Dear
Bank Manager,
I am
writing to thank you for bouncing the 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, an 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 with $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 re-think 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:
First,
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 of your branch, whom you must
nominate. You will be aware that it is an Federal crime for any
other person to open such an envelope.
Please
find attached an Application Contact Status which I require our
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 Justice of
the Peace, and that 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 all 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. By pressing Buttons on the phone, he/she
will be guided thorough an extensive set of menus:
1. To
make an appointment to see me
2. To query a missing repayment
3. To make a general complaint or inquiry
4. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there; Extension
of living room to be communicated at the time the call is received;
5. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am still sleeping.
Extension of bedroom to be communicated at the time the call is
received;
6. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
Extension of toilet to be communicated at the time the call is received.
7. To transfer the call to my mobile phone in case I am not at home.
8. To leave a message on my computer. To leave a message a password
to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated
at a later date to the contact.
9. To return to the main menu and listen carefully to options 1
through 8.
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. This month I've
chosen a refrain from The Best Of Woody Guthrie: "Oh, the banks
are made of marble With a guard at every door And the vaults are
filled with silver That the miners sweated for"
After
twenty minutes of that, our mutual contact will probably know it
by heart. 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. 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 the matter of advertising material you send me. This I
will read for a fee of $20 per page. Inquiries from your nominated
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 (even Woody Guthrie doesn't
come for free), so you would 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, 2002
Your
humble client.