PREFERRED CLIENTS ONLY
We all have a pet-peeve. One of my top pet-peeve is, well, getting in line at the Ayala (Alabang) Town Center branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). Observe, as you enter the bank, you right away have that unmistakable feeling of being like "sheep for the slaughter." There, two types of bank customers are immediately identified and classified. The first type, in which I belong to, are the ordinary customers who bank tellers always assume have all the time in the world to spare (and to waste). The second type - as the bank puts it by prominently displaying a sign right above teller #4, are "PREFERRED CLIENTS ONLY," or Gold Card holders. So, right away if you're just a holder of a regular blue and white BPI card, that sign immediately tells you that you're somewhat UNPREFERRED, and the bank simply wants you to know that you're not that important, so get in line to the left like the rest of the small time depositors. This is indeed a failing mark for BPI when it comes to public relations, and I'm quite certain that the same signs are present in all its branches nationwide. It's enough that while we're all in line for long periods of time, "Preferred Clients" take only a few minutes to transact their businesses with the wide-eyed tellers. And, to add a dash of salt to an already fresh wound, if you're a "Preferred Client," you're even allowed to use your cellular phone even if it's prohibited to do so while in the bank premises. On the other hand, if you are simply an "unpreferred" client, the guard on duty will surely make a quick gesture at you for even just reading an abbreviated text message on your phone. I wonder, to the bank robbers out there, would they have a list of "Preferred Banks" too?
We all have a pet-peeve. One of my top pet-peeve is, well, getting in line at the Ayala (Alabang) Town Center branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). Observe, as you enter the bank, you right away have that unmistakable feeling of being like "sheep for the slaughter." There, two types of bank customers are immediately identified and classified. The first type, in which I belong to, are the ordinary customers who bank tellers always assume have all the time in the world to spare (and to waste). The second type - as the bank puts it by prominently displaying a sign right above teller #4, are "PREFERRED CLIENTS ONLY," or Gold Card holders. So, right away if you're just a holder of a regular blue and white BPI card, that sign immediately tells you that you're somewhat UNPREFERRED, and the bank simply wants you to know that you're not that important, so get in line to the left like the rest of the small time depositors. This is indeed a failing mark for BPI when it comes to public relations, and I'm quite certain that the same signs are present in all its branches nationwide. It's enough that while we're all in line for long periods of time, "Preferred Clients" take only a few minutes to transact their businesses with the wide-eyed tellers. And, to add a dash of salt to an already fresh wound, if you're a "Preferred Client," you're even allowed to use your cellular phone even if it's prohibited to do so while in the bank premises. On the other hand, if you are simply an "unpreferred" client, the guard on duty will surely make a quick gesture at you for even just reading an abbreviated text message on your phone. I wonder, to the bank robbers out there, would they have a list of "Preferred Banks" too?
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