The Cost Of Popularity
My mum visits her bank to exchange some English currency for Canadian. This is during a time when any Tom, Dick, or Harry can do transactions of this nature without having to sign in first. Unbeknownst to her, there is a $5 fee associated with currency exchange; however, the bank teller forgets to charge her. So, Mum gets her money exchanged, doesn’t get charged a fee, and goes on her merry way.
A couple of weeks later, Mum gets her bank statement in the mail and it plainly says that a “$5 Currency Exchange Fee” has been withdrawn from her account. She is very cross and calls the bank.
Bank: “Yes, that’s because our teller forgot to charge you. She remembered after you left, recognized you, and took the money out of your account.”
Mum: “Let me get this straight: if I’d been just somebody off the street, and you’d forgotten to charge me, you would have waived the $5 fee?”
Bank: “That’s correct.”
Mum: “So, because I’m a loyal customer, you thought it was okay to help yourself to my money without notifying me first?”
Bank: “Um… Well, when you put it that way…”
Mum got her $5 back.
This story has been included in our June 2020 roundup as one of that month’s most memorable stories!
