Where Have All The Tellers Gone?

  I recently read that bank fees are on the rise...when are they not?  Profits are soaring for almost all. The dividends are not increasing at the same rate as the profits. So where is all the money going? I'm not sure but I know where it's not.

  Tellers. Real people who answer your questions. Who fix your mistakes or their own. Those great folks who can explain, in language you will understand, why you have no money left. Most of the time they are efficient, friendly and knowledgeable. Or they know someone who is.

  My beef isn't with the tellers themselves. Just the amount of them. Today I went into the branch and waited 40 minutes to get to the front. Did I mention that when I went in there were only two people in front of me? Well there was. The two tellers were busy and one man did seem to have a huge problem. Several times they did apologize to the six to eleven people waiting in line.

  From where I was standing I could see an "office worker". No client. Just him alone at his desk. Typing. Approximately every minute or so he would take his phone out of his pants pocket, look at the screen, type a few words then put it back into his pocket. And then resume typing on his work computer. Was it work related? I don't know but I'd be willing to bet quite a bit of cash that it wasn't.

  Remember I could see him. So could the man in front of me and every single person in line behind me. Common sense says if we can see him, he can see us. In fact he looks at the line up quite often. But says or does nothing. For 39 minutes. 

  Another man comes out from the back. Stops short when he sees the amount of people in line but says or does nothing also. He walked by three times. As did another lady who turned her head aside so as not to see the line.

  A wanna-be customer leaves the line and walks over to an office asking very politely if there are more tellers. I'm not sure the response but no tellers came so..... An older gentleman asked loudly to the teller, who was with a client, if there were more tellers. She smiled apologetically and said the other teller was on lunch. "I hope she's not standing in line waiting at another bank like I am on my lunch break!" a construction worker said. Truer words my friend.

  It doesn't matter what bank this was. It could be any of them. In fact this same sort of scenario has happened to me in all three banks we deal with. I rarely go into a branch. Between telephone and online banking there isn't a need for me. But when I do I can't believe the amount of time I have waited for service.

  I do want to point out every single person in line was a senior....except myself and the construction worker. That is one group who still tends to go inside to get things done. 

  They are waiting their lives away.

 Ang