Okay, here goes.
I went to the bank today to pay my car loan. It's the very first installment, and I was understandably confused on the payment procedure.
I walked to the main counter, because there was no attendant at the information table, and hey. I was the only customer. So I approach this pleasant looking lady, who clarifies that I need to fill up certain forms, and take a number. So I do that, and then she directs me to the information table, where we sort out my payment details.
About 2 minutes in, other customers, equally uncertain of what they want to do, walk in and loiter around, trying to figure out what to do next.
I'm done with my payment details, and I have my number. I ask the nice lady if I need to take another number, but she tells me I don't have to, I just have to walk up to the next available counter.
I stand around, waiting for a bank clerk to open a counter. Understand this, this bank is practically deserted, and only 1 counter out of 10 was open when I got in. After I was attended to by the one clerk who bothered to give me the time of day, the counters were basically closed until someone else decided to be industrious.
Finally, realising the bank was filling up with customers, one of the clerks stops her extended coffee break to serve us. So, having been the first customer there anyway, I walk straight to the counter, produce my number and a smile, and hand the lady my forms.
An indian gent, who was sitting down, immediately got up, and forcibly shoved his own bank-in forms at the clerk, and started firing questions at her.
I couldn't believe his gall! At that point though, I was just too tired to cause a scene, and I admit. I wasn't too sure he didn't have the right of way. So I kept very quiet, and looked away while he was rudely standing not two inches away from me, and making his payments before I was even through.
Now, my point is this. The counter lady, having seen my number since I'd handed it to her, should have asked the gent for his so she could serve whomever was there first. If my number was after his, I would have gracefully backed away. As it is, because of his aggressive attitude, she automatically responded to his questions, and completed his transaction without once checking if I minded.
As for me, what can I say? It's my own fault for not standing up for myself, but I recalled another incident when I was paying my phone bill. I was one of the first in line, and had stepped up to the counter without jumping the queue. However, because I needed one of the details on my bill verified, I was told by the counter clerk to hop to another counter, and that I wouldn't need to queue up again. All I had to do was return with my revised bill, and she would serve me.
Taking her at her word, I dashed to the other counter which was BEHIND the queue waiting to pay their bills, and skipped back in less than a minute. Being polite, I waited for the clerk to complete the current customer's transaction before stepping up to the counter. Respecting personal space and all that.
An old gent waiting his turn in the line, immediately took offense that I'd obviously put the jump on the crowd, almost muscled me aside with a horrible glower on his face, and told me off for being rude, and forced the clerk to attend him instead. I was so offended, and I said: "Excuse me, but I -was- here earlier, and I did NOT jump the queue", whereupon he gave me such a rude response I won't repeat it here.
I remember being so pissed off, I was shaking. Not because the gent was rude, because he'd misunderstood the situation. But because the clerk did not speak up for what was right.
And again, I find myself getting angry that our customer service clerks and officers have absolutely NO CONCEPT of taking turns.
And the Indian gent at the bank? When he left, he'd also left his number on the counter surface. I got a look at it. His was 1150. Mine was 1149. Now, if our clerks had any sense of right and wrong, I wouldn't have had my day spoiled by customers misunderstanding the situation.
What do YOU think?
~Aari
