How embarrassing…
I’ve had to deposit a cheque at the bank for about 4 weeks now… I can’t remember the last time I actually went into a bank to see a teller… I rarely go to the ATM anymore and seldom carry cash. It’s all about accumulating reward points on my credit card, paying for everything online, all automated, all digital.
So.
Now that I’ve set the scene and mentioned all my excuses and disclaimers, here’s what happened yesterday morning:
I set myself a reminder on my Blackberry to bring the cheque so I could cash it on my way in to work that morning – I pass one of my bank’s branches every day on my walk from Union Station to my office building. I’ve been forgetting for like a month so having a reminder was essential. My BB is like the nagging spouse I sometimes wished I had to remind me about things. Ha – don’t tell my husband I said that in case he would actually believe me.
Moving right along.
I was proud to have brought the cheque with me, made my way to the ATM, which is in a pretty quiet corner of the PATH (underground walkway downtown). I put in my debit card, punch in my PIN, rush to get the cheque in an envelope, put in the amount, pause when the ATM asked if I wanted cash back – hey, cool, sure let’s take $40 out so I’ll have some actual cash in my wallet for once. Take the money, take the receipt and head to work.
So what’s missing here?
About 30 minutes after I sit down, I see a call from my bank and let it go to voice mail (I thought it was a reminder call from our financial advisor for an upcoming appointment) and I would get to it later.
Not so.
I listened to the voice mail and it was from a lady from the branch saying she had my debit card safe and sound and that she would leave it at the central teller where they would hold it for 24 hours. As I listened to her message, I clearly remembered not putting my card back in my wallet and started shaking my head realizing that she spoke the truth.
Part of me felt relieved that someone didn’t just toss it in the garbage and actually brought it to the branch. The other part of me felt like a moron for forgetting a simple ATM 101 rule – always wait for your card!!!
Sigh
What a noob.
I went back to the branch, actually had to wait for a teller (!) and sure enough, they had my card. I just had to enter my PIN and they handed it over.
Then I took the walk of shame back to work, all the while thinking that cheques requiring a visit to the ATM were the devil.
