Today was one of the craziest days on record.
It all began when I woke up at 05h30 for a one-hour run. Then, I took another trip to the bank. The problem is that Standard Bank reduced our daily and monthly ATM withdrawal limits (again) to R0.00, which is too low. The reset happened last Friday, too late to do anything about it before the weekend. Monday was a very busy day, and we didn't have time to get to the branch office at 09h00 when it opens. So, we went today.
By this morning, we were all out of cash!
Plus, mom and dad needed to transfer money to Swaziland. They'll need it when they arrive there on Thursday. But, Standard Bank's internet banking would not let me add David as a beneficiary.
So, by this morning, I needed to sort out two issues: get some cash and find a way to transfer money to Swaziland.
When I got to the bank, Janine informed me that all of Standard Bank's computers were down (nationwide!). I couldn't sort out the online transfer problem. But surely I could get some cash at the teller window? Noooo. The teller's computers weren't working either. Come back at 2 PM, and we can try again.
In the meantime, mom and dad went with Ed to Hermanus and had a wonderful time sightseeing along the way. (See pictures below.) Mark had hockey practice this afternoon. I was at Stellenbosch for much of the day. Tracy worked at home.
At 15h30, I got to the bank and saw Janine. (She let me in after hours.) We got the withdrawal limit sorted for our ATM transactions, and I got some cash. I also got a new cheque card. (The old one didn't work at some merchants.) But, the online transfer problem was not sorted. I was told to try it at home that evening, because the problem may be connected to the nationwide computer outage. And, if I ran into any trouble, I should call the internet banking helpline, which, I was told, is open 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.
I requested the Janine suggest an annual R10,000 prize be awarded to the customer that (a) Standard Bank treats most poorly in the year and (b) is nicest and most patient about being mistreated. She said I would win the prize without question.
Janine has been great through everything here. It's the business entity of Standard Bank that stinks.
Grandma now has a nasty cold, so I went with Catherine, mom, and dad to the Pharmacy (Apteek) to get some Actifed and cough medicine. Catherine had a fit in the car, because Grandma buckled her instead of me. Oy!
Later, Catherine blew a gasket for a 30 minute tantrum at home in response to hearing that mom and dad will be going out for dinner tonight. So, Tracy and I left the kids (Catherine's screaming her head off, mind you) with Grandma and Grandpa and went for dinner at Tokara winery. Awesome! Nearly forgot about screaming children and bank problems for a couple hours! The views across the vineyard toward Stellenbsoch, Cape Town, and the setting sun beyond were gorgeous.
Back to reality after dinner in the mountains. Tried internet banking again. No luck. It still rejects David as a beneficiary (account number invalid error). Mom is reacting badly to the cough medicine and is kind of shaky.
Now (21h00) it's time for a GAC Skype teleconference. I told the guys I couldn't meet tonight, because I need to sort this out. After a few minutes on the Skype telecon, I called internet banking support. But, they're closed after 21h00. Arrrrgh!
So, I spent about a half hour strategizing with mom and dad about what to do. They need the money for David's ministry in Swaziland before they leave for Johannesburg tomorrow. The plan is to get the money in cash tomorrow (when the bank opens at 09h00) from the teller window, assuming that the computer system is working. Their flight leaves at 11h50 from CPT. Hopefully everything falls into place. One glitch, and we've got a major problem.
Got back on the GAC telecon(s) from 22h00 through to 00h00.
Jos says that "Africa is not for sissies." Yep.
What a day.
--Matt
