Tellers forced to be "fake friendly" in unfriendly Northern VA (neighborhood, buying)

[Carlingtonian]

Capitol One has always been a horrible company. They got in huge trouble for conveniently misplacing customers' credit-card payment checks about a decade ago. And now (thanks to the repeal of Glass-Steagall), they've horned in on banking. (Chase has too, though.)

I detest over-familiarity from service people. All I want from a bank teller is a smile and sincere politeness--but not some pointless chitchat. Also, count my money back to me. (It drives me nuts when cashiers or tellers just hand me a stack of bills without counting them.)

[car54]

I think banks think people are stupid. Like you're going to walk out of there and say, "Honey, those tellers sure care about us!".

Another case in point....have you heard those ridiculous radio ads by PNC Bank pitching home equity loans? It starts out something like, "Congratulations, you're about to pay off your mortgage! You should celebrate!...then a male voice says "I know I want to go someplace warm". Get a home equity loan from PNC Bank!

Can you imagine....urging people to celebrate paying off their mortgage by taking out ANOTHER MORTGAGE! LOL.

Nobody's that dumb, are they?

[MaryleeII]

Look, chit chat is NOT part of being a bank teller. Stick to the job, which is handling my money. A simple Good Morning, afternoon, whatever is sufficient. You'd think it would be the opposite, management would not want the teller engaging in small talk. They rate the tellers on time per transaction, accuracy, then want to turn it into a tea party? Some people, once they get chatting, never stop, so the teller is supposed to keep the line moving and make it into a social event?

Also, I wouldn't want to disclose my personal comings and goings to someone who has access to my financial records. What about people who don't speak English? Ask them some silly question and they can't respond, then what?

[Carlingtonian]

Lest I sound cold and heartless: Back in the late '90s I lived in Boulder. I used a bank called The Bank. That was the name. I didn't use ATM machines back then, so every Saturday, I'd walk down to The Bank and deposit my paycheck but have them give me some cash. I got to chatting with the teller every time--usually about books we'd read. But that was then.

[MaryleeII]

Also, what if the cashier is an attractive young lady, who would prefer to keep her distance from certain types? She shouldn't be forced to engage in conversation with drunks, winos, bums, etc who stumble into the store, it could be misintrepreted as flirting by some creep.

[MaryleeII]

Originally Posted by cdmurphy

I've been a Chevy Chase / Capital One customer for 14 years. When a new CCB branch opened up a few blocks from my house about 8 years ago, I'd wander in to deposit the occasional check, unload loose coins, buy savings bonds, etc. The tellers were friendly and efficient without being creepy. Since the Capital One takeover, I don't want to make chit-chat with the tellers because they are always trying to upsell me - do you want to refinance your house? Buying a new car soon? Need one of our stupid credit cards? I wouldn't mind questions about the weather, but I don't like to be hounded. (I have family in banking in other states, and it's common now for tellers to have sales requirements, but not all banks do it.)

Now I deposit checks in the ATM, and I take my four-year-olds with me when we do the coins so the teller is incentivized to finish the transaction before my kids trash the lobby. Chevy Chase never pushed the hard sell during every transaction - and in return, I felt comfortable approaching them when I wanted to open up a different account or buy CDs.

My experience was just the opposite. My kids were well-behaved, until tellers, clerks, etc would hype them up. I didn't bring my kids in to coo over, I had them in tow because I couldn't be expected to leave them alone! I would have them behaving, the a teller, whatever, would talk to them, like they were the customer! Well, my goodness, how old are you, what's your name, yadda, yadda....then give them candy, or a calander,or pen, whatever, they literally wouldn't stop fussing with the kids until the kids were out of control. I'd tell the kids to settle down, the teller would contradict me,oh, that's ok, then the kids would think they could do as they wished. I finally just gave up, let the kids run around and tear up the place, hey, I tried, have it your way!
I guess they were told to be friendly with the customers, but they just forgot about me and my transactions while encouraging the kids to turn into monsters!

[kirbyluvsonj]

i personally would enjoy the chit chat fake or not.going to the bank on my day off is not something i look forward to doing so someone showing a little kindness and being nice goes a long way. i use to live in springfield va and the folks there in nova need to be a little bit more nicer. i live in lancaster pa and i never meet <bank tellers included> people who are not nice.it's very different up here. i must say i enjoy it very much

[jillabean]

Originally Posted by car54

I think banks think people are stupid. Like you're going to walk out of there and say, "Honey, those tellers sure care about us!".

Another case in point....have you heard those ridiculous radio ads by PNC Bank pitching home equity loans? It starts out something like, "Congratulations, you're about to pay off your mortgage! You should celebrate!...then a male voice says "I know I want to go someplace warm". Get a home equity loan from PNC Bank!

Can you imagine....urging people to celebrate paying off their mortgage by taking out ANOTHER MORTGAGE! LOL.

Nobody's that dumb, are they?

That commercial made me choke on my coffee when I first heard it--for the same reason. I am looking forward to never having a mortgage again when mine is paid off. You want to go someplace warm after you finish paying off the mortgage, make payments to a savings account in the same amount that your monthly mortgage used to be and when you have enough, then go.

[mcleanexec]

Originally Posted by Future Home Seller

A friend of mine worked up to recently for Capital One Bank as a teller. She quit last week for a very interesting reason. She was forced to be friendly with everyone! They had secret shoppers who would rate her on her small talk and how often she smiled at customers. If she did not act friendly she would be written up. She was given a list of friendly questions to ask customers..

How many of you have gone into a branch bank office in Northern VA recently? (Especially Capital One) The Tellers are told that they have to make small talk with every customer. There are the standard questions they are told to use:

How was your weekend?
Any plans this weekend?
How about those Nationals?
Enjoying the nice weather?

Trouble is most people in Northern VA don't want to make small talk with anyone. They are TYPE A, rush rush, "I am just to busy for you" types. Lots of her customers at Capital One either did not reply or gave a one word answer to her questions. A number of them told her that was none of her business, or looked at her like she had two heads. A few even complained to the manager that she was wasting their time.

Would this fake friendly work in a regular town outside the Dc area rat race? Is the negative reactions she got to her friendly chit chat based on the culture of the area or something else?

Anyone who complains to a manager when someone is being friendly has alot "short comings' if you get my drift or is a racist. Maybe Capital One customers are just unfriendly tools. Nothing wrong with Management promoting friendliness.

I travel to NYC for biz every month, if you want unfriendly try banking there. LMAO

[mcleanexec]

Originally Posted by MaryleeII

Look, chit chat is NOT part of being a bank teller. Stick to the job, which is handling my money. A simple Good Morning, afternoon, whatever is sufficient. You'd think it would be the opposite, management would not want the teller engaging in small talk. They rate the tellers on time per transaction, accuracy, then want to turn it into a tea party? Some people, once they get chatting, never stop, so the teller is supposed to keep the line moving and make it into a social event?

Also, I wouldn't want to disclose my personal comings and goings to someone who has access to my financial records. What about people who don't speak English? Ask them some silly question and they can't respond, then what?

You sound like a pleasant person to be around.
CO Teller: HI
You: (silence)
CO Teller: How was your weekend
You: Bite me
CO Teller: Good to hear. Who do you think is going to win the skins game tomorrow
You: Get me the manager and the police

If you dont speak English go take some classes.