SSP Diaries | Modern-day torture

I WENT to the Jamaica National Bank offices in Half-Way Tree recently to withdraw some money from my account, arriving at 10.30 a.m. This turned out to be an adventure that I hope never to have again.

On arrival, I was greeted rather pleasantly by a member of staff who courteously asked what business was to be done today. I informed her and was handed a ticket and told to listen for my number and proceed accordingly. Before I could move forward, the security guard told me that I should join the line as there was limited access to the main hall. It took 10 minutes before I entered this area and was pointed to a seat in the senior citizens area that was just vacated. There were probably 100 persons seated in this section. My eyes caught the electronic viewers which indicated that there were 21 persons ahead of me as a senior citizen. I estimated that my number would be called in about an hour’s time, so I settled down in my chair and waited.

BODY LANGUAGE

One hour later, based upon the progression of the numbers, no more than six people were served. I started to look at the body language of the staff to determine the reason for such a slow through-put. They seemed quite pleasant and businesslike. At 12 p.m. I was still nowhere near being served; 12.30 p.m. came and went and the main hall was as packed as when I arrived, and by this time people were standing on the inside. There had to be something fundamentally wrong with this. Two hours in a bank just to do a minor transaction, namely withdrawing money from my personal account.

At approximately 1.05 p.m. I heard a voice shouting out the number following mine and observed the person being served at the dedicated counter. I left my seat and proceeded to ‘stand’ next in line. The viewer had failed to show or call forward clients, a systemic malfunction that occurred occasionally forcing the tellers/staff to try and alert customers. It doesn’t work well if you have a soft voice. Having presented myself at 1.10 p.m., my request was quickly initiated, account balance checked, and cash counted, ready to be handed over. It was then that the teller remarked, ‘Sir there is only one more thing to be done before I can hand you your money. I need to update your file!’ Silly me, I said, ‘Go right ahead, what information do you need?’

On reflection, maintaining my composure was a miracle. Having been in the establishment for over two and a half hours, I was now being told that the updating could not be done by her. I had to go over to customer service on the other side of the hall and again await the calling of my number. She was gracious enough to tell me that she would have my matter expedited. I sat in my new area for over an hour, having no reason to doubt the information given. By this time, I had been listening keenly to the other customers around me. The essence of their conversations indicated the slow rate of service being experienced and the need for processes to be modernised, staff being able to conduct multiple taskings from a single point and a better regard for the elderly and ‘small man’. I identified fully with these points and more.

BOILING POINT

I was now at boiling point! Before moving into the eruption zone, I caught the attention of a responsible looking member of staff, explained my problem, only to be told that ‘I should never have to wait so long for a simple transaction to be done.’ How I didn’t explode then God only knows!

I was given a questionnaire to fill out which I did, noting that all the information that I was now providing was already on my mortgage file as I have a current mortgage with the same establishment. In fact, my monthly instalments are taken from the very same account from which I was making the withdrawal. I can only conclude that I have become more understanding and patient as I get older as many thoughts ran through my head which I basically allowed to go by rather calmly.

Once updated, I was escorted back to the initial area to make my withdrawal. It was now sometime after 3 p.m. I had spent the better part of five hours in a bank to make a simple cash withdrawal. This experience can only be described as sheer torture! If that time was spent away from work as an employed person, one could expect to be fired.

As a senior citizen, if I happened to be diabetic, I could have been the subject of a serious health incident. My entire day was ruined as there was nothing else planned that I could accomplish. Come on JN, you can do much better than this. Your processes need improvement and clients deserve to be treated far better.

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