OK, I'm back. I've been busy the past several months settling into a new job, and LB has been busy recuperating from Hurricane Sandy. I did chastise myself more than once for failing to post during and after the disaster, but life took over and, well, here I am.
The grand occasion for my return is the manicure of the bank teller who helped me this morning at the local Emigrant Savings Bank branch. Actually, it's more than the fashion statement of this one teller - there are several who routinely jar me with their "personal flair." But before I fully launch, I will start by saying that I love Emigrant. Not as a much as I love Bethpage Federal Credit Union, but Bethpage does not have a branch in LB, so Emigrant has been my local bank of choice for years and years.
The reason I love Emigrant is the customer service. True, Emigrant is not as sophisticated as Citi or as snazzy as TD, but the branch manager and his team have gone to heroic lengths over the years to help me out of a few tight pinches, and that's worth everything in my book.
This morning's teller fails this test, too. "Good morning" is not in her lexicon. Eye contact is not in her repertoire. But what got me was her garish manicure. The hands coming at me through the little counter window to collect my deposit slip were simply too much to take at 8:15 in the morning.
I wonder if it's a P.C. issue, or maybe it's a form of community service for the branch to employ tellers who are so obviously not from central casting. It also makes we wonder what the people in HR would say, or whether the Emigrant employee manual contains a formal dress code. It makes me daydream about how I would write the code if I were in charge.
No plunging necklines. No nail art. No more than one ring per hand, one earring per ear, or one chain per throat. And no nightclub makeup. After all, you are practically nose-to-nose with a bank teller. What tellers wear below my sightline is of no matter to me. They could be pantless for all I care. But at counter level, I want professionalism, not to mention common courtesy.
My must-have's would include: ability to greet the customer; ability to smile; ability to say "Thank you," "Is there anything else I can help you with?" and/or "Have a nice day."
I keep hoping I'll get one of the experienced, know-how-to-do-it-right tellers when I visit the branch, but it's a coin toss. So I guess the next time I'm there, I'll have to be prepared to fend off the offensive with some old fashioned passive aggression. Fashion Police DVD, anyone?
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