A man told me that Karma would bless me yesterday. I can honestly say that’s the first time anyone has ever said that to me. The reason for this blessing? I was honest. It’s a simple thing – telling the truth. Doing otherwise will often come back to bite you.
This conversation took place at Arvest Bank where I was making a deposit. They’ve recently done away with deposit slips. You just take your cash and checks to the teller with your debit card, check book, or ID and tell them what you want to do. You don’t sign anything. You don’t calculate anything. I think it’s a bad idea. I see the potential for terrible mistakes.
I learned of this new procedure when I made a deposit last month, so I was prepared this time. I went inside the bank, which I will do from now on due to mistrust of this new system. Tellers are human beings, and humans make mistakes. I just feel more comfortable conducting such a transaction face to face now that there’s no deposit slip and I’m required to show the checkbook. The account isn’t my personal account. It belongs to a group for which I’m treasurer, so I have no debit card.
The lobby was packed with people doing the same thing I was doing. So, there was quite a wait. All of the tellers were scrambling to assist everyone in a timely manner. I walked up to the counter when it was finally my turn. I told the harried looking teller that I wanted to make a deposit and handed him two checks and some cash along with the group’s checkbook.
I mentioned that I thought the new procedure was dumb as he was preparing my transaction. He gave me the “problem customer” look, apologized, and continued with his work. When he handed me my deposit confirmation, I noticed immediately that it was wrong. I had given him $10.00 less than the amount for which he credited the account. He looked doubtful before examining my confirmation. Once he realized that it was wrong, he seemed absolutely shocked that I would point out the error since it was in my favor. He immediately started apologizing. After that, he thanked me profusely for my honesty. He corrected his error and thanked me again. He declared that most people would have just kept the money and not said anything. I informed him that I always try to be honest.
As I was turning to leave he said, “Karma will bless you for this.”
I had to smile at that. His drawer would have been $10.00 short, and my group’s account would have been $10.00 long. It was the right thing to do. Who knows how long it would have taken the bank to find the error? So, I saved someone a lot of work, and the teller wishes Karma to bless me.
While I appreciate his good wishes, I wonder how many other mistakes have occurred due to this new system. If I had completed a deposit slip, he would have looked at the amount to make sure it matched what I actually gave him. What if I had just handed him the money and not counted it first? I wouldn’t have known that the deposit amount was incorrect. How many people do that? While this deposit was small and easy to calculate, some of my deposits include several checks in varying amounts.
I understand that businesses must keep up with technology. They must continue to progress or get left behind. Sometimes progress is great. Other times, not so much. I just hope that poor guy had a better day. Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.
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