Accuracy vs Getting Acquainted

Today was my first day at an actual window taking care of people's deposits. I thought I would get to have the same training I did when I began my days as a teller back in Washington: someone talking me through each deposit so I would get the hang of what to do.
It started out like that....for maybe 10 min. Then as the line of customers grew a bit my "trainer" left me to go to his window to help other customers. So there I was, staring at the poor person in front of me while I struggled with their deposit. For 8 hours today I was paranoid about totally screwing up people's accounts. "Winging it" is not something I would suggest for training a teller. I'm dealing with your money! Come on! You'd think more precaution would be taken.
About 5pm my assistant manager hovered over my shoulder. Good, like that makes you perform better. After I had finished with my customer she made me close my window.
"Ok, now I don't know what you do in Washington, but in California we require you use the customer's name at least 3 times. Did you notice anything when you pulled up his account?"
"uhh...no?"
"The reason you pull up their profile is so that you can see what they may need for their account. What can you refer?"
I tried to tell her that I was in the process of unlearning the Washington system to learn the California system, I was trying to make my transactions accurate, trying to remember the different processes for deposits, look for fraud, NSFs, and a few other things.
She responded by telling me that I also needed to be more social with my customers.
Listen lady, talking to customers is not a problem for me, but right now my priority is getting this deposits and payments done right. Right now, I don't care about your "numbers" and "scores". This is my first day and I'm trying not to totally eff these people's accounts.
But...I didn't say that. My next customer came to my window and I'm pretty sure I said his name 20 times. "How are you today Dave? How would you like your cash back Dave? Thank you for banking with us today Dave. Have you thought about having online banking Dave? ok, well have a nice day Dave."
Perhaps tomorrow will be better. I'm exhausted. It's only day one......

Back to the Bank

Fear no more! My bank stories will continue. Today was day two of training at my new branch. I have a completely new computer program to learn before getting in a window. Thankfully some things stay the same.
Listening to customers here in a ritzy town in southern California has taught me that know matter where you live, once you walk into a bank you'll find those beloved characters.
While the faces I did not recognize, their personalities were quite familiar. A older man argued that he shouldn't be charged for cashing his check that was drawn off of us while he was not an actual member. The confused older lady still took 15 min. to figure out which wallet she kept her bank information in. A boisterous man greeted me by saying "Hawoh". Fancy mom's and daughters stuck their noses in the air while clutching their Prada purses and hiding behind their Gucci glasses.
I look forward to talking to them more one on one. While I recognize a good chunk of them...I believe I have discovered a few more breeds.
Can't wait to pass on the tails!

The Stinging Sticky Note

As my search for a car continues I find my standards lowering as my urgency increases.
Frankly...car shopping on a very limited budget is a pain in the ass.
I went from "I'd like a cute little 2-door black stick shift Honda or Toyota coupe with really really great gas mileage and nearly brand new" to "Does it have 4 wheels? Does it have good gas mileage? Is it under $5,000? Good, I'll take it"
Thankfully one of my housemates is gone for the weekend and is letting me borrow her car to go to improv class.
Ah housemates. Ah community living! With 9 roommates and a 10th on the way our space is feeling a little cramped.
Communication is key when wanting to live harmoniously with one another. However, using cute little pastel sticky notes with a stinging sweet message sings the tune of passive aggressiveness that never sounds quite right with me. We seem to have notes all over the house. Last night I found one on the toilet seat reminding us to conserve water. Hmm, a sticky note on the toilet seat. Have things gone a little too far?

I don't mind sticky notes to leave funny messages to others or reminders for myself, but one house mate has this brilliant knack for fitting on that tiny tack of paper a message that reads sweet but hits sharp. Frankly I find it humorous and I prefer someone telling me if I'm doing something wrong to my face. I'm sure this is her way of communication. This is community and you either find a way to live with each other's quirks or you find somewhere new to live.
9 house mates is quite the humorous living situation. I know more stories will follow.