Bank's SMS queue system unfair to elderly folk

Last Thursday, I visited DBS Bank in Ang Mo Kio to make a withdrawal.

I arrived there at 9.45 am, 15 minutes before the bank's opening time. I was first in the queue and soon after, a long line formed behind me.

Two minutes before opening, the person who was in charge of giving out queue numbers asked everyone to SMS for a queue number, saying that those who did so would be served first.

There were many senior citizens behind me who were also at the front of the queue but were at a loss because they did not have mobile phones or did not know how to send an SMS.

Later, when I checked with the bank's branch manager, she confirmed that this procedure was the bank's policy.

The elderly are often not tech savvy, and it is not fair to expect that they SMS for a queue number or have their queue cut by someone who does.

Furthermore, SMSes cost money, and it is unreasonable to expect all customers to send an SMS in order to be part of the queue, especially when they are already at the bank.

While the new system may bring greater convenience for some, it should not be such that those in the traditional queue are penalised.

Rose Wee (Madam)

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 12, 2015, with the headline Bank's SMS queue system unfair to elderly folk. Subscribe