AUTUMN... preparing for changes (Part 142e)

AUTUMN... preparing for changes (Part 142e)

First things first... Arriving at work the telephone company trucks were there and the team of men were already at work The supervisor was waiting for me and wanted to know where the three additional terminus points would be. I hadn’t given it much thought so was pressed to make a decision right then and there. I saw Hobie arrive and go right to his phone. I wished that I was at my desk to overhear the conversation with the service bureau... but I was busy trying to make a decision that could possibly be important in the future.

As much as I wanted to leave the project and go find out what the service bureau thought of the proposal, I stayed with it. It was killing me not knowing and I was a bit upset that Hobie didn’t come over to bring me up to date. It was around 10am when the workers took a break and I thought I’d get the answer. On my way to Hobie’s desk I saw a rather upset woman almost screaming at Trish. I stopped to ask what the problem was and she then turned her venom on me. She’d used the public restroom and there hadn’t been any toilet paper or hand towels and now she was wet. She actually spit it out so loudly that the whole lobby probably heard her. I’ve posted in the past about how the bank had been bedeviled by someone who was taking the toilet paper and paper towels. Hank, our messenger/custodian, had even taken to spending his lunch hour sitting on the bench in the lobby and watching the people who used the rest room. After one would leave he’d get up and check to see if the things were still there. He hadn’t had any success and that really had frustrated him. There had been complaints in the past but none like this. I asked the lady (?) to come to my desk and, reluctantly, she followed me. I explained the situation but to no avail. Not having a lot of patience to begin with, I gave up and asked what she wanted me to do. I honestly think she was shocked by that. After a few seconds I ‘pushed’ her with “Well..." At that point she got up and walked out. I breathed a sigh of relief but before she got to the gate to leave the area I saw a nice round spot on the back of her skirt. That made me smile... and also told me she hadn’t been telling the whole truth. As soon as I was sure she was out the front door I went over to the public restroom. The first thing I saw was the trash basket filled with used paper towels. She’d been right in that there was no toilet paper. I didn’t know what had actually happened but I had an idea.

With that out of the way I returned to my desk to find Hobie on the phone. I was wondering if I was ever going to get to talk with him. I waited and saw the telephone guys back at work and started to get up. Hobie motioned for me to stay put and after a few minutes he gave me the ‘thumbs up’ signal. I wasn’t sure just what part of the proposal he was referring to and, with the frustration I’d experienced, wasn’t willing to think it was for the whole thing. It was probably only five or so minutes but it seemed like an hour until he hung the phone up. I don’t think I was holding my breath but when he spoke I wanted to jump out of my chair.

Long story short... The ‘big wigs’ at the bank that owned the service bureau didn’t like the idea of deferred payments but Bruce, the manager of the service bureau was able to convince them that having us as a customer would be worth the loss of immediate income. I knew from my conversations with Albie that when we signed on we were the first ‘thrift institution’ to do so and that they were using that fact to try and lure other savings banks and savings and loans to go with them as well.

I was excited, for sure, even though I knew I had a LOT of work to do in the next two months. But, before I could start thinking about it my phone rang. It was Trish telling me the phone guys were waiting for me. With the bookkeeping machine (computer?) leaving soon after the first of the year I decided to run two of the extra lines to the area that housed it. As I previously had written, these workers were only there to run the lines. Once the decision was made the supervisor said they were good and would be leaving around noon. As I was thanking him he pointed to Gina and commented that she was a ”winner“. I had no idea what she’d done to prompt that comment but it, again, reinforced the fact that she was going to be missed.

Fortunately, Bret had been able to handle the platform customers while both Hobie and I’d been tied up. That changed after lunch. It seemed like a never ending run of customers that needed desk side assistance. On top of that there were the usual check counter signings that were common place at the beginning of the 'busy period'. That was where a withdrawal amount exceeded $1000 and a bank officer had to sign the check as well as the teller. For some reason it seemed like an inordinate amount of the checks were for Gina’s window customers. Each time I signed a check she would give me a ‘knowing’ smile and it made me uncomfortable.

The night before, I’d discovered a note from Moira, the newest hire for the accounting department. It reminded me I’d promised to follow up with her after introducing Gee, the Trustee who was an attorney to her. I happened to notice her walking across the lobby to leave for the day but didn’t want to be too obvious in hailing her so decided to let it go for another day. Bret had left a little early as one of his kids was sick. Hobie was in a meeting with Bert, the president, so I was the only one on the first floor when I heard a sharp knocking at the back door. Hank was long gone so I got up to see who it was and was surprised to see Moira.   

To be continued...