Primis Bank and ATM George Washington Memorial Hwy, Gloucester Point

If it isn't broken don't fix it! Sona Bank just became Premis Bank and even though they are saying it is the same bank, I strongly disagree. I noticed the few reviews on this site (all favorable) were four years ago when the bank was still Sona. I had been with Southside Bank when it became EVB, then it became Sona and now it is Premis. So far my experience has been frustrating. I prefer doing my business with a "small town" bank where you are not just an account number - which is why I became a Southside Bank customer decades ago and still stuck with the bank after all the name changes. It was nice to be able to pick up the phone and call the local branch and speak to the branch manager or one of the tellers. It seems those days are over. I have called three times since it became Premis and I have to sit through the long droning automated answering machine and select the appropriate option. Then it says to press another option to get a accurate time estimate that I will have to wait to speak to someone or I can leave a number and someone will call back. The wait has never been less than 15 minutes and then when I am finally connected, it is a person in another state. I asked why the wait now, and was told if the local branch is busy it automatically is put in the que to wait for a call center who is "busy" answering calls for customers in four states. As a Sona Bank customer I have always paid my bills online (not using the bank's bill pay) and regardless of the day, time or if it was a holiday, I could always pull up my online account transactions and all my payments would immediately appear. I made several payments from my account over the Memorial Day weekend and when I looked at my account Monday none of them appeared. I looked again Tuesday and they still didn't appear. I used the Premis "chat" feature (so I wouldn't have to be put on hold for 15+ minutes) and the representative told me it was because it was a holiday and my payments would appear Wednesday. She insisted it has always been that way. Sorry, but it wasn't always that way and I really didn't appreciate being told I was wrong about something I have done without fail for many years now. I believe before when it was EVB or Sona they advertised it as "NOW banking" meaning everything appeared immediately. The Premis associates continue to insist it is the same bank but it isn't. I did a little research and discovered Sona was a subsidiary of Southern National Bancorp who switched names to Premis and in the process switched Sona as well. with that said, In a convoluted way "it is still Sona" In 2020 they acquired a young new CEO who is touting his changes as being a "new modern digital bank". Sadly, as so many things now, younger leaders feel the need to come in and reinvent the wheel. Some changes are good and can be welcoming but many are not for the better. This change is definitely not for the better and feels like a step back. But please don't tell me" nothing has changed" and "its the same bank." It is the equivalent of peeing on someone's leg and telling them its raining. I will be searching for a new hometown bank.