Is there a decent, reliable bank out there?

[Joe 90]

So, yesterday I found out someone had managed to use my card online & there were 5 payments to play.com of almost £1000 so phoned up the understaffed phone lines of HSBC and got my card cancelled & money refunded.

This is an exceptionally bad time of year not to have access to money! I assumed it'd be simple to walk into a branch on a Saturday and get someone to help me withdraw some cash.

How wrong I was. First branch were understaffed & said even if they had someone to help the most they would give me is £50 - what use is that amount of money!? Second said they have no access to the safe.
Anyway, I'm going on a bit - ended up transferring money to my mums account & going to a cash machine!

Its times like this when without a card I wish I had a second (emergency) account that I keep some money in but never use for online transactions.
The trouble is every time I hear someone talking about their bank its about how bad they are.
Is there a decent bank out there that I could open such an account with?

My mum suggested I open a savings account with Tesco - shes got one and says its pretty good. Its a sad day when you have to go to a supermarket to provide your banking requirements!

Any suggestions?