At ATMs, let us take a minute and salute the guard

In the midst of all the chaos due to demonetisation, the security guard outside the ATM is the hero

Bengaluru, Nov 15: At the ATM, the security guard is the hero. Patient, helpful and strict at times as well. It is quite heart rendering to see the services being carried out by a guard. He goes beyond his brief of standing guard.

Today he is the person who not only ensures that there is no chaos outside the ATM, but also lends a helping hand to those people who do not know how to use an ATM.

An elderly man outside an Axis bank ATM on Nandidurga Road ATM appeared perplexed. He had waited in line for nearly 25 minutes before he got his chance to withdraw money. Once near the ATM machine, he was clearly confused.

Guard to the rescue:

Just before he got his chance, he told this correspondent that he always withdrew money directly from the bank and never used an ATM. "Our generation prefers going to the bank to draw money. We have time and yes we do not trust technology completely as yet," he said.

"However, today is a different day and I have to use the ATM to withdraw money," he said. Once at the machine, he turned around for help. The guard went up, inserted the card for him, punched in the buttons and told him to enter his pin number.

As the man pulled out a piece of paper on which he had written down his pin number, the guard turned away to give him his privacy. Once he punched in the pin, he turned to guard who went up to the machine and punched 'enter.'

The guard told the man, the limit is Rs 2,000 and punched the numbers accordingly. After the money was dispensed, the guard punched in the rest of the numbers to sign out completely from the screen. The man thanked the guard, shook hands with him and left.

The guard told this correspondent that he has been doing a longer shift to help people out. "Yes there are a large number of people and not many know how to operate the ATM. There are some who know, but are slow and I help such people out too as there are many outside who are getting impatient. This is not part of my brief, but I consider it to be my duty," he said.

Not just this, but when people queue up and realise the ATM is not yet open, it is the guard who picks up his phone to make a call and find out when the money would reach. He would then patiently inform the people the exact time when the money would reach. If there is a delay, he would once again call to find out. He does this at least thrice a day.

All of us outside the ATM could not help, but salute the guard. Times are tough at the moment, but let us look into the future.

Let us cooperate with the guards outside the ATMs just as we should with the banking staff. They are out there to help all of us out. The least we can do is cooperate. Jai Hind.

OneIndia News