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So I Was Waiting in Line at the Bank Today and...


I see that they are really cutting down on the number of tellers that one can use to deposit checks and do transactions. It has been months; however, all the bank tellers were telling me how nice it is to deposit checks via ATM. People are just standing in line waiting and waiting and waiting...5-6 people. All these bankers just walking around to their desks. It is like "HELLO! There are four computer stalls open, could you maybe jump on and get this line shrunk?

Correct me if I am wrong, however, convenience is a factor right? If CHASE (I said the bank name) is trying to automate these teller jobs, they are doing a horrible job of providing convenience. I, for one, AM NOT going to use an ATM to deposit my check!

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>I, for one, AM NOT going to use an ATM to deposit my check!

Why not?

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Because for one, I am not tech savvy and two, I like talking to a human being! I like to park my car, walk into the bank, write my numbers on a deposit slip, wait in line (that should not be more than 1 or 2 people; although now, it is starting to be more of a headache), and get my transaction done.

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Times have changed. People use their smart-phones, smart tvs, laptops and other devices more to communicate through. People find it uncomfortable talking to other people and prefer their private spaces. I am sure all these bankers you see moving about doing nothing are probably on their smartphones or pcs dealing with customers through internet. We are both communicating with each other through the internet. Ideas are exchanged more easily. We can go into depths discussing various issues, and we have access to unlimited information now each and every one of us. You are probably a boomer.

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I actually grew up in the 90s, but I am very social.

I do not even know how to really work a smart phone. In fact, I think my phone sometimes does its own thing. I will always be a people person in an introverted world.

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You are not a people's person. Stop pretending. You are on a nerdy geek site right now using the same technology you are criticizing.

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I do both. The reason I am on here is because I disconnected cable. It's not like I could just spontaneously have someone to talk to all day.

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so you used to connect with people thru cable? ok lol

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Yeah, I am an alien of sorts. Antenna frequencies and all that...

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Antennas? Are you from the last century?

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The new t.v.s do not allow me to communicate as effectively.

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i personally prefer telegraphy used in RMS Titanic

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The alien race I am from does not have those capabilities yet.

I mean dude, I just told you I like human to human (I mean alien....) interaction. Can you not see that I am probably behind on some things? Geesh, it's like people expect me to be some futuristic green headed thing. That is pretty offensive!

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Aliens dont exist. Provide selfie if you are one.

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What's a selfie?

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whats a deposit check?

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That's what you guys call it. Idk..I just know to give it to someone to deposit it for me. Thus the reason for my ATM problems...

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how does depositing via ATM work anyway? Seriously even i dont know how the hell that works. You put dollars inside the atm machine and it accepts like a vending machine? very confusedd

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See, you are losing money. I know what money is because that is the only way I can get around in this world.

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you dont need money. u drink water from the toilet and eat food from the trash. u sleep on sidewalks or inside a trash can. life is good.

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This has been possible for years,I've only done it once but I just popped it in the envelope provided and filled in the details on the front and popped of into the ATM.
It may be more hi tech now but Idk.

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What the actual fuck? I'll try it. Thanks!

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More to the point,who uses cheques anymore?

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well said

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Try working on how to use ATM, smartphones, etc

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I do not want to. I want to keep my old ways.

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try riding horses instead of driving cars

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I am against the use of animals for transportation. You do have a point though, I should start biking and walking.

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try to live in with the times, chap

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And what if I refuse? What if I am adamant about wanting some things to stay the same?

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you are entitled to be slow

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I don’t think that I’ve been to a bank in years. I actually prefer cash, but rarely ever carry any, because it’s just more convenient to use my ATM card. The reason I prefer cash though is that occasionally, even though it’s rare, the machines have been down, and I was unable to make my purchase using my ATM card.

I’ve been depositing all of my checks for the last few years via my Wells Fargo App on my Android.

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I always had a fear of carrying cash; however, it probably would have helped me with my spending habits. I always feel like I am going to be robbed. If I had cash, I would probably lose it all. Then again, if I have my debit card on me, I could lose everything on that too. It's tough.

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Yeah, I live in a rural area, so I don’t have much to fear for the most part. But I did pick up a cash belt from Amazon for this reason. You can keep some in your car as well, and hide it really well, and only keep what you need immediately on your person.

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It seems like every second person on here lives in a rural area.

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That's probably because people living in rural areas are limited in social interaction Arvin, so instead they seek out online alternatives to engage with others.

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Oh I see. I live in a state with many rural areas and I am in a big city, yet I still feel like I cannot interact with anyone here. It's probably why I am on here as well.

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My payments in my work are all digital now, but back in the day when I got paid by check, I ONLY deposited using ATMs! Just so convenient and they are super easy to use. I never had one single problem.

I also loved the drive-thru where you just put stuff in the chute.

I changed countries and now I'm stuck with going inside a bank and lining up for a teller -- and I feel like I just stepped back into the stone age. I miss ATMs and drive-thrus.

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What if I then told you, because of your convenience; people were put out of their jobs because of it? Would that change your mindset to see that the stone age is actually a better option (in this case)?

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Well there is that side to technological advances, yes. That does occur to me. But when I was using ATMs there still was a whole row of teller's working in the bank itself for those who still wanted to use them.

And the drive thru is manned by real people who receive the chute cannister and process the check.

All professions develop in such a way that increasing automation does mean fewer employees are needed, unfortunately.

However, in my current location there isn't much chance of that anyway, it's so backward.

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I am starting to see why the older ways, in some ways, was better. It was great to use technology in the innovative sense; however, now we are using it because we are getting lazy. I mean we use it now to eliminate jobs from our fellow humans?

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Well that's not the primary goal, lol -- "lets make sure we eliminate jobs"! It's an unfortunate side effect of increased convenience.

And I wouldn't call it "lazy" to want things to be faster and more convenient, in fact it's usually the busiest people who need and use the convenient ways, not lazy people. The pace of life itself and our working lives is faster -- we have less time for many things, at least if you live in a major city. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it's how things have become. Standing in line at a tellers is cutting into my day when I have other things I need to do in a busy working day. Being able to deal with a machine in under a minute lets busy people be more productive by getting back to work sooner or whatever else they need to get done.

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Lots of times I look at new features and wonder who really "okays" them. Is it the shareholders or is it the consumers? If consumers knew that, even when our time is being cut into, we were responsible in a businesse cutting out jobs; would we still do it?

I mean you bring up good points; however, it almost feels like a deflection. It is as if we are all believed to think it actually helps us; however, the business does not want you to see the side that would make us reconsider. Like what would happen if I did not use half the features? What happens if a whole bunch of consumers never used these new features? It would have to change.

If I were to finish all my errands and stand in a line, I am thinking I would definitely do it. Or if it meant that another job opened up for me to stand in line, I would do it.

The analogy is similar to cows in a slaughter house. You see the most convenient way they are driven, study their behavior, and then make more efficient for them to be sliced and diced. It's like either way they are going to be slaughtered; however, it is a faster way to get them there.

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The new order of things ideally means that there are just a different set of jobs for people to have instead, and things have always been that way.

When the automobile took over from horse-drawn carts, people probably protested that motor vehicles are putting people out of jobs because now nobody needs to take their horses to the blacksmith. Blacksmiths all over the world were suddenly no longer needed on such a regular basis.

But there are still blacksmiths and people who shoe horses, it's just that the nature of the job has changed because all the vehicles on roads are no longer using horses. People had to adjust and find another way to make a living -- and they did.

And there was a new industry creating jobs -- the automobile industry. And so on, and so on.

The same goes for anything you can name that was ever a job people could do. Something always makes a certain job obsolete in the end. A population of people just get absorbed into another industry. It's happened this way throughout the history of the world, because it isn't just the technological revolution that has made jobs redundant -- every change humans ever created in the way we do things has done that all through history.

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In some ways the older ways are better. Ideally, there would be a choice of using either the older or the new.

I don't like that automation (ATMs and automated check-outs) are taking away jobs from people. Nor do I like that it also means people are having fewer face-to-face social interactions, however fleeting. Social interactions are important to human beings; we are social animals.

I enjoy the interactions I have with postal clerks, bank tellers, and grocery store cashiers, some of whom I've known for years and we've become quite friendly. It adds to my day, and to theirs, not to mention providing them with jobs.

Sometimes, as in afterhours or when a line is too long, I prefer using an ATM. But I don't want that as my only choice.

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Throughout history people have always had to adapt to something that does away with the need for a specific job.

See my post about horse-shoers. All industries come to an end and people fold themselves into a new industry. It was ever so.

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So then tell me, what new jobs is this type of automation, that is specifically designed to replace human beings, is this creating? What new industries are there for these people, and how does this decrease in human interaction help us as a society, given that we are innately social animals?

Horse shoers and blacksmiths have decreased radically since the advent of the car, of course. But the car was not invented to replace people.

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At a certain point, we must put our foot down or else the corporate way is going to be our only way. It almost feels like it is a controlled thing. We can either adapt or protest for a choice.

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Correct me if I am wrong, however, convenience is a factor right? If CHASE (I said the bank name) is trying to automate these teller jobs, they are doing a horrible job of providing convenience. I, for one, AM NOT going to use an ATM to deposit my check!

You're right. It is poor customer service to treat account holders that way. It's as if they just want your money and that's it.

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