As a child, I was always excited whenever my dad took me to the bank. I admired the way the staff were all beautifully dressed in their suits; it was a beauty to behold.
But as an adult, one of the places I really don't want to find myself is the bank. I have had a lot of bad experiences with the bank.
Sometime in 2019, a friend of mine was getting married and didn't want to be stranded after the wedding, so she asked me to help her keep some of her money till after the wedding (five hundred and forty thousand naira, to be precise). The money was transferred to one of my accounts.
On this faithful Saturday evening, the 17th of August 2019 (I can never forget this date), I went to the ATM to make a withdrawal. Unlike other days, there was no queue, just a few people here and there. The moment I inserted my ATM card into the machine, it got trapped immediately. Since I already knew from previous experiences that nothing could be done until Monday, that was how I left.
Later that same night, my phone kept beeping with SMS; somewhere in my mind, I thought it was MTN. Only for me to check and notice it was from my bank. DEBIT ALERT! Ahhh! Cold shivers rushed down my spine; my legs and hands froze, I stopped breathing for a few seconds, and my mind was running a serious marathon with thoughts. I heard myself whispering slowly to myself, Calm down, it's a mistake. I immediately checked online for their 24/7 customer number. I called and called, it rang, but no one picked up. I sent an email, but there was no response. Hei God! Where will I start from, I thought to myself. From that Saturday night to Monday morning, it felt like 10 years. Even though I knew the bank wouldn't be open to customers until 8 o'clock, I was already there by 6:49 a.m. (from that time to 8 a.m. felt like another enternity).
The moment the security opened the gate to customers, I was the first to enter, I rushed to the customer service unit like a mad woman and explained what had happened. She collected my account details to check, and the next time that came out of her mouth was, The transactions were made by you, that it was your card you used'. I looked at her and said, Madam, I just explained to you that my card was trapped in your machine, and I got debit alerts later on. How can I use a card that was trapped to make transactions.
She said I bought things online, paid for some sites, and so on. After a long argument with her that led nowhere, I had to meet with the heads of operations. I explained everything to him all over again, and he asked me to go to court to get a court order, which I did. I wrote a letter and filled out forms, but still nothing. Even my shoes at that time knew something was happening.
I walked in and out of that bank for weeks and still got no results. Some of the bank staff got to know me because I was always in their faces. I was almost the first to get to the bank, on many occasions, I would be waiting at the gate, earlier than some of them.
That season was the most depressing for me because I told no one about it. I was tired, stressed, and frustrated. When I noticed I had no way out, I had to inform my parents about it. They made a transfer to my other bank account, and that was how I was able to refund my friend's money. To date, she has no idea about this.
A lot of bank staff lack empathy and customer estacsy. I have met those who are nice and welcoming, though. Many bank staff treat you as though they are doing you a favor, or you are an interruption to their day's activities in the office. Their nonverbal communications, expressed through their body language, unpleasant gestures, reluctance, i-don't-care attitude, derogatory remarks, nonchalant disposition, etc., leaves you wondering if you are really in a service environment or not.
First impression, they say, lasts longer. However, I have had many awful first impressions, that if I was to judge by, I would never put my money in those banks again. I have felt ridiculed by staff of banks and made up my mind to close the account. I have been defrauded and in my quest for help, had blames heaped on me.
I understand the job can be difficult and tasking sometimes, but bank staff should know that they are there, primarily to put smiles on our faces, while they seek to resolve whatever challenges we bring to them. Some customers can be difficult, that I understand, but not all customers are same. They should learn to approach every different customer differently.
THANK YOU FOR READING TO THE END 馃