To be avoided

One of my least favorite activities in Cambodia is going to a bank. Cambodian people don’t see anything wrong with their bank procedures because that is all they know, but to people who have gone to banks in other countries, it’s enough to make you scream. I was in a bank for about fifteen minutes this afternoon, to make a simple cash deposit. There were eight bank employees behind the counter (some moved as I took the picture), waiting on one person at a time. Notice the woman sitting at the left. These are the only banks I’ve been in where you go to the counter and present your cash, deposit slip, and bankbook–and then have to go sit down. The cashier signs several papers, presents them to her manager who signs them, and then they return to the cashier who signs and stamps them again. But it doesn’t all happen in a quick sequence. There are big gaps as the papers are handed back and forth. Thus they encourage you to sit. Grrrr…..