Dad died back in May and his life insurance policy payout finally arrived. I knew many banks were only admitting customers by appointment lately, so I went down to the local BMO Harris branch that the internet SAID was available to receive customers, only to find out that no, they too had locked their doors and were only taking appointments and all others had to go through the drive-thru. For most common transactions that might suffice, but my situation was a little uncommon and I also needed to inquire about some wire transfers. It was stuff that just pretty much requires sitting down with a senior teller at one of the cubicles, as would happen in normal times.
As I walked up to the door to find it locked, the local Pizza Hut delivery guy was also arriving to deliver to the tellers. I continued to stand there while calling on my phone trying to see where there might be an open branch, as one of the tellers opened the door to admit the pizza guy. I gave her the look that communicated I had a quick question and she gave back the one that said "go ahead, lay it on me". To make a long story short, she informed me that she could indeed handle nearly everything I was looking to accomplish over at the drive thru. I drove over there and we conducted my business,...which was not a quick matter. Cars lined up behind me and were all very impatient. One gal actually got out of her car and walked up to verify that I was actually being served or if I was just sitting there like a jerk. I informed her they needed to band up all the hundreds for the ransom and it was gonna take a while. Karen was NOT happy.
I finally pulled away with nearly everything accomplished I was looking to do, and then headed over to the nearest free-standing U.S. Bank branch to inquire about withdrawing a substantial amount, which I know can require setting another appointment and it was unlikely five figures was going to efficiently fit in or travel in the air tube delivery thingy at the drive thru there. Sure enough,...U.S. Bank was also locked up, with only the drive-thru open for biz. Once again,...long lines for the limited lanes, and unhappy customers with short fuses.
So it occurred to me,...this is not even during a crisis like a run on the banks, yet people were very testy and seemed just under the surface ready to explode because of their frustration and so many other factors. I thought to myself, if the economic throat punch we are experiencing right now somehow morphed into a larger and even broader collapse,...perhaps Wall Street has another meltdown,...causing everyone to try to pull out as much cash as possible (with physical cash already beginning to be in shorter than usual supply),...JEEBUS,...we could really be on the cusp of some actual complete shuttering of bank branches. Heck,...they seem to be giving it a dry run right now,...prepping staff by doing these halfway measures.
I'm also aware (and the bank staff won't admit) that part of their locked door procedures is because of the multi-fold explosion of armed robbery that has occurred during this virus thing. The news reported on it initially back in early April a couple times and then seemed to have been instructed to shut the phuc up about it all, so as to not give the desperate recently unemployed and soon homeless folks any ideas. With everyone wearing masks, it was no longer unusual inside a bank. It was just too easy.
So now I'm interested in any institution who has NOT adopted this policy and still lets people inside. I think I would like to transfer all my accounts and business to such a bank or credit union.
As I walked up to the door to find it locked, the local Pizza Hut delivery guy was also arriving to deliver to the tellers. I continued to stand there while calling on my phone trying to see where there might be an open branch, as one of the tellers opened the door to admit the pizza guy. I gave her the look that communicated I had a quick question and she gave back the one that said "go ahead, lay it on me". To make a long story short, she informed me that she could indeed handle nearly everything I was looking to accomplish over at the drive thru. I drove over there and we conducted my business,...which was not a quick matter. Cars lined up behind me and were all very impatient. One gal actually got out of her car and walked up to verify that I was actually being served or if I was just sitting there like a jerk. I informed her they needed to band up all the hundreds for the ransom and it was gonna take a while. Karen was NOT happy.
I finally pulled away with nearly everything accomplished I was looking to do, and then headed over to the nearest free-standing U.S. Bank branch to inquire about withdrawing a substantial amount, which I know can require setting another appointment and it was unlikely five figures was going to efficiently fit in or travel in the air tube delivery thingy at the drive thru there. Sure enough,...U.S. Bank was also locked up, with only the drive-thru open for biz. Once again,...long lines for the limited lanes, and unhappy customers with short fuses.
So it occurred to me,...this is not even during a crisis like a run on the banks, yet people were very testy and seemed just under the surface ready to explode because of their frustration and so many other factors. I thought to myself, if the economic throat punch we are experiencing right now somehow morphed into a larger and even broader collapse,...perhaps Wall Street has another meltdown,...causing everyone to try to pull out as much cash as possible (with physical cash already beginning to be in shorter than usual supply),...JEEBUS,...we could really be on the cusp of some actual complete shuttering of bank branches. Heck,...they seem to be giving it a dry run right now,...prepping staff by doing these halfway measures.
I'm also aware (and the bank staff won't admit) that part of their locked door procedures is because of the multi-fold explosion of armed robbery that has occurred during this virus thing. The news reported on it initially back in early April a couple times and then seemed to have been instructed to shut the phuc up about it all, so as to not give the desperate recently unemployed and soon homeless folks any ideas. With everyone wearing masks, it was no longer unusual inside a bank. It was just too easy.
So now I'm interested in any institution who has NOT adopted this policy and still lets people inside. I think I would like to transfer all my accounts and business to such a bank or credit union.
