Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Let me share with all of you an appalling experience I just had to go through last week.
I wanted to cash a personal cheque I received from an American bank that did not have a branch in the kingdom.
I proceeded to a finance company's premises near to where I live.
I really honestly thought that the people there would help me out but I experienced something totally different.
Let us face it; I am a 16-year-old school pupil who looks like a typical teenager. However, it does not give anyone the right to treat me, or any youngster, the way I was treated.
So this is how it all happened - I walked to the customer services counter. I gave the gentleman at the counter a warm "good afternoon", which, by the way, was returned with a rude: "WHAT?"
I explained my situation and as I was about to pass him the cheque it was snatched from my hand. Perhaps he was inspecting it to ensure it was not bogus, and I appreciate he was therefore doing his job.
He then returned the cheque 15 minutes later to me and said that he was sorry that he could not accept it. Well, I looked at him with surprise and asked why.
He just repeated again the same exact words of refusal.
Now don't get me wrong, but perhaps he felt that I didn't deserve an explanation or something.
I requested to see the manager or a supervisor. I meant business.
After hesitating for a further five minutes I was finally told that he had never seen this type of cheque and he was unsure whether any bank in Bahrain would accept it.
I felt insulted, humiliated, and embarrassed in front a shop full of people.
I think this type of incident could be easily avoided if people showed more respect to the youngsters of Bahrain.
We too are human beings. Oh and by the way, the cheque that is supposedly not dealt with in Bahrain was from a very small bank in the US called JP Morgan Chase.
