Paranoid bankers...

Yikes... Lately, I've been calling banks prior to driving there to check whether or not they've got halves to avoid wasting my time and for their convenience (should they need to grab the coins at a less-busy time during the day).

Apparently, this bank "operations supervisor" I was speaking to interpreted "Can I come by now, or do you need time to grab them from the vault?" as: "I'm coming by to rob you in a moment." Or something of the sort. I showed up and there was an officer inside the branch, and another sitting outside (no idea they were there for me at the time).

After grabbing my halves from behind the counter, she proceeded to lecture me about never asking about the vault in any bank, how that really "spooked everyone here. That's why the police are here."

Now, I've had some banks tell me right out -- "We can't go back into the vault until tomorrow morning," or "Come by in a few hours so we have some time to head into the vault and retrieve the coins for you." Other times, I'll head into the bank and have to wait quite some time for people to become available to head back to the vault (and don't mind the wait if I'm there). Didn't know "vault" was such a taboo word.

Out of the hundred or so banks I've called (with the same exact questions), this is the first that's been super paranoid.. Next time I'm going to rob a bank, I'm certainly going to call in advance and let them know...

Now I've probably got my name (she asked for my name as we were hanging up the phone), picture, and car license plate (cop in the parking lot probably ran a check), tagged somewhere as "suspicious/crazy coin collector/bank robber."

 

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Many banks completely dispise coin collectors and others are friendly. Some have an almost irrational abhorrence for coin collectors, it is really odd and a sociologist ought to study it.

 

Trading rolls of pennies for other pennies? What is this madness!? Everyone knows only old coins are worth anything. You must be trying to scam us. THE ROLLS ARE SHORT! One of his rolls had 48 pennies!! CROOK! THIEF! SCUM OF THE EARTH!

 

People get killed for money

That pretty much sums it up I'm afraid.

Don't know where you live but bank robberies DO happen and bank robbers can be stupid enough to call ahead. In my neck of the woods we recently had a guy rob a branch at a Meijer store because he needed $2000. Seriously, that's what the note said and that's all he wanted!

Now if you have a coin collection worth $50,000 and someone calls you up out of the blue to look at a Morgan Dollar that you put on ebay do you just want them in your home? Not me.

I sold a collection for a friend some years back and had such a request. I checked the guy out to high heaven before I would meet with him in person. Now we're good friends, he has 10 times as much money as I do and USED TO WORK WITH MY SISTER to boot.
I didn't know any of this at the time and took the proper precautions.

Paranoid? NO. Just being safe so it doesn't hit the news when a mother of three gets killed.

 

I'm still wondering how a question like "Can I come by now, or do you need some time?" can be interpreted maliciously. I understand banks get robbed, and it's better to err on the side of caution, but really? I'm really trying to understand her reaction here, and I'm having a rather difficult time.

Now, if I'd asked "How much money do you have in the vault?" prior to asking if they needed to head back there, I could understand... but I didn't. I asked if they had rolls of halves, then "Can I come by now, or do you need time to grab them from the vault?"

I don't know...

 

I understand where you're coming from here. When I want to DEPOSIT a bunch of change I call ahead so they'll be ready. When I cash a check I may ask for a fresh pack of singles or older notes if they have them. They know me by face and account so it's no problem.

You did not ask how much money they had in the vault BUT in their eyes you may have been asking is the vault open? Think about this. If you were asking that question and had an accomplice outside viola! Vault is open!

Betting I sound paranoid now but when one deals with large sums of money one has to think about this. Are the tellers behind glass? Is armed security present at all times? Are there cameras? Paint packs? .... and if they do have all of these what good is it if someone gets shot or killed?

I have dealt with fairly large sums of cash in the past (nothing near a bank level) and thought about these things. I had an assistant manager handcuffed while the perps gutted the safe, a bookeeper was duct taped with a gun to her head for about 10K. Know a few cashiers that have been robbed at gunpoint as well.

Last but certainly not least. I assumed the manager position at a gas station in Dolton, Il at one point in my life. The former manager seemed to have no real interest in being there anymore. You see, his assistant was shot and killed for $127.

Perhaps the person you dealt with has had similar experiences - perhaps not. Still, she did what she thought was right for the safety of her employees. That's the bottom line and she deserves credit for that.

 

Thanks for your perspective, clembo. I'll admit that I've never had the experience of publicly overseeing any amount of cash (besides the contents of my wallet), so it's quite possible my perspective would be vastly different if I had. And yes, to her credit, she did what she thought was right, which, if I was indeed there to rob the bank, likely would have prevented catastrophe.

I guess I was just rather surprised at her reaction. I've called/been to a ton of banks around the area (and only a select number that had bulletproof glass), and not a single one took exception to the question and many even happily volunteered information. Occasionally, when asking whether they have enough coin to sell (when I ask about pennies/nickels/etc.) tell me to call/come back ___(insert day here)___ when they get their shipment in.

I can see it from her perspective, but just feel like she was a bit too sensitive. However, once again, this is the coming from one who's never been on the other side of the till (or a deadly weapon, for that matter).

 

vwap:
Having worked for banks for about 8+ years, Personally, that was the most idiotic response to your inquiry that I have ever heard of.
I wouldn't go back there for $10,000 in half dollars.
Perhaps they have had a number of hits on the branch, but that was still stuipd.

Give us their phone number and we'll call or write to them that they are idiots.
And, NOT very customer friendly.

 

"Do you need time?" is a reasonable question. Once I needed to withdraw an unusually large (for me) amount of cash from my bank. They had to ask me to come back in 20 minutes because it DID take them some time to prepare.

I think the best way to avoid problems is to get to know the tellers and introduce yourself in person. That way, they get to know you and they won't be suspicious. It helps if you have an account in the bank. You didn't say if you did or not.
I also would introduce yourself when you call ahead.

 

Howdy,

Sometimes they can get weird. If it sounded like you were trying to understand their vault schedule, they'd get uptight in a hurry.

IFF I was going to rob a bank, I'd want to make sure the vault was open and not on some time lock.

That said, one halloween I went into the credit union with my mask on and they WERE NOT HAPPY. ;-)

teehehe, I thought it was funny, but they had no sense of humor,

rono

 

Rono, Thanks for the laugh. I'm sure the bank did not find it too funny. Was it a former presidents head mask? lol ? Banks should just close their doors on Halloween, it's just a recipe for disaster.

 

LOL sorry but I can see the humour in the last comment, specialy if you are a film fan

 

I was buying the $200 in halves that they had -- barely worth the trouble, it was just that I was going to be in the area. However, many banks that I've contacted have their halves, even small amounts, in their vault, as none of the tellers really enjoy counting them every day, which is why I always ask. I'm still not sure how my question could be construed as asking when their vault is open, and what the schedule is. It feels like most banks I've been to, the merchant teller or vault teller can get into the vault at any time. There's only been one that's been on a time-lock, and they told me this outright .

The main banks I bank at, the tellers know me, and all it peachy. However, oftentimes I'm visiting banks for their (usually) customer-returned halves, and as I've cleared halves out of all the banks in my area, I'll call up banks in places I don't usually go, but where I'll be later that day (or the next). Many times, I don't have an account there (more on this in a moment). Because of the number of banks I try to visit (and where they're located), there's no realistic way for me to get to know the bank(ers).

Until now, this has never been a problem. I've been to banks in both seedy and upscale areas, none of the tellers/bank managers/etc. I've ever dealt with have had any problem with the question "Can I come by now...?" Many volunteer info like: "we're on our lunches, can you come by around 2 or 3, and we'll be able to get them from the vault for you." Perhaps I've gotten lucky and been spoiled.

Probably 75% of the banks thank me (and a good percentage of those are ecstatic) for taking their halves, even when I'm not a member (and most don't ask). This lady was pretty angry (after she'd already sold me the halves and I was leaving) that I wasn't a member. I'll chalk this up as one bank I'll never become a member of.

I've been thinking on this for a night, and honestly can't think of much I'd change. My girlfriend suggested: "Can I come by now or do need some time to get it ready?," but that's really about it. My phone calls are rather short, and in my mind, not really confrontational... Once again, I can see how different experiences could lend to the lady's response, and while yes, she did what she thought was necessary, in my mind, she vastly overreacted..

 

Probably depends on your area. For example in this wonderful Chicago area, bank robberies are way, way up lately. Any call conserning the main vault is just not smart at the present time. This could mean you are wondering if the main vault is presently open. It could mean you want to know what is kept there. I know in this area it is just not smart to say the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong place.
In the downtown area of Chicago there is a very large bank, LaSallle Bank. The building is rather historic looking and the lobby is really fantastic. So I brought my camera and went into the lobby to takd some photos of it all. Note I said the lobby, not in the actual bank. I was immeadiately surrounded by people in and out of uniforms with guns drawn. The camera was opened, film ripped out, alll personal information was written down and I was then escorted out. HMMMM. Trying to hide something?
Being a gun collector I also have numerous tie bars in the shape of guns. One day at a Walgreens downtown as I approached the counter the lady at the cash register noticed the tie bar and blurted out "Oh that is a nice gun". Yep, again surrounded by people with real guns.
No it pays to be safe rather than sorry. If you worked in a bank around here it is not IF your going to be robbed, it's WHEN.
Sorry, I go along with the cautionary bank people.

 

Just Carl,

Well you know I'm close to you so I understand. Your stories reminded me of a guy at business I worked in in Cal City. He was rather shy and usually took in the deposits.
Thought one of the tellers was cute so wrote her a note when he made a deposit. Yup, you know what happened then. Surrounded by armed people.

Rono,

You went to a credit union in a Halloween outfit. Man, when I ran any business that handled cash I HATED that day the most. Always told my people to be extra careful.

After all - can you imagine the police report if someone did get robbed?
Yes, officer he was about 5 foot ten with rainbow hair, a big red nose and floppy shoes. The flower on his lapel squirted water at me. etc. etc.

vwap,
You've read all the posts with an open mind. She may have been having a bad day on top of thinking security. Course you said you weren't a member but why not become one? After all they REALLY know you now! LOL

 

LOL

In my little back-woods town, the vault doors are always wide open during operating hours.

 

Everyone knows that the first thing thieves go after is the change vault. Totally untraceable. There aren't even serial numbers on the coins.

LOL.


Seriously, I too have called around for coins and have gotten mixed responses. I can feel for the bank, but it was an excessive response. If they have never dealt with any coin collectors before, the request would be new for them.

Every bank is different and there is no rhyme or reason for the differences. I know a friend who had a suspicious activity report filled out on him for ordering too many half dollar coins (he knows this because they called him and literally asked the questions in the same order as they are on the form). This actually worked out in his favor though as they now order him all the halves he wants (I've seen him get $10,000+ in a week).

I have one bank where I get coins at and I can show up while the truck is unloading and the day tellers will tell me to come back later in the week when they get their shipment in. Another bank that I get coins from literally told me about the new time for their shipments when they switched services. Two polar opposites there.

Remember, anytime you deal with people on a regular basis in life, you will meet some of the strangest people you can imagine.

 

This post brings back lots of memories of things about banks. In Chicago's downtown area there is a Federal Reserve Bank. The street behind it is usually banded from traffic and people. I was in a hurry one day and decided as a tax payer I had the fright to use any public street I wanted so I tried to cut through that street. Didn't work. Had to go around the entire block. Some banks downtown are nuts. I tried to open a savings account in one place that required 3 pieces of ID with photos on them. Who has that? Another one told me I needed a Hundred Thousand to open any account. Contrary to that some banks suggest you start your kids with a savings account for even less than $1.

 

When I lived in Orlando I used Nations Bank. They had a policy that stated no customers could enter the lobby wearing sunglasses or hats. I walked into a branch one day wearing sunglasses and the security guard made me take them off.

 

Who in Florida dosen't wear sunglasses?

Talk about paranoid, I'd change banks.