OK, it wasn’t exactly my ATM. But it was close and convenient and I used it a lot. For as long as I can remember there’s been a Bank of America ATM at the QFC at Oyster Bay Plaza on Kitsap Way. Not any more.
Apparently the ATM was removed in the last few days. BOA’s web site is still showing that there’s a standalone ATM (one not located at a bank branch) in the QFC. It gets a number 1 in the search results when I type in my address in the Search box, meaning it is the closest ATM to my house. Curiously it is (actually, was) the only standalone BOA ATM in Bremerton. The next closest is in Port Orchard. I didn’t know that. A major reason I bank with BOA is that I thought they had ATMs just about everywhere.
In the QFC a snippy sign advises would-be ATM users that BOA pulled out the ATM on their own without involving QFC in the decision. But not to worry. Customers can get cash back when they make a purchase with a debit card. The sign closes with the standard but useless business apology: “We are sorry for the inconvenience.” There’s no information for the curious on where the ATM went (did it retire, move to a higher traffic location, get put in storage) or the desperate (where is the next closest ATM located).
I learned this on my bike ride today. I’m taking the ferry to Seattle this evening so I stopped at the QFC to withdraw some cash from the ATM just for convenience. I have used that ATM hundreds of time, mostly when I shop at the QFC but also pretty much any time I need some $20’s. At one time in its long history you could make bank deposits there. Even after that function was removed, I kept using it.
I shouldn’t hold this against the QFC because it’s a corporate decision by BOA bean counters. A reminder to customers that apparently we weren’t using that ATM enough. Still I can’t help thinking that the defection of a good chunk of QFC customers to the new Win Foods store up the road is somehow related.
Well, I’m over it. Gotta go. I need to leave early for the ferry so I can stop at the BOA branch in downtown Bremerton on the way.
Mud Bay Blog 
I feel your pain. Only it was Wells Fargo. BofA bank and ATM had fled the area long ago. First they closed the bank leaving a outpost, then they closed that leaving an ATM. Then they closed that. They recently opened a new ATM in a different location but it only has street parking. Do they want our money or not?
Where is your closet BofA?