Teller basics

[silveraddict]

I went into a bank and asked for any .50 coins. The teller says that she does not have any but she just got a bunch of dollar coins and would I be interested in them. She starts pulling out a handful of SILVER half dollars. She has 21 of them all silver.
I told her I will take them but, I tell her that they are not dollar coins but half dollar coins the ones I am looking for.
She gets this funny look on her face and says no that they are dollar coins.
So, I pick one up and show her where it says HALF DOLLAR.
She tells me that she gave the guy that came in $1 each for them thinking that they were dollars. The guy did not say anything to correct her.
I got them for .50 each. I don't know what she will do to balance her drawer.
Tellers should know money.

 

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[TxAg]

Yes, many tellers (especially young ones) get confused over half dollar coins.

 

[Diver_Down]

The onus is on the teller to know the denomination. She will have to make up for the difference out of her own pocket. There is very little leeway for overages/shortages on their drawers. After so many incidents, they get fired. If it was me, I would have gladly paid her the $1/each this time. But with that condition that she called me whenever she got any odd denominations in or if that guy came back (why wouldn't he as he got a better deal than he was expecting?). For the extra cost, you take the pressure off her for the shortage and she is now working for you getting the goods.

 

[fistfulladirt]

That is very unusual.

 

[Avago]

I've also had tellers offer me SBAs whenever I ask for half dollars and I have to politely explain how those are actually full dollar coins... Sometimes it's a little scary that their job is to count money.

 

[Clad2Silver]

The guy who redeemed the halves thought he was making money on the transaction but actually lost money. The teller is now short some money in her drawer. You were the only winner in this deal. Congrats on a nice score. Bank tellers that don't know what coins are worth are not the only ones. People who work in other places like donut shops, convenience stores, restaurants, etc. have no clue when it comes to odd items. But it doesn't end there...…..a lot of people who are on the cash register can't add one and one and come up with the right answer. Makes you wonder what the heck they're being taught in school.

 

[Megalodon]

The onus is on the teller to know the denomination. She will have to make up for the difference out of her own pocket. There is very little leeway for overages/shortages on their drawers. After so many incidents, they get fired. If it was me, I would have gladly paid her the $1/each this time. But with that condition that she called me whenever she got any odd denominations in or if that guy came back (why wouldn't he as he got a better deal than he was expecting?). For the extra cost, you take the pressure off her for the shortage and she is now working for you getting the goods.

Yes - that would have been the perfect response to this situation. But we have the benefit of reading about the OP's experience and have the luxury of being able to take some time to consider what would have been the best thing to do. He, on the other hand, was "caught by surprise", and when we are surprised, we often fail to quickly assess the best plan and to act quickly on the best plan. Its never totally too late to fix something. I'd ask the teller next time if she had to make up the difference out-of-pocket and if yes, then give her the cash difference. Looks like less than about $20 and that would be a great investment in future coin saves.

 

[Megalodon]

I've also had tellers offer me SBAs whenever I ask for half dollars and I have to politely explain how those are actually full dollar coins... Sometimes it's a little scary that their job is to count money.

Yes, but that is a good thing! Tellers who really know their coins snipe the silver - a great perk for them.

 

[port ewen ace]

now we need to ask tellers for those really big cents and the small dimes with that "star of David" design

 

[silveraddict]

Yes - that would have been the perfect response to this situation. But we have the benefit of reading about the OP's experience and have the luxury of being able to take some time to consider what would have been the best thing to do. He, on the other hand, was "caught by surprise", and when we are surprised, we often fail to quickly assess the best plan and to act quickly on the best plan. Its never totally too late to fix something. I'd ask the teller next time if she had to make up the difference out-of-pocket and if yes, then give her the cash difference. Looks like less than about $20 and that would be a great investment in future coin saves.

I was out of town. My first time in that bank and do not know if or when I will be back at that bank.

 

[kingskid1611]

That is pretty neat. I find lots of these younger generations don't know coins at all, much less are they able to count correctly.....

 

[Dozer D]

Who is to say that maybe she only gave the guy $.50 ea and that she was trying to pull a fast one on you, and sell them for a buck, but you were too smart. I'm glad she's not my teller.

 

[enamel7]

I would have given her $1 each.

 

[silveraddict]

To me it is hard to believe that someone in the business of handling money does not know money
I can't tell you how many times I have had to stand there while a teller has difficulty counting out the correct change.
These are the basics of being a teller.
A very inexpensive lesson to learn.
On a side note
One day I dumped 3 boxes of halves and did not notice at the teller window that she gave me $1600.00
When I went to pick up boxes I realized I was $100.00 over. I went back and gave her the $100.00. She wasnt sure that she gave me an extra $100.00.
I gave her my phone # and told her to call me at the end of the day and let me know if her drawer was short.
She call and she would have been $100.00 short.
Eventhough I dump at that bank she saves silver coins for me

 

[FormerTeller]

Upon seeing they were all silver, the correct course of action would probably have been to not argue with her. Give her $1 apiece for the “dollar” coins, her drawer balances and she’s none the wiser. As it was you ran the risk of her calling her supervisor over, involving others and quite possibly losing out on the sale. I’d say you got lucky.

 

[Megalodon]

That is pretty neat. I find lots of these younger generations don't know coins at all, much less are they able to count correctly.....

I don't think it is any worse now than in the past. I used to be the one who always ran errands for my folks in order to check the change ("Here's $5 - get me a carton of Kool menthols" - then 3.15/carton and any 8 year old could buy a carton). I still remember an incident about 55 years ago in which I paid for a prescription at a drugstore with a $20 bill. The pharmacist gave me the correct change for the 20 plus the original 20. When I politely informed him that he had given me too much money, he cursed me out loudly. I left the 20 on the counter and walked out with him ranting and cursing me. I was 9 or 10 at the time. That was certainly not the only time an adult could not make change - just one that stuck with me due to the insane fury of his actions.

While my wife read to our kids every night, it was my responsibility to teach them math. I used McDonald's french fries for my son's lessons and m & m's for my daughter's lessons. I started when they were about 2. By the time they started kindergarten, they could count, add, subtract, multiply and divide. It gave them a huge head start and they were always first in their class in math, and that advantage continued through grad school. Parents have a responsibility to teach their kids and too few actually do it.

 

[Greastart]

The onus is on the teller to know the denomination. She will have to make up for the difference out of her own pocket. There is very little leeway for overages/shortages on their drawers. After so many incidents, they get fired. If it was me, I would have gladly paid her the $1/each this time. But with that condition that she called me whenever she got any odd denominations in or if that guy came back (why wouldn't he as he got a better deal than he was expecting?). For the extra cost, you take the pressure off her for the shortage and she is now working for you getting the goods.

Exactly what I was thinking. Turn a negative to positive and you got a friend for keeps.

 

[A2coins]

Many idiots out there these days I mean come on !!!!!!

 

[trhunter7777]

If everyone was smart enough/experienced enough to grab the silver......

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice half score!