Waiting in line

I'd like to nominate my bank branch for "most room to improve". I've been a customer for 13 years now, time enough to witness and experience how this branch works. There it sits on Passeig de Gracia, one of the best locations in Barcelona, a city that has boomed over the past decade. It attracts many foreigners visiting the city, not at all surprising given that it shares the name of its American parent, but very few of its staff speak any English.
I usually go to the bank once a month to arrange a couple of payments in person. There is always a line of people waiting to see a teller. At most there are two tellers, but one will often vanish for 30 minutes on their coffee break, even when there are six or seven people waiting. I always wonder why senior managers of the staff would tolerate such poor service over such a long time. Perhaps they make their money on other types of services. If this is the case, how they justify the high rent on one of Barcelona's top retail streets. (Inappropriate location)
People who have accounts with the bank in other countries find that this is of little advantage. The operations in each country are completely separate, and there is no special service offered to customers from other countries. (Lost opportunity)
On a personal level there have been a number of incidents over the years which have left me astounded by the bank's inability to look after their customers adequately, but there have also been some good experiences. What surprises most consistently is how they allow people to wait 20 or 30 minutes to get to the teller, how they allow business customers with multiple transactions to keep a teller engaged for 15 minutes, leaving everyone else waiting and why an international bank is unable to act as an international bank, welcome its international customers and treat them properly. Perhaps better service is reserved for those "club members" who hold gold cards... but I wouldn't bet on it.