First Day at Work

by Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

When this rank newcomer
Encountered an irate customer
On her very first day at the bank,
Her spirits to the lowest ebb, sank,
And “the bank job” lost all its glamour.

Customer queries had her ruffled
Complex accounts had her baffled.
She realised, banking was no cake walk
And client servicing, not just sweet talk,
As, with rules and procedures she grappled.

By day end, she was quite confused,
Whether to be sad or to be enthused
By her first day’s experience
In the buzzing banking hall ambience,
And a sense of foreboding suffused...

But then, that was her first day,
When the day didn’t go her way,
As she found work and colleagues new,
And people ready to help, just a few,
Who had these wise words to say... :

“Miss, this is how our first day too was,
Until we learnt banking and all that jazz
About work culture and office politics,
Bosses, colleagues and some nitpicks,
And systems a greenhorn found razzmatazz.”

09-Apr-2013

More By : Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

Views: 1514 Comments: 4

Comments on this Poem

Thanks Seshu ji.

Padmaja Iyengar
14-Apr-2013 09:36 AM

Thanks Kulbir for liking this one.

Padmaja Iyengar
13-Apr-2013 23:56 PM

Very true and liked the last line.

Seshu Chamarty
13-Apr-2013 23:44 PM

Entertaining narrative - a labor of love!

Kulbir
13-Apr-2013 16:13 PM