Last week I
went to close my Savings Bank account with a multinational bank. I had opened it
in 1974 when I came to Chennai to take up a job with Grant Advertising. The branch Manager of the bank was so friendly
that he would even extend short duration hand loans to me when I was building
my home in Sastri Nagar. I was always treated like a VIP by the entire staff though
I did not have any deposits in the bank. It is another matter that I did not
have any money to deposit. When I started my own advertising agency in 1986 I
opened a new account with another local bank which offered me special credit facilities.
However, I continued my account with the foreign bank for sentimental reasons.
Recently I had to open a new account in a leading public sector bank
to avail of the special Senior Citizens Savings Scheme offered by the
Government. And so it was with a heavy
heart that I was closing my account with the
foreign bank. But the manager across the table did not ask me why I was
closing the account. In a cold blooded tone he told me what to do and rudely asked me to make way for the next
customer. I was very disappointed. But I should not have. Because since the
advent of technologies, banks have been actively encouraging customers to do business online and dissuading them from visiting the
banks unnecessarily. The
proliferation of ATMs have ensured that
the visit to a bank branch for cash withdrawals have virtually stopped. You can
also make & receive payments online.
Even the Pass Book updating can be done on a special machine placed in a corner
of the bank. You only meet representatives in the bank when you have specific
problems. The personalized banking service has become a thing of the past.
Unfortunately,
as an old timer I find dealing with technology daunting. I hate when I make a
call and in response I get a recorded voice asking me to press 1 for this ,
press 2 for that and at the end I am
told to wait for the customer service executive. Some times the wait is
endless. My patience runs out and I disconnect the line feeling very
frustrated. The whole process is so mechanical and impersonal that it irritates
me no end. For the same reason I
don`t even use the online booking for the Air or Train tickets. I still take the help of a friendly Travel agent for any of my travel
bookings saving me the bother and
tension involved in using the online booking facilities.
Though many
of my friends who are senior citizens like me have taken to
technology like the proverbial `duck to
the water`, I have remained Computer semi-literate. I have enough
knowledge of using the Internet to suit
my requirements as a writer. Beyond that
I have a mindset problem which prevents me from accepting the facilities
offered by new technologies. Making me seek my son`s help whenever I get stuck on the computer.
Invariably I get fired for seeking his help. `I
taught you how to sort this problem only last week. You have already forgotten my instructions` so saying he will
quickly press some buttons and presto my problem would be solved. But I would
still have not learnt how to solve the problem the next time.
It is high
time that I get out of my mindset
against technology!.
This article appeared
in the Adyar Times in July,2019 under my column `Rajan`s Random Reflections`
