A COUPLE of days ago, my mother-in-law shared to us her experience in withdrawing her pension from Union Bank. Aside from her stories, which are generally negative, the more apparent thing I noticed was her extreme exhaustion. She is already a senior citizen and has a medical condition. The thing that struck me is actually the kind of service that was given not just for her but all the senior citizens who wish to claim their pension.
In the stories of my mother-in-law, she said that there were two machines outside of the bank. Unfortunately, because of the limited machines provided by the said bank, the line for our senior citizen to withdraw their pension is usually long. Not to mention, at the time she visited, only one ATM machine was working. To make the situation worse, when she reached the machine, because of some technical errors, there was no money coming out of it, which forced her to withdraw over the counter.
Upon entering the bank, she noticed that there were very limited number of chairs. She even needed to ask nicely to one of the senior citizens there to give her a little space so that she can rest since she cannot stand for a long time. As expected, because the said bank is one of the only two branches available in the city, the line was extremely long. Unlike with any other lines in the malls or in the restaurants, since most of the customers are senior citizens, then, everyone is at equal footing. Everyone needs to go through the long line.
This scenario saddened me in many ways. For one, deeply rooted in our culture as Filipinos is how we regard and care for the old members of our society. Yet, in the basic services such as this, our concern for them is not really felt and shown in the most concrete way. These old people are those who have served in the community in various ways hoping that even in a simple way they may be able to get a portion of the fruits of their labor. Yet, perhaps because of the lack of mindfulness in the part of the bank, they get services that they do not deserve.
Second, upon looking at the website of the said bank, I felt that what they publish in the internet seems so incongruent with the services that they provide especially to these marginalized sector. They usually express their desire to elevate the lives and fulfill the dreams of their stakeholders. Unfortunately, the services that they provide would say otherwise.
Lastly, while this is a concern of senior citizens, I am writing this article to call the attention of companies and businesses that more than the profit that they get, I hope that they would consider in taking genuine care and concern for their stakeholders, especially those who are vulnerable and marginalized in our communities. While most of the times, they are voiceless and are unable to air their thoughts and feelings, our business community should have the initiative to find innovative ways on how to address and provide care to their customers like how they truly deserve to be treated.