Goodbye to Israeli lines

October 15, 2007 - 3:36 PM by

One of the constants of life in Israel is snake-like lines you encounter at bank, supermarkert, post office, or ATM machine. “I was behind him” is a phrase that most Israelis learn when they’re two years old and it stays with them for life, as they run off to buy tomatoes, say hi to a friend, feed the meter with some change, and manage to get back to the line just before it’s their turn. It should be an Olympic event.

bank
A typical line at an Israeli bank.

So, it was a shock when I entered a branch of Bank Hapoalim this morning to get a bank check… and there weren’t any lines! Everyone was sitting in rows – just like in a government office like the Interior Minstry or Licensing Bureau, holding little slips with numbers on them. But you can’t just rip the slip off of a ticker like in those other places – first you have approach a machine, punch in your ID card, then select which function you need to get done at the bank. The machine then issues your number and tells you which tellers deal with that particular transaction.

The 25 people or so waiting their turn, seemed both fidgety and unsatisfied – like they wanted to be fighting for their place in line instead of being resigned to waiting for their predetermined turn. It was all so civil… so cultured… so boring.

Thankfully, the spell was broken when a guy barged through the door and went up to a window just as number 295 flashed on the screen. ‘Wait!, I’m 294, I just went to buy some cigarettes’, he said to Mrs. 295 as she was also approaching the window. Then 296 flashed, and that lucky recipient also approached his designated window. So now there were three people vying for two windows. That’s the Israel I know… not the one where we’re all sitting and waiting quietly.

Tags: • Category: Business, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

5 Comments on Goodbye to Israeli lines

  1. Benji Lovitt on Mon, Oct 15th 2007 4:26 PM

    2. GET OUT! That is fantastic! I hope that catches on…they did it at the iriya in TA when I was there last week (although this system might be old for all I know.)

  2. David Brinn on Mon, Oct 15th 2007 4:35 PM

    3. Hey Benji – I think that this is not something new for government offices – but it certainly is for banks. I honestly didn’t know what to do when I walked in and saw everybody sitting, and no place to peel off a number. I had to ask…

  3. nikki on Mon, Oct 15th 2007 10:07 PM

    4. the kupat cholim i belong to uses this system… unless you need to have bloodwork done — that’s it’s very own line. the system works and it’s so quiet and calm in the waiting room. unsettling in a civilized sort of way. the only problem is there’s no human available if you need to ask a simple question, like, “am i in the right place?” then a hundred people are ready to defend their claims against you, the interloper! just so you know you really truly are in the right place.

  4. Rebecca on Tue, Oct 16th 2007 3:13 AM

    5. I wonder what people will do who are foreign visitors, with only a passport and not an Israeli ID card. Did you notice any provisions for them?

  5. David Brinn on Tue, Oct 16th 2007 10:01 AM

    6. They go to the back of the line… of course.

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