Goodbye Halifax, we loved you well
I know, it hasn't been the Halifax since it merged with the Bank of Scotland (Why? Why??) But to us Halifax people its name never changed. It put us on the map and most of us stayed loyal to it. We were proud of its success. And now it's gone! Twelve billion pounds. A pittance in these crazy money days.
Who do I owe my money to now? Lloyds TSB? Hmm.. nicer building, though (in Halifax anyway):
I've always thought so, compared to what we still call the new "HBOS" head office (even though it was built in 1973):
Ugly, isn't it? I always thought that no good could come from such a silly, top-heavy structure.
They should have stuck to the old place: we were all fond of that.
My mother worked there when she left school in 1959 and had to leave when she got married in 1963.
I never thought I'd take this financial crash at all personally, but I'll really miss the Halifax.
posted by Gill at
07:51
6 Comments:
I worked for them for over 25 years. The good old days were the best...pre all the mergers/takeovers when customer service was personal and staff were treated as people... but it got too target driven and cut throat. This 'fall' has been on the cards for ages...they got too big for their boots imo!! It's such a shame. The number of people/managers who became ill or worse because of the stress and silly targets was terrible. Being the biggest isn't always the best. There were some terribly swollen-headed people working in that 'place'.
The old branch buildings had the best characters...and funny stories. Near the old Huddersfield Cloth Hall Street branch some buildings had been demolished...near where Nat West is now..and not far from the old Lloyds Bank office as it happens!! A few days later someone noticed the evicted rats from the demolition site were looking for a new home and saw there was one 'posing' in the main front display window!!! One of the male clerks kindly moved it on into the next world by whacking it with a shovel!!
Oh wow, I never knew you were there for 25 years! Well, you've mentioned a bank, but I didn't know it was that one, and for so long. (I bet you know my stepdad if you were at the Cloth Hall St branch for 25 years.)
That story made me laugh! Hmmm. There will be many rats (and decent people) looking for new homes in the next few months, one way and another, won't there? :-/
Ooooooo! You'll HAVE to tell me now who he is. Can't leave me guessing!! E-mail, e-mail....:o)
I have a few people in mind.
About the story...think it was a customer who rang in to say "Excuse me, but you have a rat in your window".
LOL! Done :-)
I've had an account with the Halifax since the 1970s. Somewhere I still have my original passbook with a picture of the then rather new head office on it.
Ah Riaz - a treasured heirloom! It amazes me that building still stands actually - what a crazy structure. Impossibly top-heavy, like the company it represented, it seems.
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