Angel's Craft
Dear Sir:
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I
endeavored to pay my plumber last month.
By my calculations some three nanoseconds must have elapsed
between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds
needed to honor it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my
entire salary, and arrangement which, I admit, has only been in place for eight
years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of
opportunity, and also for debiting my account by $50 by way of penalty for the
inconvenience I caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident
has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. You have set me on the path of
fiscal righteousness. No more will our relationship be blighted by these
unpleasant incidents, for I am restructuring my affairs in 2002, taking as my
model the procedures, attitudes and conduct of your very bank. I can think of
no greater compliment, and I know you will be excited and proud to hear it.
To this end, please be advised about the following changes:
I have noticed that whereas I personally attend to your
telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the
impersonal, ever-changing, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has
become.
From now on I, like you, choose only to deal with a
flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will, therefore and
hereafter, no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check,
addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your branch whom you
must nominate.
You will be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for
any other person to open such an envelope.
Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I
require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages,
but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me,
there is no alternative.
Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must
be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her
financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied
by documented proof.
In due course I will issue your employee with a PIN number which
he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than
28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses
required to access my account balance on your phone bank service.
As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me
level the playing field even further by introducing you to my new telephone
system, which you will notice, is very much like yours.
My Authorized Contact at your bank, the only person with whom I
will have any dealings, may call me at any time and will be answered by an
automated voice service:
Press buttons as follows:
1. To make an appointment to see me.
2. To query a missing payment.
3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to
nature.
6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer
is required. Password will be communicated at a later date to the Authorized
Contact.
8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through
7.
9. To make a general complaint or inquiry.
The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of
my automated answering service.
While this may on occasion involve a lengthy wait, uplifting
music will play for the duration of the call. This month I've chosen a refrain
from "The Best of Woodie Guthrie: "Oh, the banks are made of marble, with
a guard at very door, and the vaults are filled with silver, that the miners
sweated for."
On a more serious note, we come to the
matter of cost. As your bank has often pointed out, the ongoing drive for
greater efficiency comes at a cost which you have always been quick to pass on
to me. Let me repay your kindness by passing some costs back.
First, there is a matter of advertising material you send me.
This I will read for a fee of $20 per page. Inquiries from the Authorized
Contact will be billed at $5 per minute of my time spent in response. Any
debits to my account, as, for example, in the matter of the penalty for the
dishonored check, will be passed back to you.
My new phone service runs at 75 cents a minute. You will be well
advised to keep your inquiries brief and to the point.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy
an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever-so-slightly less prosperous, New
Year?
Your Humble Client,
(Name Withheld)
This was an actual letter sent
to a Bank in the United States. The Bank Manager thought it amusing enough to
have it published in the New York Times.
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