Adventures in Banking Sans Translator, Part 2

    Luckily, in part 1 of this saga, I had chosen an afternoon when I had the next afternoon off, but I still really did not want to go. It was 2:00 in the afternoon when I realized I had been putting it off for too long. I wanted to be able to walk there and get anything done in the time left before the 3 shuttering of all banks, so I scratched together all of my change and took a taxi.

    I walked into the bank about 15 minutes later and took a number, remembering the kanji for the previous day's adventure, the characters for savings account. Then I went in and waited. My number was called almost immediately, which made me hopefully. Maybe if the people on this side of town were less busy, this whole thing could be resolved easily.

    I laid out my information and I handed it to them. At first, the woman at the counter didn't seem to understand what the problem was but after a few moments, just like her colleague the previous day, she caught on and decided to let me have a seat while she tried to figure it out.     

    When I called up it was just a repeat performance with new words, as this person also tried to pass the blame, saying that this problem must be on the fault of Japan post bank and not their bank because it never appeared in my bank account.

    This time, I said no. I took out my other bank book from a different bank, my newest bank, that my husband had used when he filled out the information for the first refunded postage in 2020, one that came more than a month before the six US packages had been sent back. That money had come back and appeared in the account with no problem, something I realized when I updated that bank pass book at the ATM last month.

    It is worth noting that, when I pulled out the other bank book, she whispered, aghast, “That one!” in Japanese, as if she were seeing some kind of ghost or she just put together the major twist in a horror movie. I’m not entirely sure why.

    One of her younger male counterparts came to her rescue, talking over her with more complicated words and a louder voice, like he thought I might be hard of hearing. I really hate it when that happens, so I explained to him that I am not good at Japanese and his complicated words are not improving the situation. I explained that I really didn't understand why Japan Post Bank could not send money into this bank account. He said that he would then look at it and it would take a while so could I please sit down. I sat down, noting that his voice was still louder than necessary.

    After the wait, he suggested that he call me back on another day regarding this matter. I explained that I do not take Japanese phone calls. He interrupted me to say a phrase that my mind translated as: “What would you rather we do?!” which he repeated even more loudly when I kept explaining that no, phones really were not an option.

    I'm really happy that I don't know enough Japanese to say “I'd rather your bank did its damn job.” Sometimes the language barrier is the only thing keeping me from climbing into trouble.

    He calmed down and got his phone to translate a request that I return in two days. I agreed and set up a meeting with him Friday morning.

    I am actually still really upset both with this bank and the way its employees are dealing with a problem their bank caused. I feel insulted that the guy raised his voice to me, an action that, for a Japanese customer service agent, might as well have been smacking me in the face, something he feels I deserve for bringing their problem to their attention.

    No matter how things go on Friday, I will avoid doing any further business with 77 bank as they seem to believe that anyone lacking Japanese fluency or having a foreign appearance deserves to be yelled at and forced to hop from branch to branch begging for help even when the bank is the one making a mistake with the foreign customer's money.

Continued in Part 3.