Washed Away - We've all had happy memories, but many of us have had embarrassing or even cringe moments that we wish we could wash away from existence. What is that singular cringe or embarrassing memory you have?
I will never forget, it was a Saturday morning and it was my first time of ever using an ATM machine. Apart from the customer service lady who laughed out her lungs on hearing my narration, this is actually the first place I am narrating my experience on that very day. I never had a bank account until I was 19, and so I never had reasons to make use of the ATM machine since my parents never asked me to help them withdraw money. The major reason behind the opening of an account for me was the fact that I was about to leave home, I was about to travel to Ibadan for my university studies. It was my first account and my first ATM card.
Since we had no class on that very day, I saw the need to put things in other. I washed my clothes, cleaned my room and ironed a few clothes for the week to come. After doing all of my chores, I felt the need to get few toiletries for myself. I left the house at about 1 pm to feed-well supermarket. It was not my first time of being to feed-well, but I decided not to make use of the supermarket's POS machine on that very day. I needed to have some cash at hand after my transactions, and the ATM was my best option.
It was obviously my first time, but I certainly thought I could handle it. Joining the queue with all confidence, I patiently waited for my turn. Since it was my private space no body really understood what happened, many of those standing at my back even left the queue after I had told them that the machine seized my card. I inserted my card as it should be but to my greatest suprise, the ATM machine swallowed my card. I was confused and surprised at the same time, the ATM was not suppose to swallow the card. I have been making use POS machine all the while and never have my card been swallowed. I was thinking my card would remain in the mouth of the ATM machine as I go about my transaction, moreover that is the case with the POS machine.
Having been frustrated by the silly ATM machine, I went into the bank immediately to lay my complaints. That was my worst mistake ever, the customer service lady I met completely embarrassed me even as she found the whole incident funny. In fact, she almost forgot that it was a bank setting. She literally laughed aloud and drew the attention of her colleagues who she shared my pathetic story with. I felt like disappearing from the bank at that instant, but I certainly could not.
When ever I remember the incident of that very day, I wish I had asked questions. It would have taken nothing to ask the person right behind me to at least direct me on what to do, but I just did not. Even when I had made mistake, I for some reason believed I absolutely did the right thing. I even went further to report how the machine have malfunctioned to the customer service. The good thing is that I learnt my lessons, and I would never forget.
