Evening journal., 1909-08-05
BANKING AS
SEEN BY TELLER
William G. Taylor Writes on
Subject in July Issue OF
Trust Companies"

"rrust Companies" IN its July issue
contains the following article ON Bank (
ing as Seen From the Paying Tellcrs /
Window" by William G. Taylor. assist |
ant secretary and treasurer of the Equit- |
able Guarantee and Trust Company:
Few people doing business with bank
or trust company consider the Gimcul-
ties OF the man the paying tellers
window. lie is one OF the few connected
with the Institution that comes in actual
contact with practically every lepositor.
He has to protect the interest Of the bank
as well as the customer. for both OF
these interests are so interviewer that
you cannot tell where one ends and the
other begins. HIS first duty is to see
that in every transaction the bank Is pro-
tected and this Indirectly Is only "A pro-
lection 10 the dcpositors for whom the
bank is, In sense. only the trustee.
His next duty Is TO see that the custome
Is given every consideration consk tan
with good business dealings and In tvers
instance Is treated with courtesy ant DO.
liteness. A great deal OF the bank sue
cess Is due TO the treatment thof GUS
toners receive az the windows. Here Is
where friends or enemies are made for
the banks and the friendship OF COM
munity Is in banking, as In any other
business. one OF the best assets. The
red tape" 50 often complained OF. when
reasoned out is found generally 20 be n
necessity. or course. most people are
perfectly willing TO follow the general
rules OF the institution with which they
do business. but stil quite a number
seem 10 think there should be special
rules for their treatment. First. In the
matter Of identification some seem to
think because they have been living IN
town for a few years that they should
be wel known while possibly the ''man
at the window" has been n lifelong resi-
dent and he is unknown to the payee or
the check. Identification is an absolute
necessity, for the bank is the loser II a
check Is paid that Is not endorsed by the
payee named in the same.
zone OF the greatest difficulties that
confronts the teller Is to be certain that
the account Is good for the amount OF
the check presented OF course, with sew
oral thousand depositors IL Is an impossi-
hnlty for the teller 10 know the balance
Of each Of them every day and here IS
where he must use diplomacy OF every
description to ask the hookkeepers the
/ balance without giving the customer Of
fcnse. for n great many consider It an
insult to ask n their check is good
I "Often a good customer comes in with
a friend who wishes a check on a bank
in another city cashed. and while the
customer Is perfectly willing TO identify
his friend he hesitates ana sometimes re-
fuses to endorse he check, seemingly
overlooking the fact that the bank must
endorse Il IN order 10 collect Il, and even
when the bank insists on this guarantee
will say they sec no reason why they
should endorse II because they have nc
interest IN the transaction. II they
would stop TO think, they would realize
that certainly the bank has no interest
IN paying out their own or their deposit
tors "real money 70 an entire stranger.
'The matter OF forgeries also is to be
considered IN almost every transaction,
and while the teller Is familiar with mos,
OF the customers signatures Il is easily
seer that with a line Of people waiting
AZ the window he must often depend
upon the payee ss a guarantee Of the
signature and. n presented by the one
usually drawing genuine checks he must
take It for granted that the signature 1.
a genuine one.
'These various difficulties after q shor
time at the window are taken as a
matter Of course. and the work on tn
whole is very pleasant and agreeable. bu
e is no position for man who loses hi
temper easily or VINO, no matter hov
busy. becomes confused. or one who al
lows himself to be worried over any o
the transactions.