Bad service

A German tourist, accompanied by a local tour guide, went to a Bank Danamon ATM only to find it empty of cash. It took two bank employees 20 minutes to fill the machine, after which withdrawal of money was refused as though the customer had no money in his account.

The customer needed rupiah to pay for his ticket on the Argo Bromo, but the bank refused to exchange his European currency. As a result he missed the train.

The consequence was an addition hotel bill and taxi fare of Rp 70,000, which the bank refused to reimburse. Instead they offered Rp 5,000 for the man to keep his mouth shut. The bank staff would not take any responsibility. A bank client who witnessed the whole thing voiced total astonishment at the incident.

It is extremely odd that most people only recognize one currency: the U.S. dollar. I have to ask myself why Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Minister of Finance Theo Weigel visited Indonesia to offer financial assistance, especially when the German mark is not recognized in Indonesia.

After three hours at the bank trying to get some kind of compensation, at least the reimbursement of the expensive taxi fare, the bank called the police to have the customer removed from the premises.

It is obvious the bank knows nothing about what the banking business is all about.

ULRICH KIEFER

Jakarta