It was about 9am when I left my house to visit the bank to sort out the issues I had with my account. I boarded a bus from my place to Agbara in Ogun state where the nearest Guaranty Trust bank popularly known as GTCo was situated.
The crowd I met at the entrance of the the bank premises when I arrived were enough to start a crusade. My heart plummeted because I had other plans which might get disturbed by the delay at the bank, still I forged ahead courageously.
"What do you want to do miss?" The security personnel asked me.
"I'm here for an account upgrade sir" I replied with the hope that I would not be asked to join the massive queue at the corner of the bank premises but unfortunately that was exactly the case as I watched the security man tear off a piece of paper with a number boldly printed on it and gave it to me.
When I looked at the number, it was like my worst nightmare came true. I was at number 132. What!!!, "When I'm I going to get attended to today?" I exclaimed out loud. A concerned waiting customer who heard my complain quickly reassured me.
"My sister, you will just have to be patient o, some people came to the bank as early as 5:30am today but don't worry the person at the front is number 57, I am number 102, it will soon get to our turn". She spoke so convincely that I swallowed the rest of my complains and took an available seat.
The camaraderie between the waiting customers made the wait a pleasant one as some customers began to recount their ordeals from some bank officials, with their accounts or some other matter that got people's attention.
After sitting down for almost four hours and the numbers called was at 92, I decided to go use the restroom in the bank to relieve myself. By the time I returned, I couldn't find my handbag and the book I was reading which I left on the chair prior to using the loo, even the neighbour I had told to help me watch my stuff was no longer there as someone else was seated on my seat.
"Where is my bag and my book that I left here a while ago?" I threw the question with hopes of getting a fast response as I was already becoming frustrated from all the waiting but no answer surfaced. Loosing my cool, I touched the person on my seat and asked to stand up since he was occupying my spot but rather than oblige me, he told me that he met the seat vacant but I would have none of that as I continued to haggle words with him.
The security man was alerted to our direction and when he inquired, I was all too happy to explain myself to him and even demand that the guy be asked to produce my bag and book. I was certain that he did something to my bag. The security man also asked for his side of the story and he still maintained that he met a vacant seat and sat on it. Sensing that I might have barked at the wrong tree, the security man asked me to describe the person I sat next to and when I did, he told me that the person stepped out to buy some snacks but left a handbag and a book at the security office.
Upon hearing that, my temperature cooled instantly like a bucket of ice water was dunked on my head. I apologized to the guy I haggled with before following the security man to his office to get my stuff from him. I thanked him profusely and went back to seek another vacant seat but then my number was called and It was my turn to meet with customer care service. It wasn't until about 3:15pm that I left the bank and began the journey home,phew!
Thank you all for reading.
Image credit: Meta Ai