Hello everyone:

The question of the day is: what is it with banks these days? I like to chat with tellers and to control my spending, so I deliberately do not have an ATM card. I go to the bank when it is open, for the express purpose of getting cash, making a deposit, and having a pleasant conversation.

A few months back, my bank got rid of its teller lines and made it so I have to go into a tiny office to get my banking done. That is, I go into the little office after I wait in line behind someone who wants to open an account, get a new mortgage, and find out about the latest and greatest trends in banking.

What used to be a few minutes of pleasantries and then going on my way, now takes between 10 and 15 minutes. They tell me to have a seat in the lobby, I guess so that my feet don’t start hurting during the endless wait……where I wait and wait and wait…….

Today, I went into the bank where I have a safe deposit box. I had two questions: are there any larger boxes available and how much do they cost to rent. There were two men in front of me. One of them needed to get his messed up checking account balanced. These things take time.

The other one wasn’t saying what his problem was, but he was settled into the seat very comfortably and had apparently been there for some time (no, no moss was growing up his legs from the potted plants nearby, but he had the glassy-eyed look of boredom that comes upon a person who has been sitting for a while. He also kept shifting his weight in the chair, so I think his bottom was going numb. Can’t be sure about that, though).

After about five minutes and constant reassurances of future service from various employees who were walking by (but who were not actually waiting on someone), the girl behind the desk asked me to take a seat (in a much more stern voice). I explained that I only wanted to ask a couple of questions. Five more minutes went by before she finally said, “Okay, what did you want to know?”

I asked her if they had larger safe deposit boxes available; I had the smallest one and needed a bigger one. She responded “yes.” I asked her how much they rent for, but she said she couldn’t tell me because she had to figure it out (apparently there is a logarithm attached to this task, based on whether or not the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter is aligned with Mars). Translation: sit down lady, and wait your turn.

Forgive me, Father, but I left……only one question answered out of two, and no closer to renting a bigger safe deposit box. So, what is it with banks?

Best,

Dr. Sheri