STUPID bank staff.

[isaiah357]

so i go to the bank, i ask them to get $1200 cash from my account. hand the bank teller my slip he gets the money, and starts counting it extremely loudly. literally everyone in the bank can hear exactly what she is giving me. i look around and everyone is looking at me. anyone have this experience and have any suggestions on how to deal with it?! im not trying to get robbed walking out of the bank. what would you do? Not a ccw friendly state.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[dukalmighty]

I'd ask the clerk if she likes to let everybody know how much money people are withdrawing,I have never had a clerk count out loud and maybe she needs it brought to her attention

[BikerRN]

I would type a nicely worded letter to the Bank President stating your expirience and safety concerns.

It also helps if you say something like, "If this is the manner in which you instruct your employees to conduct themselves, I will be forced to close my accounts and take my business elsewhere." You could also drop a line about closing your Business Accounts, if you have any, and how you will mention this to your Trade Association in the event that any members of the Trade Association are also members of the same Bank.

Good luck.

Biker

[goldshellback]

Yeah, a little something written to the Bank Manager/President sounds in order.
That behavior isn't in anyone better intrest.

[ppkheat]

I've never had a teller count so loud that others could hear. If she were counting out loud to me, I'd give her a low "shhhhhhh" until she looked up at me, I think she'd get the message.

Consider using the drive-thru.

[ccw9mm]

hand the bank teller my slip he gets the money, and starts counting it extremely loudly. what would you do?

Once previously, I have asked teller if he thought there was anyone that failed to hear his loud play-by-play on the dollar amount I was being handed. Have only done this once. But it got the security point across.

He didn't fully realize what he was doing, the security implications of it. He did, after that. We had a brief discussion about the lunacy of broadcasting the handing over of such large amounts. Make it clear how stupid such advertisement is if being handed, say, $5000, and the message is received loudly and clearly. My amount was less, but same issue.

Needless to say, on that occasion, I terminated the transaction and simply headed to another branch. That was just a few years ago, but haven't needed to do it before or since.

Similarly, when checking into a hotel or motel, being loudly told the room number and directions simply won't do. I ask for another room, have them write the number on the card or a slip of paper, then find my own way to it. Safer that way. Silly thing is, this happens probably half the time. The minimum-wage types who man the counters at these places don't seem to get it.

Better to be thought retentive than a target.

[SIXTO]

I would have called the teller out on it right then and there, and followed up with a letter so it maybe would become a training point.

[Miggy]

Similarly, when checking into a hotel or motel, being loudly told the room number and directions simply won't do. I ask for another room, have them write the number on the card or a slip of paper, then find my own way to it. Safer that way. Silly thing is, this happens probably half the time. The minimum-wage types who man the counters at these places don't seem to get it.

+1 on this.
In our hotel is SOP to write down the room number in the Key Folder issued to incoming guest and NEVER say the room number out loud.
However, I have seen guests that come to the Front Desk requesting a copy of a key announce their name and room number loud enough to be heard across the street. If you lose your key or gets damaged, give the FD clerk your ID as you request your new key. If they are lazy (easier to look you up in the computer by room number than name) and ask for a room number too, ask them to give you a piece of paper and write it down.

As for banks, I have seen the Loud Counters more time than I care but lucky enough not to deal with one. I rarely go inside or deal with large amounts of cash but when I do I go to the Drive thru like ppkheat mentioned.

[atctimmy]

I would have called the teller out on it right then and there, and followed up with a letter so it maybe would become a training point.

+1. I would have said something like "Why don't you shout that out a little louder so I can get mugged when I leave."

[JonInNY]

I would have just gone to the branch manager, right then and there, (or do it today) and offer up a complaint. You are the customer, and entitled to certain privacy rights, the teller is obviously not aware of it.

[Hopyard]

We all have different perceptions of what "extremely loudly" might mean.

I want the teller to count in a clear voice so that I can see and hear what is going on. I then take the money, but before leaving the service point, I count it out loud bill by bill to make sure it is correct and that the teller can see that the count is honest.

I don't worry about being robbed as I leave the bank. But, that is just me and the neighborhood I live in. If I did worry about being robbed on the way out, I'd go in armed. Our bank doesn't have a 30.06 sign (Texas rules).

[ccw9mm]

We all have different perceptions of what "extremely loudly" might mean.

Ever person in the bank that turned to hear what my teller was saying to me thought similarly, on that day.

[Tye_Defender]

Talk to the branch manager, but be nice (if you need to drag out the big guns, use the "feel" word, like I "feel" less safe when you do that). It is possible that it is a "company policy" to count out loud anytime they are dealing with large amounts of cash, "for your own safety" of course. Maybe they think some customers can't count that high so the other tellers will hear a mis-count and correct your teller before you get short-changed.

Take 5 apes and put them in a cage with 2 accessible levels. Put food on both levels. When any of the apes goes to get the food on the top level, spray them all down with a fire hose. Eventually the apes will physically prevent any of the other apes from going to the top level and it becomes "company policy". Now remove one of the original apes and replace it with a new ape. The new ape will try to get the food on the top level and the other 4 will give the new one a beating to prevent being sprayed down with water. For the next 4 days, remove one of the original apes and replace it then remove the firehose. Now you have 5 apes that have never been sprayed with the hose and it is no longer even an issue, but if any of them tries to get the food on the top level, they get a beating. There is no longer a reason for the beating, it is just "company policy"!

There might have been a legitimate reason (maybe there was a "fire hose" at some time) for this policy. Maybe the video surveillance has sound too and they were able to figure out a short-change problem by playing back the tape and hearing the teller count. Or maybe some corporate bean-counter had a challenge to come up with ideas to decrease fraud/loss and put this idea up to get the check-mark on their yearly evaluation and get the big raise. If that is the case, the branch manager might not be able to help, but they might be able to. Can't hurt to ask.

[rudy]

I work as a teller in a bank part time while attending school. I've always been taught that I shouldn't speak any louder than is necessary. Customer privacy is paramount and if someone other than the customer can hear what I'm saying, that privacy has been violated. If a customer asks me for something that can be written down, a balance for example, I always offer to write it down; therefore, giving them the choice to have it given written or verbally.

If I were in your situation, I'd speak to the teller before they even got finished counting, asking them to quiet down a bit. I'd also speak to a manager. Privacy is a very important part of banking and your concerns should be taken seriously, if not, there are many other banks!

[Spenser]

Every once in a while I have a teller who is a little to loud when counting out money. Of course it's usually not in such high amounts. I also try to avoid actually going in the bank whenever possible.

Someone mentioned the problem of other's being able to hear things like your motel room number. When I was younger, I worked front desk at a hotel (Holiday Inn) and it was policy to not verbally give them their room number. We just wrote it down in the little paper key holder they got and told them what floor it was on. I think banks could implement the same type of policy, although some may want their money counted to them so they don't have to count it themselves to make sure it's the right amount.