Need Some Help from Bankers and Bank Tellers! (employees, credit card, unemployment)
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I have been offered a job as a teller with one of the major banks and need to make a decision quickly. If I accept it, I will start in two weeks and need to give my present employer notice. The bank training sounds good, all expenses paid, etc.
I have been in retail management for years and my job is pretty secure for the time being, but I'm so tired of working weekends and holidays, nights, etc. The banking hours and benefits would be better, the pay about the same.
I already turned down a similar offer, from a smaller bank, a couple of months ago because I posted on here and other places and got cold feet after learing there is tremendous pressure in some of these teller positions now to upsell banking products "or else". Is it really that bad?
I would welcome more stories or suggestions from those with experience formerly or presently working for one of these big banks. I support my family and can't afford a bad decision.
I worked for a bank in college and there was major pressure to sell. If you didn't meet your goals--you're out. We had to get 16 referrals for sales a week. It is the only thing I hated about the job. I hate sales. A referral was defined as getting someones name & number and a " verbal agreement" to allow someone to call them or open an account, etc. We basically made the jobs of the actual SALES people easier without any of the $$$ benefits.
I understand that the tellers deal with the public more than anyone else in the bank. But if you're gonna make them generate customers for the sales people, they should be compensated for it a little. IMO. Getting someone to agree to be contacted is the hardest part because if you are the ACTUAL bank financial sales person and you've already got some dumb teller to do all your "finding customers" work then all you have to do is close.
What is the bank? I've never worked in retail so I donno how it compares. You will work some Saturdays in banking and you can never take a day off on a Monday or Friday. just fyi
I guess what I'm really trying to determine is how SERIOUS are they about letting tellers go if they can't meet the goals, even if they are trying. If you are performing in the other areas of the job, will they still seriously just let you go for not getting a certain number of referrals? How can you possibly have control over that?
Where I work, employees are expected to open credit card accounts and push some other add-ons. But I've never seen them actually fire an associate who was otherwise a good employee, for not meeting goals, as long as they were at least trying. I would expect they would be eligible unemployment if that were the case.
I'm curious because I notice that there seem to be quite a few banks hiring for these and other jobs lately on the job boards, and I'm wondering whether banks have lifted hiring freezes because the economy is improving; or are they just losing people left and right to constant turnover because of the constant "sales goal" pressures of these jobs.
Trying to make an informed "decision".
The branch I would be working at is currently closed on Saturdays, Sundays, nights, and most major holidays (and they're paid). That is just so darn tempting to a burnt out, long-time retail store worker!
I guess what I'm really trying to determine is how SERIOUS are they about letting tellers go if they can't meet the goals, even if they are trying. If you are performing in the other areas of the job, will they still seriously just let you go for not getting a certain number of referrals? How can you possibly have control over that?
Where I work, employees are expected to open credit card accounts and push some other add-ons. But I've never seen them actually fire an associate who was otherwise a good employee, for not meeting goals, as long as they were at least trying. I would expect they would be eligible unemployment if that were the case.
I'm curious because I notice that there seem to be quite a few banks hiring for these and other jobs lately on the job boards, and I'm wondering whether banks have lifted hiring freezes because the economy is improving; or are they just losing people left and right to constant turnover because of the constant "sales goal" pressures of these jobs.
Trying to make an informed "decision".
The branch I would be working at is currently closed on Saturdays, Sundays, nights, and most major holidays (and they're paid). That is just so darn tempting to a burnt out, long-time retail store worker!
Is the teller line open on Saturdays until 12? That is how ours was. The bank was closed but the teller drive-thru was open.
I sent you a message. Not all banks may be like this.
As far as how can you control it? You just have to annoy everyone until you get them. If someone says they're going on vacation or having car trouble then you dig for more information and try to suggest a product to go along with it. It gets hard when the people coming into the bank are the same damn people over and over because 90% of people don't go IN the bank (they do drive thru). Don't get me started on the 'stupidness' of trying to get referrals in the drive thru (where people just want to get their stuff done & leave).
The other people I worked with had no problem getting their referrals but I just found them annoying. I'm not a people-person though.
Ok, I guess my handle qualifies me to answer this, ha ha.
I have worked at one of the big banks for 17 years. I would say the biggest question is, what is your goal? Do you just want to be a teller for 10 yrs? Some people do, it's a second income in their family and they have no desire to move up. If so, I would say you could just do a moderate amount of referrals and get by.
If you want to move up in the organization, by which I mean become a personal banker and maybe eventually banking center manager or client manager, then yes, sell sell sell. It's really not as hard as you think. I've seen tellers really shine with the referrals for two months and *poof* then get a job sitting down (don't underestimate that!) in a desk as a personal banker.
The most important thing is to really understand the products enough to feel comfortable referring them. If you are just offering credit cards to one after another customer (like retail sales), then yes, you will sound like a mindless robot. But if you see a customer with $100,000 in a regular checking account, earning .10% interest and you refer them to a CD or an investment product, chances are they will appreciate your referral.
Or, if like someone else said, you are seeing the same people day after day, use that to your advantage. Get to know them, find out if they own their home, are they happy with their interest rate? If they are renting, have they thought about buying a house? It's really a buyers market right now. Etc etc etc.
It really isn't as hard as you think. It all depends on your attitude. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Is the teller line open on Saturdays until 12? That is how ours was. The bank was closed but the teller drive-thru was open.
I sent you a message. Not all banks may be like this.
As far as how can you control it? You just have to annoy everyone until you get them. If someone says they're going on vacation or having car trouble then you dig for more information and try to suggest a product to go along with it. It gets hard when the people coming into the bank are the same damn people over and over because 90% of people don't go IN the bank (they do drive thru). Don't get me started on the 'stupidness' of trying to get referrals in the drive thru (where people just want to get their stuff done & leave).
The other people I worked with had no problem getting their referrals but I just found them annoying. I'm not a people-person though.
The last thing I would want is to go into a bank and have them try to sell me on anything. They already have my business. If I want anything, I'll ask them. Now, what I would like is prompt, courteous business and if a teller is holding up the line by trying to solicit 'referrals'...thanks for the warning.
The last thing I would want is to go into a bank and have them try to sell me on anything. They already have my business. If I want anything, I'll ask them. Now, what I would like is prompt, courteous business and if a teller is holding up the line by trying to solicit 'referrals'...thanks for the warning.
I am with you on this big time. I recently went into one of the "big boy" banks. All I wanted was to open a new checking account. Period. OMG the 9,000 things they tried to sell me. Each time I politely declined ("My only interest at this time is opening a new checking account.") but it really started to annoy me. Especially when they got to the "you can switch to this credit card and even get a Mickey Mouse logo on it." I ONLY WANTED A SIMPLE CHECKING ACCOUNT. Had I wanted a credit card with Mickey Mouse on it, I would have asked for that. Better yet, I would've taken my non-Mickey Mouse credit card and gone to Disney lol! If and when I want more I will call YOU.
That said, I have worked in banking for over 20 years. But I was always back office in lending, not on the "front lines" like a teller.
You know I have just noticed every time I go through the Drive through they are trying to get someone to call you now. I wouldn't much care for that part of the job as I would be fine as a teller but not so fine at being a salesperson trying to push services on everyone that comes through.
Yes, this seems to be a relatively new "idea" from the higher ups of these banks. Of course, as I have experienced in my retail job, THEY, in their cushy board-room jobs, are not the ones who have to push the products, and don't seem to get that this is an annoyance to many customers. They just want to see numbers and bottom lines met.
That being said, I actually am a people person and may just be able to cut the mustard doing this. I won't LIKE IT, believe me, but I may be able to do it. It may actually be less stressful than my retail mangement job. I'm no stranger to stress and pressure, believe me.
And thank you Sactobankergirl, you have given me a different, slightly more optimistic perspective of the job.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by montanamom
I have been offered a job as a teller with one of the major banks and need to make a decision quickly. If I accept it, I will start in two weeks and need to give my present employer notice. The bank training sounds good, all expenses paid, etc.
I have been in retail management for years and my job is pretty secure for the time being, but I'm so tired of working weekends and holidays, nights, etc. The banking hours and benefits would be better, the pay about the same.
I already turned down a similar offer, from a smaller bank, a couple of months ago because I posted on here and other places and got cold feet after learing there is tremendous pressure in some of these teller positions now to upsell banking products "or else". Is it really that bad?
I would welcome more stories or suggestions from those with experience formerly or presently working for one of these big banks. I support my family and can't afford a bad decision.
Help!
Well, I'm a teller for the next 6 days until I move and worked at Wachovia for 2 years. When Wachovia turned into Wells Fargo, the #1 asset of the job became sales. You could lose your job if you didn't meet sales goals. That's when I decided to leave. I can't really advise you whether to take it or not but sales is going to be a focus in any teller job with a big bank.
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