Thursday, late lunch-time- and only a small window of time, but may just enough to nick across the road from the office where I was based that day, to get to the cash-point, and pick up some spends ready for the reunion weekend and to put the promised £10 on Techie’s phone, plus get a bite to eat from the Co-op?
The first hurdle was the pedestrian crossing. Dum-de-dum. Come on. So slow….but not worth the risk of trying to run across with lorries thundering past.
Then I reached the cash-point and with the sun glare on the green screen I couldn’t see the display, but I pushed in my card and then shaded the screen with my hands.
Still no display.
Darn it, I thought -or words to that effect, it’s not working.
I pressed the card return and no card rolled back out… but instead, weirdly, a small screw driver head poked out and waved around – a bit like a worm blindly sniffing the air. I looked about — looking for the camera. Surely this was some kind off joke?
I went inside and joined a queue of about 8 or 9 people being served by one cashier. Two people were served, then I heard the next chap say,
“The cash point machine has swallowed by card.”
Immediately several someones in the queue said, “And mine.”
Some unheard exchanges between the man at the front of the queue, and the cashier, then I heard, from the customer,
“No, you can’t see the display because of the sun.” And “What do you mean, half an hour?”
This was the point at which I walked to the front of the queue. It transpired the cards had fallen down inside the casing and she told up it was not possible to get them out at present.
“Come back in half an hour,” she told the group of us.
“What about a notice?” I asked.
“I’m on my own here,” she retorted.
“Well, write out a notice,” I said, “and I’ll put it up for you.”
“I need to deal with the queue first.”
The man next in line quite reasonably said that he didn’t mind waiting and that probably most of the queue was due to cash point failure. She bashed out a notice and printed it off, stood up and left her chair. Quite obviously she wasn’t going to trust me with the notice posting, so I left, rather disgruntled, mumbling,
“I was only trying to help.”
I went back later, missing closing time by only a few minutes, making myself late for something else, and asked for my card. Luckily no queue this time – but no apology, either, and no mention of the avoidable inconvenience.
I feel a letter coming on.
Boadicea's Chariot 
You see, Pseu, there are people like you who actually make UK plc tick, and there are those who think they do. The latter have been in the ascendent for the past few years, which is why I left.
OZ
The thing, is maybe too many are leaving?
I found out frm my hairdresser that there’s one particular girl in that bank who is always grumpy… maybe that was her?
It is generally worth asking why they consider impertinence an appropriate response!
I may have mentioned this before, but my octogenarian father went into the branch of the bank where he has been a customer for more than 50 years. “Yes?”, said the pimply adolescent behind the armour-plated glass by way of introduction, “Can I help you?” “I doubt it”, said Dad, “Can I speak to your father please?”
Top bloke!
OZ
nice one!
It doesn’t surprise me. There are a number of people who think that all they are required to do is to turn up for work – at a time convenient to them – and take home their pay cheque.
To be fair, I found, in general, the level of ‘service’ provided in the UK last year was a great deal more friendly and helpful than I have for some time.
Boadicea – Ah yes, but you are of the, ahem, ginger persuasion, which means you are from a minority, threatened and oppressed and therefore politically untouchable in the UK right now. Make the most of it.
🙂
OZ
Like to live dangerously, do you OZ?
Oh goody, fried lupine dangly bits for brekky. 👿
Hmmm! OZ!
Let’s see:
I’m a ‘minority’ – I love it, and revel in it! How extremely boring to be the same as every one else…
I’m ‘threatened and oppressed’? Odd, I don’t feel one bit of either!
But, I will most certainly be making the best of being ‘politically untouchable’ while I can.
🙂
OZ, take your tongue out of your cheek. You may end up biting it.
Tee hee. Nighty night all. 😀
OZ