Last day I had to go to one of these public
sector banks to open an account there. It was my first experience at such a
bank and now I have definite answers to why people opt more for private sector
banking. Crowded as it was there was not enough space even for people to sit
and wait comfortably.
After asking about two three persons, the
procedure to open an account there, I was sent to another shop to do the online
filling up of personal details. Obviously the shop was not open then and that
meant another 15 minutes of waiting. Finally the shop owner arrived and after
waiting for him to open the shop, sweep and clean the premises I got to
complete my first step of opening an account.
He then directed me back to the bank, where I
was sent to a counter for ID verification and approval. There was this lady
handling the desk and she was listening to the grievances of an old man. He was
suffering from Parkinson’s disease. I
sat next to him patiently waiting for him to complete his query. As I had guessed,
it was something related to his pension money. He was an army man. Even in his
85th year of life he had a sharp language and was pretty much
confident and strong. Any ways he went on talking about some error in his birth
date and this lady was trying to explain she can do nothing about it and that
it was a mistake from the defence department. Eventually things started going
out of control. People started gathering to know what all the hustle was about
and I stood amidst all this wondering what I should do!! After about half an
hour the general manager finally managed to convince the old man that his
problem would be solved by the next time he arrived and so he left. And thus I completed my second step. From
there I was directed to another counter. I took a token and started waiting. My
number was called and humph! Another trouble! The pass book printing machine
was not working. Since it was pretty
urgent for me to have a account there I had to wait.. About 15 minutes later they finally managed
to repair it and so I was done with my 3rd step. So happy that I had
completed so far I was sent to another counter to complete my final procedure. And
then (I don’t know how so many things can go wrong in a bank), the cheque
transaction machine stopped working!! And all the people who had to use it were
sent to the same counter where I was sent. I couldn’t believe my luck! Again I
started waiting… As I was waiting there I could hear people muttering that the
pass book printing machine had gone wrong once again! Finally it was all done
and I emerged out victorious!
As I was walking out of the place I wondered
why it is like this! Why can’t they make it all a bit more organised.. Be it
any place, a shop, or hotel, or airports and stations what customers look for
the most would be something called ‘service’! And if the public sector can’t
provide it then they would definitely choose private sector... Yeah that was
about my day at ‘the’ bank.. Each new day gives a new experience! Keep living;
keep having fun J J