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Banking
There was a time when all I needed to pay a bill was a cheque book and a pen, and to get some cash the same cheque book and pen, plus a bank branch and teller. Now I need a debit card, a credit card, a smartphone, a computer, the ability to figure out how to drive a dozen ATM variants, and a myriad of different EFTPOS terminals.
So, I had a problem with my account, it was blocked. The person on the phone tells me it is because I made a transfer to an account they hadn't seen me transact with before, and that I have to go to a bank branch to show them a 100 points of id - who knows what that is.
Back in the day, I could walk to a bank branch, now I have to take a 20 minute bus ride. So I go the bank, my satchel loaded with everything I have, photo-id, debit and credit cards, medicare card, passport, birth cert, marriage certs, divorce decrees etc etc.
I show the teller my photo-id, debit and medicare cards which she says is enough. She tap-a-de-taps on her keyboard, and then says: "There's a queue it'll be about an hour." I go: "Eh, whaddya mean there's a queue, there's only one person waiting and they're behind me." She goes "No, there's a queue on the phone - go sit over there and I'll call you when they answer."
A bit over an hour later she calls me over, we wait a bit, the phone squawks she talks to someone and then says "It's okay now, your account is unblocked." We wish one another a happy Christmas, flabbergasted I walk out shaking my head - 2 hours to undo something that I didn't do - the transfer in question was for a whopping $500.
I'm convinced that the more we rely on technology the less we get done.
BR
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