Tellers... May I vent for a moment?

A simple one page photo sheet of the coins of the past 70 years would be good for each teller to have


1 cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollars, large dollar coins (ike), small dollar coins (Susan b Anthony, Sacajawea, and now the presidential dollars). And the Americian Silver Eagles :hail:

Maybe a CoinTalk project to hand out to Tellers with a box of See's Candy

 

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I think nomenclature is the key. Just refer to the coins by their common names rather than trying to dazzle them with numismatic jargon. Ask for pennies/one cent coins (your choice), nickles, dimes, quarters, half dollar coins and large dollar coins, small "silver" dollar coins or "gold" dollar coins. You may think that a bank teller should know everything there is to know about monies but the truth is that they mostly are being paid minimum wage and receive little training. The last Ikes were minted 33 years ago and relatively few were used in everyday circulation. The average teller was born after that date and has probably never seen one. Kennedy halves have been out of general circulation for nearly ten years, longer than the tenure of many tellers. Just because you know everything there is to know about coins doesn't mean that even people who work in the money industry know as much, or even as much as you think should be minimum knowledge. Everybody drives a car but I know from many years experience with others that there are many, many people who don't know anything about how a car works, except that you put a key in and it starts, you press one pedal to go faster and another to slow down. Intimate association with something doesn't mean that you need to know all the details about it. Bank tellers need basic arithmetic skills and little else. And serving the whims of numismatists is NOT one of their job duties. Finally, banks are not branches of the US Mint, they are private commercial businesses and they have no more reason to be monitarily savvy than your local McDonalds.

 

I worked as a bank teller for a year...so I have seen both sides of this. Let me try and put my take on this discussion. First off, tellers are educated on the various denominations of currency...from 1 cent to the $100 note. They don't learn about obsolete coins or bills...so they don't learn about Ike's or SBA's or the $500 bill. Now, as a teller...you do see Ike's and SBA's so those who don't know about them learn about the quickly. However...many don't know that names of the coin. If you go to them and ask if they have any "Susan B. Anthony Dollars" you might get a blank stare. Remember, very few tellers are coin collectors (I was one of the exceptions...and people like me don't let good stuff go out of our window). I think it's important to be clear when you talk to a teller and make sure they understand what you are asking. Remember, it's not their job to cater to coin collectors, their job is to complete transactions...they don't need to be an expert in every coin design to do that job well. A lot goes into being a teller...it's more complicated than the average bank customer realizes.

Also, remember that their job is to complete transactions. If you go in and make a small deposit during a very busy time in the bank and then try and spend several minutes looking for coins...you might not get the response you want. Please be courteous and only coin hunt when the bank isn't flooded with customers.

Earlier in this thread...someone said that it's sad that banks are not code for "free coin shop" and at one time they even sold proof sets. It's important to remember that banks are not affiliated with the US Mint. They are private companies and are designed to make a profit. I would expect that selling proof sets wasn't profitable and thus those banks stopped doing it. Banks existing for banking...not for numismatics.

Finally, while I'm on the topic of banking...I would like to make a quick comment on a banking pet peeve of mine from being a teller. When you go in on payday and want to cash your paycheck (which I was surprised to learn a lot of people just cash them)...please don't get upset when your demand for large bills ($50 and $100) can't be filled. When I was a teller, I had to explain to customers that we have a very limited number of large bills on hand...once they are gone they are gone. I know large bills are more convenient for cashing $2000 checks...but sometimes banks run out, especially on busy paydays.

 

I encounter more than a few tellers that claim to have never seen an Eisenhower dollar, and I believe them. Nowadays when encountering unknown tellers I bring my sample Ike Dollar, my half dollar etc to show them and edumacate them. Paid off last week when one of the tellers remembered seeing some of those narsty large coins in the vault and was just pleased as punch to sell them to me and get rid of them.

 

Even though banks certainly are not free coin shops, they are the only source many people have for getting coins. If the fed was willing to ship boxes of coins to my front door then I'd do that, but they won't so I am stuck using banks. Bank tellers should know every type of coin that has the possibility of coming across their tray, including SBAs and Ikes. Their job is dealing with money, and last time I checked SBAs and Ikes are legal American money. While it may not be their job to deal with "coin collectors" it is their job to deal with customers, and customers have different needs. My needs just happen to be numismatic.

 

That's a good idea to bring them with you to show them as samples!

 

No, you are wrong. Their job is to complete transactions without making mistakes so the bank they work for makes money. Not to cater to coin collectors. If a customer happens to be a coin collector and the teller can provide an additional service to make that customer a little more happy then that's wonderful...it helps strengthen the relationship between business and customer. But it is not in the banks interest to spend more time (and money) training employees to learn information that is not going to increase banking revenue or increase the tellers proficiency. Plus, the majority of tellers do know what an Ike and SBA are...they just don't know their names.

 

Hogwash! Bank tellers aren't much different than the receptionist at a car dealership. My point is that one shouldn't expect a person who drives a car every day to know all of the models, nor should you expect a teller who works at a bank every day to know all of the names of the different issues of coinage. I doubt that there is any bank anywhere that gives it's job applicants a numismatic literacy test.

Chris

 

"free coin shop" and at one time they even sold proof sets. It's important to remember that banks are not affiliated with the US Mint. They are private companies and are designed to make a profit.



My point was these banks should explore EVERY option to keep people coming INTO these brick-n-mortar facilities these 'for profit' banks keep putting up. Soon and very soon there will be no reason to set foot in a bank, thus not as much face to face SELLING of product.

Until I started collecting a few years ago, I hadn't gone into my local branch in years... and I had loans, IRAs, mortgages this bank could have sold me!!

 

Thank You Chris!

 

I agree that they should be somewhat familiar with American coins - but you must remember they are often times college age ie about 20-22 year olds that have most likely never had a previous encounter with one of those coins. The banking institutions do nothing to educate them. Curiously there is only informal training on recognizing older coins and currency - one of my banks has a head teller that keeps "training" money ie the older small head bills etc to show new tellers what they looked like. One thing I will opin in their favour - they are not overly well paid. They do a stressful job that involves a lot of counting, auditing and lots of responsibility. Mistakes can seem trivial to you and me, but they can cost someone their job. In my many years of working with tellers I have only encountered mere handful of narsties - and many many more that are just awesome in supplying me with older bills, Ike dollars and my $500-800 a week nickel searching habit.

Tomorrow morning is reward day, visiting my commercial banks that draw in coin from their commercial and municipal customers on Fridays and sell me the remains on Monday. So have to have the gift cards loaded up and ready and make my rounds. Yeah, you got it, I am not above buying them off with favours. You can never hand them cash as a reward - remember this is a bank - but gift cards for restaurants, iTunes etc are perfectly acceptable.

I like my tellers, because of them I have found 120 year old coins from their deposits, darned near completed my Jefferson Whitman folder from circ(Just need the '50-D and the 55 Philly) and also scooped up lots and lots of sexy silver half dollars and even war nickels.

 

"Money" is NOT a teller's job. Insuring that your account gets credited or debited "correctly" is what their job is. Cashing checks or making change for you from their existing supply of coins is their job. Opening new accounts or closing accounts is their job. Being polite to some arrogant and flippant coin collectors is their job.

The implication that "knowing Money" is their job is just as silly as expecting a McDonalds clerk (who also handles your money) to "know" money or perhaps prepare the perfect risotto (since it IS food and they are in the FOOD business)! Bank Tellers DO NOT invest your money nor do they loan out your money or even loan you money. They are simply clerks who may or may not have other banking skills. Besides, these folks probably know "who" to ask if something unusual shows up at their window to insure that they can correctly credit your account thereby insuring that something counterfeit is not being passed.

Instead of dissing tellers who know little about Historical American Coinage, folks should take a little time to educate them and be "freindly" with them since it could go a very long way in meeting your expectations in future visits.

 

They probably do know about the money they deal with...on a regular basis. I doubt they deal with Eisenhower dollars or Kennedy halves on a regular basis. Besides, they're all about the paperwork and making sure their drawer balances out. To them, physical money is just a risk and a nuisance.

These are my Tellers at one of our Customer Appreciation Day picnics! Eisenhower WHO?! :axemeethead:

 

Here is what helps:

Bring in an actual Ike Dollar, show it to the tellers, and ask if they have any of these they want to get rid of. TC

 

Here is what helps:

Bring in an actual Ike Dollar, show it to the tellers, and ask if they have any of these they want to get rid of.

This is actually the smartest thing I've read yet!!! Really... how simple and easy!​

 

I do bring an example with me sometimes. It's a good idea. The teller that inspired this thread really had no clue. I also asked about half dollars and showed her one... nothing. Most are great but sometimes I wonder how a few keep their job. And it's not just banks. It happens other place's also. One time I went into a shoe store and the young lady working there was totally worthless for help. I just left.

 

Still, tellers should know what the coins are that ARE still in circulation, which would be to the early 70's so, no, a teller should not be expected to know every year of every coin ever made just the ones still found in circulation.

 

I swear on my life my friend and I went to McDonalds after Sunday flying and the 20 something girl COULD NOT MAKE CHANGE when the register failed. I'll never forget it. His bill was $4.87 and he handed her a ten. She got the five right but couldn't do the rest. The other workers got confused too as they couldn't believe what was happening, they all thought it was something different than .13... We just stood there in shock I think.

Oh and I ordered a Quarter Pounder w cheese and asked for just meat and a bun. NOTHING ELSE. MEAT and a BUN.

There was cheese on it.

 

Why didn't you just order a plain quarter pounder rather than quarter pounder with cheese? They are separate items. At least at my Mcd's.

And yes - making change does confuse some of them w/o the cash registers. Then again, a couple of local shops shutdown when the power goes down - mainly because the cash register does more than just make change - inventory, sales tax, etc. So the clerks are not allowed to make sales even if they could do the math.

And after reading this whole thread the only thing I can add - is I need to use yakpoo's bank.

 

So you wanted a Quarter Pounder with cheese without cheese? Makes perfect sense - In Bizarro World!