joan garry

Eileen and I have been Citibank customers since 1983.  Even after we moved to NJ, we continued to bank in NYC. Some combination of inertia and practicality.  Eileen and I both worked in NYC.

Not so long ago, Citibank moved into Jersey with fervor.  I can now rattle off three locations within five minutes of our Montclair home.

I was initially impressed with the service at these locations.  The woman behind the desk always greeted me, asked me how my day was going.  Then I realized that she could greet me because SHE HAD NOTHING ELSE TO DO.  Not only was there no line at the windows, I could choose one of TWO tellers.  My biggest challenge was deciding whether to go with the woman who had the bowl of Jolly Ranchers or the man with the Tootsie Rolls.

Every single time I went to my branch, I was the only customer.

I thought it was odd but didn’t take it much further than that.  But now that we are all in the handbasket of hell, I am thinking about it ALOT.

But before I blogged about it, I felt it was important to kick the tires of this hypothesis.  Maybe, just maybe, I went to the bank at odd hours of the day, just after the big rush.  It was possible.  I bet if I went during lunch hour, the line would be out the door.

So yesterday at 12:34pm (ATM receipt to prove it), I drove to the branch to make a deposit.   And I brought my camera.

I could say that all the employees looked up when they saw that I had a camera but I think they were already looking up.  It’s not like they had work at their desks.  They smiled and greeted me when I came through the door and watched quizzically as I decided on the best angle for the shot.  It gives me some pleasure to know that my odd little visit gave them something to talk about for a few minutes after I left.   Chatting makes the time go by a little faster.

Look. I’m not looking to get these nice people laid off.  I have no interest in seeing them added to the list of 1.5 million people who have lost their jobs this year.  But seriously.  Does the phrase “streamline operations” mean nothing to these people?

Inertia be damned. I’m going to talk to Eileen tonight and tell her my great idea.  It’s time to switch to a bank with really long lines.