Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Incompetence needs attention!

Being a US Citizen in India is more inconvenient than it seems. Not only can I not get a driver's license, I also cannot open a bank account. Residential proof is a basic requirement for anything related to civic rights! After my initial few weeks here last year, I tried to figure out what exactly I needed to get a residential proof, but after 4 trips to different government offices over 2 weeks, I realized that the only solution to my problem was a Marriage Certificate. Hence, I got married. Just kidding. Ha.
So, after a couple months of settling in to my new life, I figured it was time to apply for a legal marriage document which in turn would serve as my residential proof and lead to my regularity in everyday chores. Sounds easier than it is. Government office workers are not only difficult to get a hold of, they are also very useless when specific information is needed. We drove to the office three times before they finally figured out what we needed just in order to apply for a certificate! Okay, I do understand the minor confusion considering that I'm not Indian by nationality and so they need additional confirmations, etc. but the speed (or lack of rather) at which we were given feedback was astonishing.
Finally, after a few trips and signatures of key people, we got our date for April 5, 2011 at 10:30 am. Arjun and I called off work for the first half of the day and figured 2 hours would suffice in getting our document. Wrong! The magistrate in charge of signing the document was absent...for 4 hours of the day. Seriously. Dozens of people waiting, missing their day at work, extending planned absences just so an authoritative person, who deems his presence important solely on his own schedule, can show up to work on time. Ridiculous!
After much speculation, frustration, and agitation, the Honorable showed up to work, signed our papers and finally gave us our certificate. Phew.
Next on my agenda: Driver's license and a state bank account. I was dreading the preparation for these formalities. Since we had to take the whole day off, thanks to the sub-magistrate, we figured why not go open a bank account for me through a state bank. I was TRYING to avoid the corporate financial institutions due to their annoying sales calls or investment strategies. So I tried my luck at Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Stepping foot into PNB was an experience. Not only did we not get noticed for about ten minutes, we were actually actively ignored when we did ask for help. The employees were engaging in discouraging conversations with account holders and potential clients. When I expressed my interest to open an account, I was told that due to my situation (not having an Indian passport), they don't know if they can help me out - at all. We asked for an either/or decision since we didn't want to waste any more time. No response. Seeing the unprofessional demeanor of the 5 employees there, I was surprised that this bank even continues to have customers. We walked out and decided to try out luck at a private bank. Score! Within seconds we were helped by two associates and given undivided attention. It was ample clear then - corporations are viewed as evil, blood sucking monsters most times (!) but when it comes to customer service, no central or state government office in India can ever compete with them.
This might not seem surprising to most people living here, but the incompetence related to basic information and customer service by government workers is worth a rant. There are flaws in the system that prevent most employees from doing their jobs to the full capacity, agreed, but their nonchalant and careless attitude is the reason why most people in India don't have any respect for authority. Indian government officials higher up in the order have become numb to the constant nagging from the civilians that cannot get used to this nonsense, but they actually need to pay more attention to such appeals. I am a fan of India and will continue to be so, but on most days dealing with such indifference on basic services makes it very difficult to be proud to be an Indian. Thank God India won the World Cup, patriotism will linger for a couple more weeks.

1 comment:

p4peace said...

Wow. Quite an ordeal. Not tooooo surprising, but I'm sure having to endure it first hand just makes it seem all the more real or surreal. Not sure which!