and-forth conversation about a loan application or new account.
Video link operators also can show Web pages or other materials on the computer screen.
Though it is too early to measure the project's results, branch employees say their customers appear receptive to the makeover.
Michael Rupert, who manages the two-week-old shopping mall branch, said that initially he was concerned that customers would be unhappy with the changes but that short or nonexistent lines and extra help with ATMs and other equipment have helped win them over.
"I've found a majority of people are open to it," he said. "When I say, 'Can I show you how to pull up your statement online?' they like it."
