Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Waiting And Waiting

I headed off to work at the usual time and ran in to traffic. I thought maybe there was a train but then I saw a lot of people turning around. I waited and the line of cars started moving. Turned out that the railroad crossing was being worked on and the arms were down and the lights flashing. There was one railroad guy letting the cars drive around the arms but he didn't seem to realize that our line was backed up for a mile. Another guy arrived and let our side go through for an extended amount of time so things were moving again. Going around a flashing railroad crossing is always kind of spooky.

At lunch time I decided to go over to the bank to deposit a check and then I thought I would ask about paying off my mortgage and if things worked out, I would go ahead and pay it off. I was the only one waiting in line for the teller but the guy that was being helped took a really long time. About 10 minutes later I finally got my check deposited and then I asked about my mortgage and was directed to a chair to wait for a 'personal banker'. The woman had been helping a customer open a checking account since I came in. The manager came over and said that they were wrapping things up and it would just be a minute. 10 minutes later I left because my lunch break was almost over and it didn't seem like they were wrapping anything up. I was annoyed.

I suppose I will go back tomorrow to pay off my mortgage. They are the closest branch. I don't know why they let their employees go to lunch at noon when you would think lunch time is the busiest time of day. I could pay online but then it would take a month or so for the mortgage to close. I don't want anything else to happen. I want it to be paid off and closed as soon as possible.

4 comments:

Dave said...

I can relate to the downed railroad crossing gates. We have several grade-level crossings near where I live (Long Island Rail Road) and once in a while there is a problem with one of them. A power problem, perhaps from a lightning strike or local flooding, causes the crossing to to the down position as a safety precaution, screwing up the traffic. It is creepy being waved across the tracks, for sure, especially when we hear too many local stories about trains hitting vehicles which illegally went around down gates.

It is annoying to have one bank customer tie up a teller or rep forever when you are the next person waiting. Might your bank have longer hours on Friday afternoon so you can go there after work and relieve any midday time pressure?

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

My bank employees have to lunch between 11 and 12 or 2 and 3.I know this because my mortgage advisor was complaining about it a few years back. She understood that it was best for customers but she did say it was a pain.
Good luck trying to pay off the mortgage tomorrow,

Daizy said...

Dave, they do have longer hours on Friday. I have never liked banks. I was so glad that ATMs came in to existence when I was old enough to start banking. I am also glad that pay at the pump gas started soon after I was old enough to drive too! I guess I am anti-social.

Daizy said...

Lizzie, I never could understand why banks were only open when everyone else was at work. How do they do business?