Bank teller code of ethics?

Well it could be looked at this way, 1. You are the customer asking for a paticular denomination of coin, she is a hired hand employed by the bank and being subcontracted to you to perform her duties, duties- customer transactions, computer data entry, and know how to count, I'm sure there is more duties or job descriptions, but I bet that looking for old coins, silver, and old paper notes definately not one of the job descriptions!! :hammer: jmo

John

 

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LOL

I guess I'll make sure my small town tactics stay small town.


I am just of the mind that the customer is ALWAYS right.
Doctors, banks, ect... all act like you should be kissing their butt.
I've yet to figure out how that happend, when we are supporting their livelyhood.

 

It got worse today..

Different bank, (tip: ALWAYS have an account where you beg for till nuggets) I returned to pick up a hoard of cirrculated cents I had "ordered" and the head teller (who was not present on the day of my request) was there.. she says "they're not here.. and we're not going to order them".

I've had direct deposit at that bank for almost 20 years.

I was speechless. She wouldn't look me in the eye. The best I could muster was "That would have been nice to know when I requested them rather than after I stopped in to GET them". There were some SUITS lurking around. It looked like a bunch of bank EXECS were hanging out at the branch for some reason.. you know.. real tall, deep voices, "corporate hair". None of the employees looked pleased. It felt like a branch closing or something. Creepy.

Soooo.. I started the process of moving the accounts to a smaller more LOCAL bank. I think I'm finished with superbanks. The local S&L had 4% checking. Cool.

 

for REAL Codydude!

That would take me 4 years to find. I thought I wanted to work at a toll booth when I retire.. but now I think I'll be a COUSIN!

 

Delmer:
I totally agree, the teller was wrong, especially the attitude.

 

Yep, I would have been moving my account too. I can understand banks not wanting to go out of their way to support collectors whims or odd requests, but you never treat a customer rudely.

 

You're kidding, right?!? Since when do you (or anyone) have any "right" to something that you haven't paid for that is in someone else's inventory?? It is insane to expect that just because you want something that you have a right to it when it doesn't belong to you.

Ethics-wise I see no violation (unless the bank has a policy on such a thing), however I think it is bad form for her not to have pulled them for herself as they crossed the counter the first time. It wasn't particularly friendly of her to pull it as you watched.

 

Thanks, Cave!
Very well said!!

 

It has been my experience that this is acceptable to bank tellers who are being harrassed by people who ask for odd denominations and for boxes of coins. They know that they (as a bank) lose money on customers like that and losing them is actually to their advantage.

When you find a bank that treats you right stick with them as it is difficult to find one that is willing to put up with constant requests for change.

 

I totally agree with your first post and completely understand your second - but it's still a matter of how you deliver the message. Just like the beginning of the thread - as a customer it is better to endear yourself to the teller than cop an attitude. As a business employee, you can be professional with your customers and say "no" in a way that is not offensive. IMO - An unrespectful attitude on either side of any counter (whether it's a bank or any other business you visit) just shows a level of immaturity and lack of respect for others. People need to spend more time thinking about how their response will be taken. Just because you are the customer, doesn't give you the right to be rude or expect service that is not in the best interest of the business. If you run business, you do not have a pass to treat customers in an unprofessional manner regardless of how important their business is.

 

Darryl:
Beautifully stated.
No yelling, screaming or whatever.
Simple and to the point.

 

You're kidding, right?!? Since when do you (or anyone) have any "right" to something that you haven't paid for that is in someone else's inventory??
so you are saying that when you go to a mechanic and you order parts for your vehicle and when they arrive this mechanic then picks through the parts to get new parts and replaces them with the old parts off of there vehicle this acceptable to you because it is still his inventory. Why should the teller get to pick trough an ordered box of coins that was purchased for a customer shouldn’t they order there own box of coins if they wish to collect for there own profit. Where does it say that they have a right to take advantage of a customer? In my opinion this amounts to out right theft. I have no problem with any one who searches for silver or coins on there own in there own time and not in front of customers that is more than rude it is insulting. The people at the bank where this was happening were always glad to see me order a new box now I see why. Between all the fees and interest they make off of our money in the bank I don’t see getting a box or two now and then as a loss to them. As for being harassed by customers asking for coins ITS THERE JOB THEY WORK IN A BANK HELLO!

 

Until you take possession of those coins - they are not yours.

They are not obligated under any laws or rules of banking to even sell you a box. Even if the bank offers to order you a box they are not your until they hand them over to you. They may give you an even exchange of notes for coins, but again are not under any obligation to support your numeristic needs or desires as this is not why banks are in business.

For that matter, there is nothing to stop them from charging you a service charge for ordering coins - and they would still have every right to search them while they still belonged to the bank.

They have fulfilled their business obligations at the point they give you coins for an agreed amount of money - and in that way it is similar to buying a new auto part for the amount requested.

As for a substituted auto part compared to substituted coins - I'm sorry but that's like comparing apples and grapefruit.

I'm not a lawyer but believe that - If you substitute a product and sell it under false pretense that would be fraud. The bank is only obliged to sell you real money and nothing beyond that. If you don't like the way the bank treats you, find a different bank.

Now if a coin dealer substituted clad coins for silver coins - then we would be talking apples and apples.

You have no legal right to tell a bank that they cannot search THEIR inventory and seperate what they do not wish to distribute to the public. People do not seem to understand this point.

 

The title of this thread is Bank Teller Code of Ethics. No one is implying that the bank has any legal obligation to fulfill any request you have, just that if you do have a request, it is handled in a professional and courteous manner. As in, "the customer is always right".

 

you are correct the BANK does have the right to seperate coins. this is not the bank we are talking about but a teller who does not return the coins they take to the bank but keeps them for there own gain. what right does a teller have using my money for there personal gain. this is not the bank we are talking about but someone coscripted to perform certain duities and collecting on the banks dollar is not one of them. your right that analogy sucks but i still feel that a teller has no right to search an unopened box of coins that a customer has ordered.

the teller that sits there for a minute or more scrutinizing a coin while on the banks time is technically embezzling the bank. those minutes all add up. they are perfectly capable of dropping any coin they may be interested in to one side and inspect them on there own time and not in front of the customer. bank are here to serve the customer and make a profit for they are a buisness and it is not good buisness to have rude personel running your buisness.

 

I'm sorry but - The customer is not always right. It sounds really nice and cushy for the customer but businesses make decisions every day that are not in the customers best interest or as they would desire. Customers are important but the business should make decisions based on the businesses best interest. Sometimes that favors the customer and sometimes it doesn't.

The bank and the teller is pretty much one in the same. The teller is a representative of the bank and therefore has certain authority to act on behalf of the business. If a particular bank has established that they are not in business to support coin collectors and/or the tellers have the authority to separate coins or other currency as long as it is in an even denomination - then there is not much you can do but go else where. There's no ethics involved here, it's about what you want and they own. They are under no obligation as a teller or a bank to give you specific coins or currency. They can handel that in a professional manner or they can choose to be unprofessional as they were IMO in the situation with the "they're not here.. and we're not going to order them". I'm sorry, but they do not care about your business and they are probably laughing about it over a drink after work. Does that make you feel good as a customer - no. Does it change how they will do business - no. Should you complain to the manager - if it makes you feel better go ahead but that will not affect how the business operates unless you are an exceptionally big customer. Two of my close friends are way-ups in very large banks and its a nasty business and they really don't care about the individual customer that uses the bank to deposit weekly checks that are spent within a week to pay bills. Even if you carry a balance, unless it's very large, it will not matter. For that matter, they care very little about small to medium businesses that use them for strictly payroll services as money is moved in and out and seldom sits there for any length of time.

I love to collect coins too and enjoy roll searching. I would love it if banks/tellers gave me what I wanted, but I understand the business side of running a bank enough to understand if the bank or teller does not want to give me coins I ask for - that's the way it goes. I respect the right they have to deny me something that I do not own. I also have the right to take my business somewhere that is more collector friendly, and nothing makes these banks happier when I do - and that's OK too.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with both this post and the one immediately before my post.

Darryl, you and I are on the same page.

 

tdm:
Where did it say that they ordered a box of coins for a customer?
The coins were in the teller's coin box.
So, where did they take advantage of a customer?

 

I've never had a teller cherrypick a coin before my eyes, but I have had tellers show me stuff they'd pulled form circulation and kept as a part of their own banks. I've been shown Ike dollars, silver Washington quarters, Silver Certificates, and so forth. I always wondered why they didn't just replace the finds with money of their own, but never asked for fear of treading into a sensitive area.

I did watch an ABC store clerk swipe a silver quarter from my best friend. He'd just given it to him in change and took it back, claiming he was going to turn it into the governement! I nearly lost it right there on the spot. My friend didn't care at all, but I was livid.

You are better off ordering boxes to search if you can. I'm into my 3rd year of roll searching. My luck has been tough thus far, but I'd venture to say it is better than the success I'd have if I asked tellers for loose coins to search. I know, sometimes you don't a have a choice.

The head teller at my bank just left for another branch in another town. She was my "hook-up," so now I'm starting to get dirty looks from the other tellers when I go to get a box to search. Seems like things might have come full circle.

 

Merc Dimes

Yes!!!, I was in Lancaster, Pa for a few days and my family and i went to dinner at Millers. At that time cell phones were not widely used , so i had to make a phone call. i asked for change for a dollar and I received two merc dimes in my change. i quickly asked the cashier for a dollars worth of dimes and, yes you quessed it, she caught on and didn't give me any dimes. I did see the drawer and it was full of merc dimes, at least $10.00 worth - jack pot!!!. i asked if I could buy them all and she refused. As i was watching her I noticed bills coming out of her wallet and coins coming out of the register. It was agonizing, but i had no choice but to endure it all.

BWJR:headbang: