Money, Money, Money

I went to two different banks today and actually went inside both instead of using the drive thru. One doesn't have a drive thru and the other I had to go in because I had to order new checks. Both closed at 1 PM. I got to the first bank around 12:45 PM and when I got there, there were four people ahead of me in line and at the tellers. Two tellers were working and various other employees were assisting the tellers, who seemed new and in need of assistance. By the time I was the next person to be helped there were at least four other people behind me and the tellers were getting anxious. One kept screwing up and the other seemed to be over-explaining everything. Finally, it was my turn, and my transaction took about 30 seconds. I left and made it to the second bank a couple minutes before 1 PM. No one was in line there and my transaction was done at 1:03 PM at which time I started looking at the check choices, picked one out and left around 1:10 PM.

Now, what's weird about this mundane task is that throughout all of the fuss at the first bank, none of the tellers got upset or angry. None of the other managers/employees got perturbed. The customers weren't hassled. Overall, service was very good. My teller even said, "have a good day... and weekend!" when I was leaving. At the second bank, I didn't feel hurried in my transaction or when picking out checks even though some banks would have locked their doors a few minutes before 1 PM. While I was picking out checks, I noticed that the drive thru remained open past closing. My teller made a point of saying my name while helping me. When I was leaving they had just locked the doors and the gentleman who was letting people out called me "young lady."

This remarkable bit of customer service must be attributed to the bad economy. If the masses are getting good service, how are they treating the high rollers?