I have experienced fear many times in my life and the other day that familiar and ugly ball in the pit of the stomach returned .
While standing at that prime position of “head of the line” at the checkout it became obvious to myself and all in line behind me that I couldn’t find my debit card. We all know that feeling when after the fourth search through every nook and cranny of the wallet , that debit card just does not miraculously appear.
The missing card was no where to be found at home either causing the dreaded phone call to the banks “Customer Service” which conveniently provides four phone numbers to choose from. This in order to begin your conversation with a machine.
First number offered a busy signal while the second choice rang and refused to ever stop doing so . The third showed promise when a machine answered to ask the purpose of my call. It was actually quite helpful until it refused to cancel my lost card. With the input of my business acct. number it only showed interest in cancelling my personal account debit card which is under a different acct #.
The fourth number made me listen to three very long diatribes in the Spanish language until a very live and sexy sounding woman came to the phone to speak to me… in Spanish . She was very sympathetic to my plight but alas…. she only deals in credit cards… not debit. Her kind help transferred me to someone who does deal in debit cards, though not business debit only personal. Ultimately I was transferred yet again to someone who could figure this out. But she needed info… acct. # … check …. date of birth … check …Federal Employers Identification #…. what ?
” I have one but I’m not sure where to find it at this moment…how about a S.S. number ? “
” Sorry… this is a business account…. we need your FEIN number. “
Forty one minutes to cancel a lost debit card in what was once touted the most efficient nation on earth . I remember once in the past accomplishing this same scenario in six minutes …
The wife just opened the dryer to toss in a load and there it was… my debit card . I guess the Mexican made Maytag dryer is still pretty efficient as it still produces enough heat to turn my card into the same size and shape of a Lays potato chip…. but I’m still afraid .
