I got this on the internet the other day:
I’ll be honest, I can’t recall which site I got it from, but looking at the second line, I’d be willing to guess that it was some South African thing.
All those phrases are expressions of a mixture of alarm, surprise, disappointment and shock.
Like you’re feeling when you get that page. Accurate then.
And I do get it: they’re trying to make the best out of a bad situation, but given that I was clearly trying to do something online and now I can’t, I’m unlikely to be in a particularly receptive mood for their attempts at humour.
Not the right time. But ok…
But then, step forward my bank. Now, I think my bank does a pretty good job a lot of the time, and I know that’s an unusual stance for someone in SA. But that also means that when thing don’t work, it’s even more frustrating. And to add insult to injury, pour salt into the would and fuel onto my ire [yes, that was deliberate], they then come up with this twee little line:
Oops. We didn’t bank on that happening!
Which is exactly what you want to see as you desperately try to buy electricity before your last unit expires and this time (for once) it’s your fault that all the lights have gone out.
The exclamation mark is almost enough to send me over the edge.
No apology. No instruction on what you might try next. Just this enraging, misplaced attempt at humour. It’s also completely out of character with the otherwise austere, businesslike approach from the bank. Which is what I want in a bank. I’ll get my comedy elsewhere, thank you. You just look after both of my Rands (hey, it’s been a productive month) and make sure your app works when I want to give them away so that I can boil the kettle.