Bankable!

I went to my bank this morning to drop a cheque and update my pass book. Yes, there are still a few banks with the old style passbooks. Ofcourse they have moved with the times and pass books are no longer manually updated. Instead the updates are printed ones. I went dot at 10am to finish these chores in minimum time and rush to work. There was only one solitary chap at teller desk. So when I showed him the pass book, he indicated an empty desk which could mean - I don't do the updating / the person who sits at the currently empty desk will update the book / or (hopefully, I thought) he will be here soon and update your pass book.

So, if there is no one to update my pass book, is there? Imagine that. If this chap doesnot turn up, I have to come another day. Call yourself a bank etc. No, I didn't actually say any of these. These thoughts simply flashed through my mind. Thank god I didn't. The updater arrived and did the updating!

Funny. There was once a time, not too long ago, when like any other nationalised bank, the service here was HORRIBLE. Withdrawing money was a herculean task. No wonder, many of the clients tended to rely on personal relations. This involved personally greeting a teller and making silly small talk in the hope that the tellers would stop talking about a recent picnic or stop carping mother-in-law woes or swapping recipes while a serpentine queue fumed silently.

Slowly but surely, their service improved. Any bank transaction is now done quickly, efficiently in a minimum amount of time. So what if core banking has come a little late here. So what if the bank staff still dress in their bengali best (creasy kurtas, choppols & come winter - the multicoloured hand knitted sweaters). So what if the staff are not the super smart staff like elsewhere full of good mornings and how may I help you's?! So what if they don't have an ATM? This one is actually a boon. It has resulted in remarkable savings for me. Busy as I am with a 6 day week, dont get much time to withdraw money which I would have surely and needlessly spent on things I don't need at all.

Earlier, when they only pretended to provide service, we were so polite and ingratiating. Now, in a complete 180 degree turn, the stiff necked bannerjee da's and dhoti clad ghosh babu's patience has increased in direct proportion to their efficiency!