The Dumbing of America- One Bank Teller at a Time

[Recyclersteve]

You’re gonna love this. I was out looking for some silver today and had experiences with 4 tellers (at 3 different large banks) which really made me wonder how loose the job requirements have gotten. Do they merely need to have a pulse to get a job as a teller? I say that as someone who worked many years ago as a teller himself!

Here we go…

BANK 1: Two ladies (both appearing to be late 40’s/early 50’s) were at neighboring teller stations when I approached. It wasn’t busy or stressful at all. I was the only person there. I asked if they had any half dollars or large dollars (a friend gives me $1.10 for Ikes). The one lady says we only have the “small” half dollars. I said, you mean the small dollars. They looked at each other and replied like they were quite confident there are two different sized halves. I explained that I’ve been a collector since I was age 6, and I’m VERY CERTAIN about what I’m talking about. Their reply was like “ok, if that’s what you think”. They still seemed certain that they were right.
It gets better…

One of them tells me that I can only get $20 in halves, since I don’t have an account. So I lay down a $20 bill. In response they place $40 (not $20) of halves in front of me. I explain politely that I thought $20 was their limit and she quickly takes back 2 of the rolls and thanks me for my honesty. Geez.

BANK 2: At the second bank a lady with a very thick accent (likely from India or Pakistan) has great difficulty understanding what I’m trying to do. Another lady who spoke perfect English was standing with her to make sure she didn’t mess up.

BANK 3: This was a bit different, but another experience with a teller, a 42-year-old man. This guy has given me silver coins several times over the years and we recently met for coffee as he wants to learn more about the stock market, something I am VERY COMFORTABLE discussing at length. He’s a legitimately nice guy and a former finance major in college.

Anyhow, I texted him about an odd lot tender offer for a stock. I’d mention it here, but I’m gonna skip this deal (for small potatoes type money) unless I get 3 or 4 requests from Realcenters. I tell people that if they buy 99 shares of the $38ish stock, they can only expect to make $20-45 total. This former finance major says he only has $100 total to invest and wants to know if it is $20-45 PER SHARE that he can expect to make in just 1 month on a nearly risk free investment. No, he could only expect to make somewhere between 40 and 90 CENTS total for 2 shares, assuming his broker doesn’t charge commissions or fees for corporate actions. And this guy actually MAJORED IN FINANCE. Wow!

Oh yeah, nothing to do with IQ, but I saw another teller at one of the banks who looked like he could be a member of Hell’s Angels. What does it take to become a teller? Is this a not-so-subtle hint that coins and currency won’t be around much longer?

I’m very interested to hear if anyone else has had some wild experiences with tellers recently…

[coindood]

When I use to hunt small dollar coins regularly my question was something like "Do you have dollar coins?" After being misunderstood as "half dollar coins" several times, or perhaps not understood because of the plexiglass dividers, I began rephrasing it as "Do you have any dollar coins".

Important to be clear I guess, when discussing denoms many tellers infrequently deal with.

[bankmining]

I’m just tired of having to help tellers figure out change.

[JerrySpringer]

The turnover in tellers is unreal. I often see new tellers at the usual banks I go to. If a bank had the same teller for a long time, I was not exactly jubilant to tell you the truth. More chance that they would catch on to looking at all the rolls for silver that customers dropped off.....

[Silver4face]

The turnover in tellers is unreal. I often see new tellers at the usual banks I go to. If a bank had the same teller for a long time, I was not exactly jubilant to tell you the truth. More chance that they would catch on to looking at all the rolls for silver that customers dropped off.....

For the most part you are correct, but I have a couple of banks in my area with LOW turnover, especially one bank where all 4 tellers have been there for 4-8 years.

[JerrySpringer]

The turnover in tellers is unreal. I often see new tellers at the usual banks I go to. If a bank had the same teller for a long time, I was not exactly jubilant to tell you the truth. More chance that they would catch on to looking at all the rolls for silver that customers dropped off.....

For the most part you are correct, but I have a couple of banks in my area with LOW turnover, especially one bank where all 4 tellers have been there for 4-8 years.

Depends on the people too who work there. One teller I recognized was at my local branch or another one as a floater for years. She was older though and maybe vested with seniority, IDK. Nowadays, it is college age tellers mainly I see and they are the ones who have the turnover.

[Lemon Thrower]

The one lady says we only have the “small” half dollars. I said, you mean the small dollars. They looked at each other and replied like they were quite confident there are two different sized halves. I explained that I’ve been a collector since I was age 6, and I’m VERY CERTAIN about what I’m talking about. Their reply was like “ok, if that’s what you think”. They still seemed certain that they were right.

I'm paying .75 for those small half dollars, the ones with with Sacagewa or Susan B. Anthony. (;>)

[Recyclersteve]

The one lady says we only have the “small” half dollars. I said, you mean the small dollars. They looked at each other and replied like they were quite confident there are two different sized halves. I explained that I’ve been a collector since I was age 6, and I’m VERY CERTAIN about what I’m talking about. Their reply was like “ok, if that’s what you think”. They still seemed certain that they were right.

I'm paying .75 for those small half dollars, the ones with with Sacagewa or Susan B. Anthony. (;>)

Ha!