MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A couple from England, who were passengers of the Azamara Pursuit cruise ship anchored in Mossel Bay on Sunday, 18 February, experienced first class service in town after the husband’s bank card was swallowed by an ATM.
Brian Lloyd, of the town of Brough, Yorkshire, was trying to draw money from the Nedbank ATM at the Bayside Shopping Centre in Bland Street, in the central business district at about 10:00. His wife Lesley was with him.
Distressed
Guesthouse owner, Marika Thomatos, well known in Mossel Bay, spotted the couple and thought they looked distressed.
She asked what was wrong and they explained what had happened. Immediately Marika called the manager of the two Nedbank branches in Mossel Bay, Charlene Venter, to ask for help. Marika banks with Nedbank.
Venter then obtained authorisation for the ATM to be opened and for the card to be retrieved. The ATM custodian, who happened to be on his first weekend off in eight weeks, drove to the ATM from where he was spending time with his family in the George area, to open the ATM and retrieve the bank card.
‘Service’
Thomatos said: “All credit goes to Nedbank for its excellent service.” Thomatos is a member of the Mossel Bay Business Chamber board and she noted: “The business chamber always pushes the importance of service. It’s all about service. Well, this was truly an example of good service in Mossel Bay.”
n 2022 she won the business chamber’s Ambassador Award. She certainly proved herself a good ambassador for Mossel Bay on Sunday, standing with the couple at the ATM for about two hours while they waited for help.
“I tried to persuade them to come to the guesthouse and sit down in comfort and have a drink, but they did not want to leave the ATM,”
Thomatos said. “The couple were astounded at the good service - for a bank to open an ATM on a Sunday.”
Time was limited
They were extremely agitated to have lost the bank card because their time was limited. They had to be back on the ship by 14:00 because it was leaving for Cape Town on Sunday afternoon.
Thomatos said the couple had visited South Africa three times and were aware of the crime rate, but they said that not once had they felt unsafe in the country.
“They commented on how nice and clean Mossel Bay was,” Thomatos said.
Venter said: “When Marika phoned me, I said: ‘No problem. I will try to make the impossible, possible.”’
Thorough procedure
She said it was a thorough procedure and took time, getting the necessary authorisation from Nedbank management. Venter praised the ATM custodian for his willingness to help and his dedication to good service.
She said Brian and Lesley Lloyd had the highest praise for Nedbank and said they were well pleased that they could continue their cruise with peace of mind.
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