The Way I See It

The way I see it, the financial institutions in Nevis, need to put a fair arrangement in place, which will help their early customers and in effect, avoid a whole lot of confusion.
Over the holiday season, all of the financial institutions in Charlestown, got pretty crowded and significantly people apparently withdrew a whole ton of money.
However, before they could get to the Tellers in order to get the money they require, they had to go through the tedious long lines.
Now we live in a society of MICROWAVE speed. People just do not love to wait.
I was also able to witness close up the best and the worst in our people, while dealing with these long lines.
Case in point: I was at one institution (that will remain unnamed for the purposes of this class) and one of the things that happen there is that they have a few chairs available to customers and I believe that they are originally meant for our senior citizens to use, while they wait.
However, any and everybody would come in and sit in the chairs and when you would have waited patiently in line and think that you are next, someone pops up from a chair and says ; “I am before you!’
Well I newa!
So on this day, I arrived and saw this long line. I decided to wait and picked up my position way at the back. While there, I observed a young lady enter the building and instead of coming to the back of me, she stood by the door like some sort of security guard.
Not long after, another lady came in and went over to the side where the forms are, picked up a form a and remained on that side.
Soon after, a man came in and also went over to the side with the forms. The lady who was in front of me called out to him and when he looked up, his eyes lit up, obviously recognizing an old friend and he came across and greeted her. They hugged, exchanged greetings and then he returned to his position by the forms.
The Tellers were doing their best and the line moved smoothly. Finally, I was just three away from the Teller. Suddenly, the lady who had gone to the side with the forms, pushed her way in front of me and declared loudly: ‘I am before you!’
Now how do you react in such situations? Of course you can start world war three by saying: “Hey, you met me here,’ or you could just leave it alone.
Now I play a lot of Cricket and I have discovered that one of the most important shots or non-shots, if you will, in the game, is the LEAVE ALONE. That is when you pick up the line of the ball, sure that it is not targeting your stumps and raise your bat with no intention to play it and possibly getting a nick and getting out.
On this occasion, I decided to LEAVE ALONE. The bully proceeded ahead of me. To my amazement, the lady who had stayed by the door, then made her move: “And I was behind of her,’ she said with some degree of confidence.
I felt like screaming ‘but woman I watched you come in that door!’ However, I remained benumbed and overwhelmed by the situation and played the LEAVE ALONE, again.
As someone else exited the line and I stepped forward, the man who had initially gone over by the area with the forms, ducked under the cordoned off area and stopped right in front of me.
I looked at him in amazement but I said nothing. When one of the ladies moved and he stepped forward, I stepped forward too. When the other lady moved and he started forward, I made the same move. He then realized that I was heading to the Teller.
He said kinda politely: “Mr. Morton, I am before you.”
Now, these people must I have looked at me and said this guy looks like a real DUNDADICK!
This time I decided not to play the LEAVE ALONE.
This time I decided to play an attacking ‘shot.’
I said equally politely: ‘I saw you walk in the door. The lady who was beside me called you. You came there greeted her and hugged her and you are still in front of me?”
‘Oh, sorry Mr. Morton. I apologize. You are in front of me, he said.
Not two days later, I went to another institution and here they normally line up in the lobby area, to await the door being opened.
I counted five persons ahead of me when I arrived. Unfortunately, some persons came after but instead of getting behind those of us who were there before, they clustered close to the door.
The security guard was inside looking out and did not say anything. One of the persons who walked up close to the door was a female cop.
As soon as the door opened, everything went haywire. Those who were already close to the door rushed in and persons who were in the line behind the six of us who had arrived earlier, rushed past us and raced inside the building—including the female cop.
So instead of being sixth inline, I ended up being at number 11 or so.
Well I newa!
Someone also told me that at yet another institution, there were so many persons lined up before the door was opened, that when it was eventually opened, it started a bit of a riot, with persons arguing over who had come their first.
Now in such circumstances, people can be blatantly dishonest and that is a real pity.
So, my recommendation is that a proper system should be put in place so that persons who are first at the institution, be given the privilege of being served first.
I hope that the members of the various responsible boards will come up with an appropriate monitoring system which will help to serve their loyal customers much better.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?