JNBS reaches out to rural areas, youth

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

As the Automotives series on mobile offices heads to a close, today, the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) facility takes the spotlight.

The JNBS has been making use of their mobile unit for the past five months, reaching out to customers who reside in rural areas. The unit was introduced as the financial institution saw a need to provide more financial service access to those persons. Therefore, JNBS has been piloting the 'cashless' mobile service to its members linked to its branches across the island.

Introduced in May, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is prominently branded with the company's logo. While the service is new to Jamaica, it has worked for JNBS overseas.

"We have successfully operated a mobile service in the United Kingdom since 2006," Michele Pollard Gonzalez, executive, Enterprise Contact Center and Member Ombudsman at JNBS, said. "The local mobile unit is now being used to support our customer base in communities that are not close to our traditional branches and new JN Money Shop locations."

She explained that the full-sized van, which was custom-built to meet the specific needs of Jamaica National, was imported from the UK. Gonzalez added: "The mobile unit is being used primarily to conduct cashless transactions and to promote our products and services to members in their communities, as well as to support our promotional activities at special marketing events."

It is deployed strategically, in sync with the business cycle. "Our mobile team has toured the parish of St Mary. Visits are scheduled to selected communities during busy periods, such as the end of the month and dates close to public holidays. This is to assist with the high traffic in our branches during those periods," Gonzalez noted.

The mobile unit was also used in the recent JNBS University and Colleges Campus Tour, during which teams from the organisation participated in student orientation exercises at several tertiary institutions across the island.

Michael Collins, acting sales manager at JNBS, said "This unit allows JN members to access information about their accounts, JN products and services. It is fully powered, computerised, air-conditioned and fitted with seating, which enables representatives to meet with customers in comfort. It is also equipped with a retractable awning for protection from the sun."

VERY EFFECTIVE

He pointed out: "As a promotional tool, we find that the mobile unit is very effective, as it is trendy and eye-catching and is the perfect replacement to a traditional display booth, which sometimes limits the activities we can undertake."

The JNBS mobile unit is especially suited to a particular demographic. "We are also structuring the use of the unit to facilitate the expansion of our relationship with the youth market, as its flexibility will be an asset in that programme," Collins said.

Collins reported that the public continues to provide favourable feedback about the JNBS mobile unit. "Members have commented about its convenience, innovativeness and the accessibility that it provides," he said.