…it’s the man in the bank

BankPHB

Honestly, this particular blog should have been posted some time back but even as I prepared for my return to Lagos, every passing second was tied to the next in a manner that even I, with all my ambidexterity could not untangle.

I remember vividly, it was one of those days when am running full capacity-tasks lay ahead with assignments way over my head, it’s hard to pen the items down so I try as much to store them all in my head (RAM-faster R/RW), phone calls to make, and still, I had to code today…It was one of those todays you don’t want to live tomorrow.

A call comes in from my dad and he requested I send him my account number, I did, but unfortunately due to all the work pressure, I sent the wrong account number. Well, he went ahead and paid it in, those at the counter didn’t also find any reason to question the deposit and all seemed to be good until…Until I had some time to breathe-and think, and I started wondering why I’d not gotten a notification for the payment 1 hour after it was made. Out of curiosity, I checked the text message I’d earlier sent and to my dismay, all but one-just one!…of the digits was wrong. I hated myself for making that mistake and immediately tried to salvage the situation.

As I was on the internet, I logged onto the website of the Bank and discovered they had toll free numbers you could call if you were a subscriber of the major carriers-that sure was wonderful because it meant I wouldn’t be paying for the calls! The first customer care attendant I spoke to was a lady and all she could say was, “The depositor had to go back to the bank”…I was furious because after proving beyond all reasonable doubt (stated the teller number, the name and phone number of the payee, the branch where it was paid, both my account number and the account number in which the money was paid, the approximate time of the transaction etc) that I knew about the transaction, she just hung up- I wish I knew her name though. I couldn’t blame her, because her training probably was sitting right in front of her and I would also believe that the particular scenario which suddenly presented itself was not covered in her “manual”. So she couldn’t think, be creative and make my day.

I sat there at my desk hoping they would find out at the bank and call my dad for clarification but they didn’t. Some minutes before the close of business that day, I called in again, and this time I got to speak with a guy-Obinna by name. I narrated everything, just the same way I had done to the other lady and though he checked through his manual and didn’t find a response to my issue-I believe, he still decided to take it up and assured me something would be done. A colleague later suggested that I go to a branch here in Abuja and present my situation, that since I would appear in person, they would be able to help

The following morning, I did just that and went to the Garki branch of the Bank and though the lady in customer care was friendly, she told me blankly-without offering to help, that “the payee has to go do the rectification because he has to write a letter…bla bla bla.” Dejected, I walked out of the bank and decided to call customer care again. This time, I requested to speak to Obinna. My call was transferred to him and he assured me he was working on it and something would be done by noon. With doubt in my mind, I hung up and hoped the bank would figure out there was an issue before the owner of the account started spending my money.

Some minutes past 9 that morning, I got a notification message on my cell phone that the said sum had been paid into my account. I was astounded, not at the bank but at the reliability and passion of Obinna. He had assured me he was working on it-and unlike “regular” customer care agents, he did work on it. I had to call him back to tell him how grateful I was.

Now there’s one good representative of a bank that is bent on opening savings account for everyone (everything actually) on the streets-without upgrading their existing systems to cope with the increasing demand…A bank that has deducted 1000 Naira twice for the new ATM cards and even when I requested that the ATM card be sent to Asokoro, it just sat in the metal box on the floor of the Allen Branch with 3 months of having to withdraw over the counter, standing in long queues as my tale to tell…A bank that you are strictly warned not to attempt to withdraw on Mondays because you’ll never succeed…A bank where a guard on duty almost fought me because the ATM box froze after NOT processing my order…A bank where it seems the “female” workers always are having a bad day. Definitely, if everyone in the bank was like Obinna-pro-active, passionate, wanting results rather than reading scripts, knowledgeable, upright and reliable…then the bank would be the best, maybe…lol

Blue and Yellow happens to be the brand colors of the bank…and if you walk in there, always ask for the “Obinna” type!

A colleague in the office blamed the lukewarmness of the un-Obinna individuals to the situation in the country. He believes the high level of corruption is to be blame and I concur on that. Let us all change the way we think, the way we live, the way we interact. Corruption does not pay-you or the nation, believe me!

This post was moved from my blogspot page, where it was originally posted