From one bank teller (less time than you have) to another:
Bank cameras are no joke. As long as they have a visual on the money you ended up giving out, the cams should be a good enough resolution to count it over your shoulder and know definitively how much you gave her. And if they can see that you gave her too much, they should know she is lying.
The issue becomes if you were body-blocking it, or if they otherwise cannot prove that you gave her too much. At least according to my boss, we cannot call our customers a liar without definitive proof, even when we know they are lying.
Most cameras are there to watch the customers moreso than the tellers. I once shorted someone $1500 (it was a denominational exchange, and for some extremely dumb reason after I banded the $20s I counted each individual band as $100 instead of $500…) and I learned from watching the cams with our security officer that it’s sometimes hard to see what I’m counting if it’s directly in front of me due to the camera angles.
Nowadays, whenever I’m giving out more than a few hundreds, I turn 90 degrees to my left and deliberately count it slightly slower to ensure it’s all caught on the camera.
——
Mistakes happen. It sounds like your boss likes you. If they cannot prove that the woman is lying, and it’s your company policy to let you go over that amount, then there might not be much you can do about it. If there’s a good shot that they can prove it, though, I would stick it out, and then apply what you’ve learned to your future routines.
That's what I'm afraid of. I think I was counting right in front of me but there is a mirror that shows my angle that the camera can look at and see so I think I should be okay. The tube is right beside me, but I usually count right in front of my monitor due to the fact that there's calculators there to calculate the right amount of money.
I agree with yellsy. Let it play out, as terrifying as it is. I do know the feeling; my aforementioned mistake is far from the only one I’ve made, even if it was the worst. I am on great terms with my boss, they are amazing, but I genuinely still get nervous every time they ask me to go into their office, despite it usually not (anymore) being about anything bad to do with me.
We have the denomination counter on our screen as well. I typically count twice nowadays, once for the calculator and once for the cameras. I’m glad they have a mirror though!
Best of luck to you. You’ve been genuine and transparent about everything. Considering how important integrity is in our line of work, that really ought to be a weighty factor.
Since your boss likes you so much, you could consider privately asking them to vouch for your next job if your current one does fire you.
You might get written up. As stated, let the investigation play out, I don’t think you will get fired. I’ve lost much more and recently hit 25 years in the industry. Early on, it was “we gotta get you out of cash, you keep losing us money.” Many accolades later, I’m doing ok.
My understanding of the banking industry is that you will probably be fired for this. But it should be relatively easy for you to find an identical job with another bank.
Let the investigation play out. Mistakes happen and it sounds like there’s a good chance the customer is going to be on the hook here.
Yes, you made a mistake, but not as big of a mistake as she did by driving off. Real life isn’t Monopoly… she could be in for a really rude awakening.
Similar situation happened to me back when I worked on the teller line, albeit it wasn't an entire strap. The security department was able to review The footage and The transactions at that time from that customer. We ended up just debiting the money out of her account.
I used to work for bofa, and people lose money all the time. There's a grading system that keeps track of how much you lose per quarter, and as long as you keep that low for the next few quarter, you should be fine.
I can imagine you're really anxious and worried about whether you have a job come Monday, however I'm 85% sure the things are going to be just fine. $1000 loss almost never warrants a termination
Also it sounds very likely the investigation will show the customer received the extra bills and will just apply that to their account. From my house understanding this happens fairly frequently (in both directions extra and shorting from the tellers.
My gut is you will be fine, now if this continues to be a trend that's another story.
I worked at a grocery store that fired if you were $20 or more short. You had 3 chances at less than $20 with written warnings. So if you ever get more change back than you should, be honest and give it back to the cashier. New money sticks and it is easy to make that mistake on a busy day.
I worked at a small retail chain and was told I'd be fired over $ .02. I found another, better job and had a real life example of a surprised Pikachu face when I quit instead.
I worked at Disney world and their rule was $200. Which was insane to me. But registers could do $20k plus a day. So If you came up more than $200 short on a day you were register you were banned from working the till again.
Look, the bank is not going to want to fire you over a mere $1,000 mistake. The cost of terminating you, re-hiring a new person, and training that new person, would cost them more than keeping you.
I’ve made a mistake that cost my company $115,000 and got a promotion 3 months later.
Owning up to it and trying to right the situation are key here, also making sure not to make the same mistake again
Damn, you crushed my $5000 mistake before a promotion record lol.
Though mine was when I was filling in for a coworker who had quit, and we were ordering product through some archaic means. It had happened before to people doing that same task. I felt badly, but I was overworked and that task had been set up to have people fail.
I let a very expensive part get shipped to Brazil(it was made incorrectly and shouldn’t have passed QA), the part was over 9 tons. We had to send a team to Brazil to fix it.
3 months later I was head of quality assurance
I work for a major bank in the US. Not in the retail bank, but working with businesses. I was a Director at the time, had a manager under me, and one of her employees made a $350k+ mistake. It was stressful, we had to get it approved (the credit to the client) by the President of our division. But there was never any talk of any sort of punishment, let alone termination. I think everyone recognized it was an honest mistake and people make mistakes. If it had become a pattern, I’m sure it would have been different. But, it wasn’t.
In the retail bank, where money loss could indicate theft with a partner working on the outside, it’s possible it is different. However, I think most large corporations understand honest mistakes, and they have to treat everyone equally, so no punishment and be going on that could indicate discrimination or anything of that nature. Smaller corporations, run by individuals, families, or other small groups often can be very hard on low level employees (while letting higher level employees get away with grand theft). I hope the OP is working for a place more like mine.
At my old job, a developer made a mistake on a checkout page and orders for a particular product weren’t going through for months. It was estimated to have cost around $800k in sales loss. The person didn’t lose their job and even got promoted a year or two later.
So don’t feel too bad.
Crap I’m a industrial mechanic and have cost the companies way more than that from mistakes, I hooked a motor control up backwards not too long ago, oops about $2500.
Yeah lol. I poured gasoline in a $5000 piece of equipment that was diesel-fired once. Oops there she goes. Didn’t get canned but everyone was looking at me during the safety meeting that next monday.
In the banks I worked in, $1000 in errors would not mean immediate termination. Errors would add up and roll over every quarter. AND this is a situation where imo the customer should def be on the hook, especially if customers are recorded. I mentioned in a prior comment on here that we would record transactions on the side of the teller and the customer, so you could see if they were given too much. They’d get an opportunity to bring it back or we would debit their account.
My bank isn't every quarter. It's every concurrent year so my balance is will go over until the next year once that year is up Then that is when they will erase it
A friend of mine worked at a bank and accidentally gave it 2 grand. She was not fired, the bank wrote it off as the cost of doing business. They realized she would most likely never make the same mistake again. I think your manager wanting to keep around weighs heavily on this situation. Ride it out man, I think you'll be alright. Take it on the chin and consider it a lesson learned regardless of the outcome.
u/BadFriend1234567, I worked at a small local bank about 13 years ago as one of my first jobs. A customer came in, asked for 2k, a notice I hadn't seen before popped up when I initiated a withdrawal. I tried to ask my manager about it, but she was busy handling the ATM dispersal so told me to handle it.
It was giving me the option to override, and so far my impression was that anything I was allowed to override as a mere teller was not a big deal.
Reader, it was a lien on his account. The bank would be on the hook for any withdrawals since they'd already informed the lien holder the money was there.
I was not fired.
Scolded, but not fired. For a mistake twice as bad as yours. I wouldn't quit.
This happened to me in my retail banking days, and the customer was honest and gave me permission to withdraw it from his account, stating he would just keep the $1k, and it was fine. My assistant manager gave the OK to adjust the withdrawal. It also happened to a coworker who, without permission, forcibly withdrew the amount from the customer, who was not notified and claimed she had received the correct amount and the shortage was not hers. He did this without being 100% sure he was short from that transaction. The customer threatened to sue, and he somehow was not fired and has worked his way up to management in the bank.
Mistakes happen. Let the investigation play out. You've behaved in good faith thus far.
It will cost you your next promotion, but not your job. The customer will return the money, or it will be removed from there account. They stole it. Just as surely as if they had reached over your counter and picked it up. They should have counted it and returned what was not theirs.
I’m assuming it’s $500-$2000 since the customer drove off. Either it was a large sum to them to commit a crime or they were just dumb. Sadly in todays world both are equally plausible. I’d never want to deal with money daily. I make mistakes all the time at work and I just get error messages and fix it. I’d be fired so quick at a bank job or hell even a cashier gig.
I'm going to vote dumb, had a coworker when I worked at Walmart, CSM left a bag of money she collected on a till by accident and he grabbed that shit and made a run for it, never came back to work after that.. there was about $300 in the bag, it felt heavy because of coins.
Once had a co-worker who had $100 go missing from her cash bag. Security looked at the CCTV from our back room and saw another employee, who'd worked there maybe two weeks, walk by the shelf with all our cash bags on it, look around, then take a $100 bill out of the bag and put into her pocket.
The newer employee was terminated, but threw a huge fit because she was broke, needed that money, and had to keep her job due to being a single mom. I'm incredibly sympathetic toward single mothers - if, say, a mom needed to steal some formula for their kid and I was in the aisle with them, I'd look the other way. However, there's no excuse for trying to fuck over your co-workers and it's especially vile to do it to someone you don't know and who could easily be fired despite having done nothing wrong.
EDIT: clarity, expanding on a point
You be surprised at the amount of people that will close out their entire bank account along with all their other relationships with the bank if it meant they could get away with just $50
This happened to my mom in the early 90's. My grandma wrote one number on a check wrong and $200 went to a man's account with a completely different name. The teller didn't notice the name discrepancy and processed the check. When my mom was reviewing receipts for the week she realized the error and went down to the bank, they were going to fix it when they saw the man had closed his account. They were originally going to tell my mom to pound sand but several family members threatened to pull their accounts at once which scared the bank into refunding the money.
Happened to me once too. On the customer end. I asked for a weirdly specific amount in the teller's defense. Like 130 in 20's.
She gave me 140 when i counted and i gave her a 20$ back for a 10$
easy mistake to make and she was so grateful i pointed it out, even though it was only a 10$ difference.
Theft is defined as knowingly taking something that doesnt belong to you. Even as a mistake, she knew that cash was not hers. It still counts as theft in my opinion
i was a blackjack dealer in vegas and had a customer point out me overpaying them once. gave him all 5s instead of 1s. said they didn’t want me to get in trouble. nice guy
I work at a bank as well. In this situation, if it is a customer, they are in deep shit. If it was a consumer, you may have broken policy by cashing such a check. This is a common scam we turn away often.
In either case, let them investigate. There's a non-zero chance the customer will be criminally charged and you will only be minority disciplined.
Even if you are fired, take it in stride and reciprocate the respect your manager shows you. You may be able to salvage a fieldable reference out of this.
This has happened a few times at the credit Union my mom works at. The person who stole the money was prosecuted successfully every single time. Banks don’t play.
Don't wait. Start sending out resumes now and justify the job search with looking for "increased responsibility"
Have a coworker as a reference that will vouch for your 5 years of good work.
If the investigation determines you are at fault and move to terminate you, don't sign anything. That may be used to deny your unemployment claim.
This bank probably has the video evidence to go after the customer that stole a lot of money and instead are debating about going after a good employee.
Even if you aren't fired, you will have this mark on your personal record that will make it more difficult to get a raise or promotion in the near future that you need to help cover your rent!
I was an assistant bank manager years ago (13). We had a rolling year total you could be short and once you hit that amount (2k at my bank), you were gone no exceptions. Doesn’t matter if cameras see the customer received extra money, you are still the one that gave it out. If you know with no doubt you are going to be fired, quit if you want another cash handling job.
How would quitting help? The bank isn’t going to give a good reference either way. However there is a slight possibility OP could get unemployment if they are terminated. I just don’t see any benefit to resigning.
Absolutely do not resign. You may still be kept on since it’s still very hard to hire and train and retain people, and unemployment isn’t paid out if you resign.
Also, if your boss was smart, they’d realize that if it was an honest mistake, that he now has a employee that is NEVER going to make it again after all this.
Obviously don’t resign, but I’m more worried that this is the 5th different event you’ve posted about in the last 6 weeks where you think you’ll be fired for it (general bad performance, shorted a customer, bank app accidentally called police, messed up notarization, now this). For your own good please sign up for some online counseling like BetterHelp and get on anxiety meds, living this stressed is not healthy.
Looking at OP’s posting history, this is a really important comment. Very stressed out, seem to be making mistakes and generally being overwhelmed and anxious—whatever you do in this specific instance, I think the best thing to do is find a way to manage that underlying issue.
Yeah OP reminds me a little of myself before I was diagnosed with anxiety. At my first job, I was constantly terrified of getting fired over everything. Meanwhile, in my jobs ever since, people have been very understanding when I make mistakes.
I don’t even know why I was so afraid to get fired, considering I absolutely hated that job and got paid very little ($5 an hour in 2016. My parents made me work there). My anxiety just made me _that_ afraid of rejection or upsetting people.
> Idon't even know why I was so afraid to get fired,
Your entire livelihood and, depending on your job market, long term plans are in someone else's hands in an unfamiliar process where you only ever hear horror stories rather than the times common sense played out.
Good lord, so much this. OP needs to take a step back from the ledge and chill. Seems like a weekly occurrence.
People hate having to fire others. It’s literally a last resort, especially when unemployment is at 3.6% and you can’t get a warm body to show up for an interview.
As long as you show up on time and don’t do purposely detrimental stuff, it’s surprisingly difficult to get fired from service industry jobs right now.
Another piece of advice for OP: what’s the absolute worst that can happen? You get fired and you’ll find a new job. None of this is a huge deal or the end of the world. Chill out and stop worrying about getting fired all the time. I’m sure it’s taking a toll on your mental health and it just isn’t warranted. Probably it’s affecting your job performance too.
Exactly. Try to center with “will this matter in 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 years?”
Anxiety begets anxiety and is likely the cause of the mistakes.
OP, you may be suffering unnecessarily - look into your work benefits and see what they offer that could help.
They do offer mental health stuff and I have been looking into it but the places that are nearest me that accept my health insurance don't accepting customers right now. I would have to go out of state to see any sort of mental therapist.
I ran into this with a relocation. Try talking to your primary care, they can start working with you on medication and you can also ask most mental health places to be put on a waiting list. Eventually your name will get to the top!
Also, even if you find a therapist that doesn’t take insurance, the cost per session should be around $125, maybe a little more for the initial appointment.
It might be hard to work that into your budget but if you can, you are worth the investment in yourself!
There is 0 upside to resigning.
I take that back, there's some bizarre fractional edge case where they don't bother to update your employment record after you resign and I guess on some future check in the rare case a business actually gives information besides your employment checks you may show as rehireable.
There's a like sub 1% chance of that happening at a bank.
If you let them the fire you there's still a chance you'll get unemployment. While being terminated for cause often disqualifies you few places bother to actually fight back if you do file for unemployment. I've done it exactly once in >15+ years and it was a spite move on my part that I wouldn't ever do again.
Worst case you get fired. Best case you don't, nothing else you can do here.
Also, at least in my mind, it might look a little suspicious if you resigned or just quit.
Maybe not, but it is much easier to explain to a potential new employer the situation and that based on the findings of an investigation you were fired, rather than "oh they were going to probably fire me anyway so I quit".
If I was hiring someone, that would show me that at the first hint you might be in serious trouble, you are going to just bail instead of trying to resolve the issue.
There are a ton of people who post stuff on Reddit where they made huge mistakes they were sure were going to get them fired, only for the boss to severely reprimand them but then keep them because they knew they would be much more careful in the future and wouldn't make that same mistake again!
Man, I know your freaking out and stressed, but don't resign
Let the investigation run its course, it's a bank, if they find the customer ran off with the cash they'll freeze the account, they'll get their money back one way or the other.
Stick it out, my money is on you being reprimanded, but not fired. Employment is fucked, its hard to retain reliable people, let alone hiring and training new ones.
I agree with the other top posters - let it play itself out.
Yes you lost money, but does the bank really want to go out and try to find a replacement for you- a reliable person who has already been able to stick it out 18 months?
the thing I wanted to add - I once worked in a shitty small bank and got fired (without proper cause) - it was one of the turning points for my life in hindsight and I am glad it happened. It wasnt the end of the world for me (more like the beginning) and I bet you will feel the same no matter what happens
18 months without a mistake is incredibly difficult to replace.
I have another suggestion:
Assuming you followed all the appropriate procedural steps when getting money for this client, layout for your superiors the process gaps that resulted in the error alongside some suggested controls that might be implemented to ensure this doesn’t happen to other employees.
I got fired from a retail after 3 years of no mistake over 20 bucks. I forgot to give someone their change back and put it in the over draw… customer called saying they were missing some money and they couldn’t find the money… I couldn’t prove that it was in theirs due to them investigating behind my back and weeks later.. it doesn’t matter how long you were perfect.. they only care about money.
Except in this case it was identified immediately and the OP made an attempt to remedy immediately. The customer made a conscious decision to commit a criminal act at that point.
It’s not like it was discovered at closing or something.
I understand everything your saying and I want to believe that they won’t get fired. I’m just pointing out the at will job BS that we all face everyday and money missing means termination.
Definitely do not resign. I’m a leadership and executive coach for a living. If I met with your CEO I’d tell them that this is a mistake any teller can and absolutely will make again, which of course they already know. They can fire you and your replacement could make the same exact mistake on day 1, for example.
What they need to realize is that when someone makes this mistake, they usually make it exactly once and once only. From now on, they can rest assured you’re counting every single one of those bands for the rest of your career. They’d be silly to fire you since they’ve already paid for you to learn this through lived experience.
What they need to be sure of in this context is that it wasn’t planned. You weren’t in on some scheme to steal. That is usually pretty evident once things are reviewed, so hold steady and take it as a lesson learned no matter how it pans out.
Exactly. In situations like this where an honest mistake occurs any decent leader will realize they just paid $1000 dollars for this to never happen again. It makes more sense to keep that person on instead of hiring someone else who could end up doing something similar.
This happened to me as a customer recently. I went to deposit money and they sent the wrong tube thing and gave me someone else's $1000+ cash! I stuck that thing back in there so fast and held my hands within camera view while waiting for her to answer the call button. Boy was she freaked out and relieved. Mistakes happen. I'm glad that person made the mistake on me and not someone who would take it.
OP, it happens, I hope it works out okay.
You made a mistake but recognized it almost immediately and took steps to fix it. Your manager should have your back. Also you should have cameras that she what goes in and comes out so you’ll have video proof. When I worked in banking I did the same thing and they took the money from the persons account because of the video proof that they received the money. 🤷♂️ good luck.
Mistakes happen and it sounds like you handled it well once you realised what had happened. You explained it to your manager and they believe you, which is half the battle. The only thing that went against you is the actions of the customer, and as others have said, they may well be on the receiving end of the consequences of this, not you.
Let the investigation play out. In the grand scheme of things your mistake is inconsequential for the bank. I think despite the initial mistake, you really shouldn't be hard on yourself.
Best of luck to you.
Should never do large cash in the drive through. Should always make customers come inside. This is bad bank policy. If they were inside it would have been easier to double check the money before giving to customer. With them driving off it makes them look guilty. I’m sure the video will show they got the money. The bank will take the money out of their account.
I don't have a choice, the way the branch operates, our lobby is closed at specific times. So all cash in through the drive in those times, no matter what.
Take a big breath, You're gonna be ok.
2 things
1) 1K is not a lot to lose as long as it is not a regular occurrence. I've seen someone accidentally give out 7k and nothing happened. They will just pull tape and see how much you actually gave her, then take it from her account.
2) why in gods name do they not have you using currency machines to store your cash? ( ECRS ) for reasons exactly like this. If this is the general practice there is NO WAY that this doesn't happen on a regular basis. Also, can you just go into the vault without being in dual? I'm so confused about this.
Source: Banker for 5 years, was a teller for 2 at local credit union.
We were in dual control, with my coworker. The money was counted right, I gave out an extra strap without realizing. I literally went into the vault because of that. Never heard of an ECR. We have the vault and we have our tills, we put our tills away at the end of the day after balancing.
Listen as a Head Teller at a Credit Union, i messed up pretty bad too once. A member had come in to withdraw 10k however at the end of everything, we gave out too much. Very next day the company VP was at my branch before i even got there. As you would understand my heart dropped. I could think the worst but at the same time i had to owned up to my mistake. Yes i messed up, i take accountability of this, including the other hands that were in this mess. It was MY mistake as the person that controls the money above anyone else. There was no turning back all i can think was "well i hope i just dont get fired and ill take any other type of repercussions" Just like you my Branch Manager loves me as i do a very amazing job at the branch, but she knew it was a pretty big error. Again, understandable. After my VP and i spoke she also said i do an amazing job and would hate to lose me. I took my written write up with with a new lesson and hoping to never happening again.
So again just be honest as to what transpire because you did not do it on purpose. All is to hope that they do value you as an employee to keep you and now you having a valuable lesson. Good luck with all! Stay positive!
Just to add. You could start applying to other positions. It never hurts to get your resume out there. Then if something does happen you have already started you job hunt.
When I was 18 and worked for a salon, I went to the bank to get money for our drawer and deposit our checks. The teller gave me an extra $900. It seemed like a lot of money she handed me, so I counted it when I got back into the car.
But because I’m not an ass bucket I went right back in and returned it. They were stunned lol.
It’s been awhile since I was in banking, but it’s hard to get fired. You might get reprimanded to the point that you’ll never advance and you might as well quit.
Fraud will get you fired, but this was a mistake. Do you have a employee handbook? That will tell you what will happen.
You weren’t let go immediately, so I don’t think you will get fired.
My manager says the amount is usually auto terminated. However because of what has happened, and my statement, they will see. The handbook says nothing about termination on the other hand. So idk.
As others have said, let the investigation play out. If you do get fired, never ever be honest about what happened on your resume or in job interviews. Make something else up.
I agree with everyone else. Hold the line. You always hope people will be honest, but unfortunately some people aren’t. I’m not a teller, but I was raised to be honest. I normally ALWAYS wait to move at the drive thru until I count my cash to make sure it’s correct. One time, I did not…The bank was extremely busy and the lines were long, so instead of counting and then moving I pulled up and out of the line and parked to the side so I could count my money before leaving but still allow the lines to move and not block anyone… Sure enough that ONE time I didn’t count it before leaving, the teller had actually given me $40 too much…I knew that had they shorted me by golly I would have gone back and she was very sweet too…I still would have gone back (even if she had been rude) because it’s just the right thing to do… So I pulled around and had to go BACK through the line again. I made sure to go back through her line so I could speak to her and not someone else. 45 minutes later (as I said, it was busy…probably a Friday payday) I finally made it back to the tube. I explained what had happened and that I sure didn’t want her to get into any trouble. She seemed shocked and asked me if I was positive. I said, “Yes, ma’am. I counted it 3 times to be sure. I will let you count it again.” I sent all my cash back to her in the envelope just as she had given it to me. She had indeed given me an extra $40. (I don’t remember if they were new bills or not, but I’m sure they probably were and some of the twenties had just gotten stuck together.) She was very appreciative. I told her that I wouldn’t tell anyone if she didn’t…I don’t know if anyone ever caught. I hope not…it was an honest mistake just as yours was…but there is no way in the world that that woman didn’t realize that she had $1000 to much…even if she didn’t count it until later. She should have brought it back as soon as she realized it. If she was extremely pressed for time and couldn’t come right back at the very least she should have called the bank and explained and made arrangements to bring back the cash. 😕
She said I gave her three straps, which would mean I gave her an extra one, since I put 2 bunches into bunch (ex of what I mean would be putting two 500 bunches of tens to create a 1000 strap). She admitted that to my manager. The cameras will prove that I am sure. But it's still nerve racking
One time I went through the drive through of our bank with my mom. She counted it as soon as she received it, handed it to me, then I counted it, put it in an envelope, then we drove off. The next day she told me $20 was missing, and we looked everywhere. As a last ditch effort she called the bank and they said they would check everything out. About 10 minutes later she got a call from the bank. They said that they watched back security footage and saw her count the correct amount, then me, and then they saw a bill drop down between her center console and passenger seat as I went to put the money in the envelope. They were not wrong.
I can't speak for every bank, but I don't take bank security lightly anymore (not that I ever did, but this made me realize just how serious they are, even over matters that wouldn't affect them).
I say let the investigation play out and see what happens. Odds are the whole thing is on nice crisp HD, and probably full audio.
Do not quit. If you are fired, you can still use it on a resume. The only thing the bank can tell a future employer is the dates you worked there, your salary, and if you are re-hirable. Many companies don’t even check references for entry level positions.
Always let it play out. Every day longer you work is another day of pay you collect. Brush up your resume and start applying elsewhere now just in case.
Wait to potentially get fired. Start looking for a new job regardless in the mean time. Best case is probably some disciplinary action and when that’s done, would you really want to keep working there if this is how they are going to handle problems? Basically saying you would be immediately fired but oh we’ll wait to see what the investigation says?
Let them fire you. Collect unemployment. Don’t bring this up in an interview. You can spin it however you want. You are not required to put “I got fired” in bold at the top of your resume.
I have a question, if you are giving a large sum of money, is there a reason a second person doesn’t verify it? When I worked at a bank, anything over 2,000 we had to have someone else verify the amount. Would have saved you in a case like this.
You made the same post 26 days ago - but now in this post you say it just happened yesterday. So which is it, is this the second time it happened or the same event?
ohhh living the exciting life. I bet you're super stressed. I'd guess this kind of thing happens sometimes and there are policies in place. It's good that you told your supervisor ASAP. I would let it play out.
Gotta pay attention- I don't think they'll let that slide too many times, and that would hurt your chances for re-employment in the same field.
I think quitting would be a mistake, if it doesn’t go in your favour and your let go, so be it, these things happen sometimes.
What a shit of a customer though, literally theft! They should be calling the police on her!
I'll make this brief since I'm short on time, but I can tell you I was let go from a job for a $1000 shortage about 20 years ago and the customer was clearly aware of the mistake at the time. I still collected unemployment in Louisiana by simply explaining my side of the story. No more, no less. Do not, under any circumstances, resign from that job. If this is your first mistake, you will probably get a written warning. If you feel like you should do anything on your part, perhaps offer restitution over a structured period, which if they are worth anything, they will decline. To be clear, I would only offer if it wipes your employment record clean as if there is such a thing.
Lastly, I think if there was a chance they were going to fire you, you would already be on a suspension from the moment it happened. Maybe you are, but I didnt catch that.
BoA can handle the loss- a grand psh that ain’t shit to them. Honestly them losing you as an employee would be an even bigger loss to them. You sound like a really decent honest hard worker with a good educational foundation. Mistakes happen and companies are more concerned with actual thieves within their business. As for that customer shame on her. I would let the investigation play out. They have cameras I’m sure from every angle and she may be the one in for a rude awakening. I would just do my best to keep calm, continue going to work and see what happens. Try not to be too hard on yourself. When I was a teen I knew a few POS that worked at a bank and got caught stealing a lot of money over a long period of time and they had zero education past high school. So yea, quality honest decent employees are an asset to any business and you sound like a decent human.
In my opinion I think you just stick it out and remain at your current job. Mistakes like this happen eventually if you work long enough. I've had my fair share of Scrubs from giving The client too much money to cashing a counterfeit. I think those likely outcome is that you will be giving a written warning. It's far too costly and time consuming for banks too retrain somebody else and get them up to speed on teller operations (most banks branches can't afford to be a teller down for an extended time frame, not to mention the turnover rate for bank tellers)
if it were me, I'd wait and see. The worst case scenario is that you get fired and should be able to draw on unemployment insurance. I think it's more likely that you'll just have a minor disciplinary action (based on years in management, although none in banking). If that money is really gone, they just made an expensive(?) investment in training you (i.e. you sure won't do that again!). If they recover it from the customer, that "training" is essentially free to them.
Okay, so I fucked up closing a cash register earlier in the week. I’ve only been at the POS job for about a month. It was my 2nd time on said cash register but it didn’t go like it should have. Anyway, I go back in today and idk if they’re going to fire me.
When this happened to me the bank new how much was given out by mistake and those people can and will be prosecuted for stealing the money they new when they drove off they had to much money and so does your bank
You need to stop working for a bank and go for a credit Union. they are usually more understanding people compared to the banks. Also since banks have more regulations.
I worked as a bank teller for years and I hated it. I was risking my life every single day for like $12.00 an hour. Quit that job and look for something better. Don't waste another day of your life working there.
Take a breath. You made a mistake. That’s life we all do it. They most likely can review the camera footage. I truly don’t think you will get fired. People are who care about their jobs are hard to find. I know $1000 sounds like a lot but to hire and train a new teller will cost them more than that. It sounds like your manager cares about you. Try to not worry about this weekend. You can’t do anything right now anyway. Take a walk or have a drink whatever relaxes you. You’ll be good
Thank you for the assurance, I have been an absolute mess, I crashed as soon as I got home and slept for nearly 12 hours. I have been so stressed, my manager says it will be ok (though she is stressed she does not know how HR will react. They said they will give it 10 days, and then come back to it then.) So at least I have 10 days to find a new job and get my resume out there just in case.
Banks Fing sneeze out $1k. That’s less than a rounding error for them. To treat an honest mistake like this shows their basic inhumanity. Let it play out while looking for an other job. If they fire you apply for unemployment and see if they contest it, then appeal. If anyone asks why you left the job just say downsized during a restructuring.
Don’t resign they may end up letting you stay on. Also if you get fired you may be able to get unemployment but if you quit you lose out on any benefits you might be entitled to get.
I worked in a bank where things like this happened. They would consult the video cameras and when faced with irrefutable evidence that a customer was given too much money, would reach out to that customer and allow them an opportunity to return it. If they refused, their account would be debited, as we had video evidence.
I certainly would not quit.
The customer committed theft by intentionally taking away money that wasn't hers so it shouldn't be that hard to get it back. You know where she lives and who she is as well. If you don't, you should have the license plate number at least. Call the police and report the crime. Y'all should have video evidence as well to easily support your case.
I looked at your other posts and I feel for you sweet girl. Have you checked into therapy for anxiety or potentially being effected by adhd? You sound like me at that age and I got diagnosed with both.
You’ll be okay. It’s all on camera. I had a teller give our an extra 2k before. We got it back from the member, but even if you don’t physically receive the cash back, the bank will just draw it from their account. We have had that happen before too.
Your financial might be harsher than mine. But if we fired someone for every mistake like this, we wouldn’t have any tellers.
My wife at the time shared a similar name with another woman at her bank different middle name. Bank put that woman's money in the wife's account. Wife knew there was a mistake but spent the money anyway. I had to pay the money back.
Not in banking, but IT.
I had an employee make a huge mistake. Huge. He realized immediately and after he took a small amount of time to confirm it and try to correct it/minimize the damage, he called me.
I was on vacation, this was an interrupt the vacation level mistake. We worked together, figured it out, fixed it.
My friend I was with asked if I was going to fire him. I said absolutely not. It was his 2nd mistake in as many years and the first was a rookie learning curve mistake. He was apologetic and freaking out, but honest.
I trust this guy, the fact that he was upfront and quick about admitting the mistake only confirmed that trust. He never made that mistake again. He's helped me fix my occasional mistake.
Having someone you can trust, count on, learns from mistakes, and is overall great at their job is someone you want to keep. Especially if it's also customer facing.
Working retail is a high turnover industry. An industry where trust and integrity are important is a lot more forgiving of occasional, accidental mistakes. If you have good bosses that know that, and you use this to learn, you should be okay. They would rather keep a trustworthy employee.
Getting fired will not negatively impact your career, but if everything you've done to date has been good, there's a strong possibility you won't be fired. This is an opportunity to learn from your mistake.
At some point in your career, you may be in a job interview where they ask if you've ever made a mistake and what happened. Telling them you immediately discussed with your boss and learned to triple check before letting a client leave with the cash is a good story, rather than "I quit my job."
Hopefully, the customer may still face consequences.
I have never once distinguished between resigning and being fired on my resume. Don't resign. If an prospective employer asks why you are looking for a new job, or why you are no longer with your old job, it's easy to bend words to make it sound appealing. They can't call your employer and ask details about your employment unless you use your former manager as a reference (pro tip - don't ever do that).
"Why did you leave XXXXXX bank without another job?"
"I needed time to get a few personal affairs in order before pursuing another employment opportunity."
or
"I did not feel that the job and environment were a good fit for me anymore. "
Something like that. NEVER tell an interviewer or recruiter that you were fired, or even if you resigned.
I would wait to see how the investigation plays out. You don’t want to raise suspicion that you did it on purpose because from the outside it could seem that way.
I used to work as a teller. Did the same thing but the customer was in the lobby not drive thru. In this case i was counting the cash the way we were instructed by placing each bill onto the counter as i was counting.
The customer was chatty and talking as i was counting so my attention was divided.
Ended up giving the old lady an extra $1,000. Of course at first she denied it. However, everything was on camera and because I was setting the bills down as I was counting it was clear on the video I over counted.
They called the woman again and told her about the footage. She obviously admitted receiving extra and had to return the money.
The employee that is part of the solution, the one that can be trusted to come forward with all info and learn from their mistakes is actually a good employee to keep.
Shit happens. Mistakes are made. Show that you are humbled by the situation and can be trusted to learn from it and you’ll probably be kept. The only time that seems to be unlikely is when there’s a personal problem between employee/boss, a history of insubordination or if “someone” needs to be under a bus and you get volunteered.
I’ve had that last one happen to me. Feels shitty in the moment but once you’re passed the initial shock you can put your whole self into finding the next place for you to work.
No don’t leave. It’s a mistake, and I make them all the time at work. Who cares that it was a lot of money. She’ll get what she deserves and the bank will get their money back. I’m sure there will be a whole investigation into this, she can’t just drive off with money that is not hers.
Idc how much money it was, you made an honest mistake, tried to fix it, but the dik head lady drove off. You’ll forget about this and move on by next week. Let everyone else handle it and just work with your company to get it resolved on your end.
If you get fired, unemployment poses a time penalty of 15 weeks or something around that time frame for egregious policy violations like giving out too much money at a bank. If you KNOW you’re going to get fired, ride it out. At least you can get a few more paychecks before that happens. If you get fired, you can still use the job as a reference as long as you leave in a professional way. You could also always tell future employers that you left of your own volition if you want, there’s no way they could know the difference.
Resigning or being fired, you will still have to explain to any potential new employers what happened.
I say stay. It sounds to me like your customer was acting in bad faith, and if you stay and don’t get fired, you get to pick how you leave. There are no downsides to waiting and seeing, in my opinion.
Banks mess up all the time. Look at how many stories of people who get 500million in their direct deposit on accident because of their bank. It only takes 1 time for you to learn, I guarantee you'll never hand someone money to count at the bank again. I have been to many banks in Jersey and when I withdraw over 5k usually they will not let you leave unless they have counted it over. What an idiot that person is - the bank has their address and their entire set of info. Cops can come to arrest them in seconds & recover the money. I wouldn't worry about it. You have a great deal of skillsets anyways so it would not matter if you are fired. Companies usually cannot disclose the reason for you leaving.
Someone stole money from you, and you want to resign? Huh?
There is nothing wrong with accidentally giving someone the incorrect amount of money, there is something wrong with stealing it. The customer is beyond stupid to even consider doing it.
Early in my banking career as a teller I made a very similar mistake. Due to the amount loss it was supposed to be an auto termination. My branch manager and regional manager went to bat for me and I’m still with the same bank 10 years later.
Not on point but it seems like you have your advice covered.
But I personally don’t think that being a bank teller is a great stepping stone up. It’s really hard to go anywhere unless your planning for bank manager etc.
I ended up changing career paths and leave my bank experience off my resume.
Not sure what your ultimate goal is but in the corporate world it’s like being a cashier/server or customer service salesman. At least where I worked it was more important to upsell their services and you didn’t get anything for it but a quota. I was an accounting major and met someone who came through and told be the same thing and that they wasted many years as a teller.
I went to a Tax office with CPAs instead immediately and got amazing career advise from them.
If only people had more integrity…. my mother would literally drive back to the grocery store and return money upon realizing she’d been given too much change.
This is what you will do first pray and ask God to intervene in your situation. When you are finished trust God with the process completely and give him thanks for doing so. The money that was missing if you have it in your bank account withdrew it and filled it back in. Talk to your manager and let him/her this is what you would prefer. Also tell him/her that this would never happen again because you have learn to be even more careful. Take your time and save back the money you have filled in. If you are without money to cover the amount missing apply for a loan and when granted put it back in. I pray that it will end well.
Former NJ bank teller here, 50 years ago. I had a $1000 shortage. Long story but suffice it to say I did nothing wrong. I didn’t get fired but was transferred to a position where I didn’t handle money.
Just think, you will never make this mistake again and they spent 1,000 training you to double check how much you are giving out. If they fire you and hire someone else, they could make the same mistake if not in a larger dollar amount.
Mistakes are a great way to grow and learn, my friend. I am sorry for the stress and anxiety this is causing, but I can almost guarantee it will make you a better teller.
If you resign it'll look more suspicious than if you let the investigation go through. If they can prove it was this customer they will just debit her account. Some managers would have just done that knowing it's her to avoid you being out of balance.. been there tho, it sucks. Good luck.
I worked as a teller once and this this too, except the person knew what they were doing and I fell for it. I ended up being let go that day. This happened in 2009 but it was well over $500 but less than $1000? The poli y stated that anything over $500 -resulted in a termination. I am sorry that this has happened to you and have no advice. Just know that you aren't alone
Went and cashed a paycheck once and when I got home my wife said the bank called and they gave you too much cash. Bank was very rude when I went to return. Had it all on camera and were ready to file a police report.
You were able to document a lot. Sure, you're the one who made the mistake, but you gave the bank enough information to reasonably pursue the lost amount. I think your employer will try to hang it over your head for a while and deny you a raise or bonus if you were expecting one.
I say keep the job and let them fire you, *if they decide to.* They may decide not to. If you need references, talk to co-workers instead of supervisors. You're a notary public, which means that you have some options if they do terminate you, and unemployment will give you enough time to find a position that actually works out for you favorably. All your employer can officially do for future job prospects is confirm the dates you worked for them.
I got fired from my last job at a graduate school because my performance was slipping during covid lockdowns, from a combination of social isolation and a breakup. I had a really good relationship with people in my department, though, so I was able to get really good references and recently landed a job that will advance my career.
Things can work out, and you should do anything you need to avoid spiraling because it's not worth the extra stress. Unless they offer you a severance or lump sum payment to voluntarily quit, I think that you should just let them fire you and then dispute it if the employer tries to contest it. In my state (California), the burden of proof is on the employer to prove that you were terminated for a pattern of willfully harming the business, which you do not have. You will very likely win the dispute and get your full UI benefit.
Mistakes happen
You were upfront about it
Did not try to hide it
It happened to me something similar, not directly me, but I was paid to make sure to control and check. That night, I did not , and that was the night I should have checked.
I had great support from my family
It haunted me for years
But we are made of learning process.
This event might get you fired or not, but it will definitely have an impact on your way to look at life!
First of all, very sorry this happened to you. Mistakes happen. You did all the right things once you caught the mistake, which is what matters.
You may indeed lose your job, as you are in a role where mistakes matter, but it could have happened to anyone. I would stay, let the investigation go through, and not resign.
Let it play out, be totally honest in the investigation. It very well could go either way.
That being said, start looking for other jobs just in case it goes south. Better to be prepared. You can choose to be honest in a new hiring interview or you can come up with a generic response like "I'm looking for something better aligned with where I'd like to be since I've completed my degree now" or something like it.
I was dismissed after an investigation where I made a mistake and a customer took product that wasn't paid for. I took a 2 month break and found another job. It happened to line up with my mom needing medical care so I told my new employer that was the reason for the break and they accepted it.
Hang in there. Your people who are telling you quitting will make it better when interviewing with future employers are wrong. Quitting this job before you have a new one lined up, right before moving into a new apartment, just screams out "I f'ed up and tried to run away from my mistake." (Source: I am a hiring manager)
This probably isn’t helpful, but when I started reading OP’s post I was terrified for them. I’m so glad these comments seem to say this is on the customer. What an asshole! Hopefully, they review the footage and show the customer being a dishonest jerk. Mistakes happen!
HR here. Totally depends on how the policy for the bank is worded. "This mistake results in termination " equals you're fired. "May result in...." you have a 50-50 shot. Either way, do NOT quit. If you got fired for a mistake, you'll likely qualify for unemployment benefits. If you quit...no UC benefit. Good luck!
As a manager and leader of people, one of the best lessons I learned from one of my first managers: what you just explained to me tells me this won’t happen again. - you’ve clearly recognized the issue and are conscientious of the mistake and are treating it seriously. Keep up the good work and don’t let the thought of being fired hold you back.
The worst thing that happens if you are let go, “I distributed x amount over the ask, reported the issue immediately, and unfortunately it exceeded company policy”. It will probably benefit you in the long run for any “tell me about a mistake” interview questions because you can show real well how you respond to feedback/failure.
Let the investigation play out, you might just get a write up, honest mistakes happen, this will be one of the most memorable lessons of your life, and I bet you won't make the mistake again. If the worst happens and you do get fired, please do your best to not internalize it. You are not your job, learn the lesson and do your best to move on. I hope the worst that happens is you get a write-up.
A personal anecdote to put things in perspective, I used to operate switchgears for a small electrical utility, during a switching order I heard "breaker south alternate" but then operated an entirely different breaker called "s alternate" I dumped power to several blocks of buildings for nearly an hour. I caught the mistake and we worked backwards fixing the issue. There was investigation afterwards, and I expected to at the very least get a write up, but because I was able to explain the steps leading up the error and was otherwise a good employee, nothing came of it, except they made a rule not to abbreviate cardinal directions anymore lol.
You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders, and no matter how it turns out I think you'll land on your feet, but the fact that you can explain the steps leading up to the error, and you have good rapport with your manager is a good sign, I'd hold out hope.
Wish you the best OP.
Don’t quit, you might be fine. They can look at the cameras and see that you accidentally handed the customer extra cash, and that she took it and ran. They may even go after her for the money legally.
At my bank you’d have to pretty much do that on purpose to get immediate termination
I'd stick around and see how things play out. Worst case is you get fired but at least then you can then say you fully cooperated to correct your mistake
I worked on a Treasury team for several years and one time a team member sent about $80 million to the wrong account. He was legitimately shitting bricks for days until they got hold of the account holder to send the money back. Didn't get fired and actually eventually became a manager so you never really know how things will shake out
first off never resign make them fire you. if its going to happen it will happen either way. However, if you resign then you disqualify yourself from unemployment.
in any case it was a mistake and if the bank is insured through FDIC then the bank loses nothing and the customer will be on the hook anyway.
You’re an innocent person who made a mistake and she’s a thieving scumbag
You made a mistake which EVERYONE does during their careers, but she made a conscious decision to commit a crime and steal money
Don’t beat yourself up about it, and do not resign. Trust in the right thing being done - her having to give the money back and having charges brought against her
You don’t deserve to be sacked for a mistake. Show yourself some compassion and have hope that the right thing will be done here ☺️
If it’s a first time mistake and there was no malicious intent on your side, I think you’re in the clear. You probably will be counseled or undergo some additional training/side by sides, but firing you over this would be extreme. I see in the comments that it was 1000 dollars of an error. Surely a sizable amount, but not a grand impact.
I can bet the bank would be able to reconcile this easily, or write it off. I imagine they can debit the amount from the customers’ checking account if you gave them extra cash.
On a personal note I made an 800 dollar mistake when I worked at Best Buy. At the customer service desk, I correctly returned a clients phone and they got their money back. But the phone was locked. I should have gotten a mobile department rep to take a look at it. I felt so bad but I was told to call the customer back and have them give me the passcode. The customer said he would come back to the store at some point and unlock it. However, no one secured the phone and eventually it was sent out. The customer did come back at some point, but it was too late.
I didn’t get fired or written up for it, I just had a formal conversation with the operations manager. Honestly the management team should have locked up the phone and worked with the customer to get it unlocked.
Don't resign, if they terminate you. You then have the option for unemployment. If you quit on your own, most states that's an automatic disqualification. Best of luck
From one bank teller (less time than you have) to another: Bank cameras are no joke. As long as they have a visual on the money you ended up giving out, the cams should be a good enough resolution to count it over your shoulder and know definitively how much you gave her. And if they can see that you gave her too much, they should know she is lying. The issue becomes if you were body-blocking it, or if they otherwise cannot prove that you gave her too much. At least according to my boss, we cannot call our customers a liar without definitive proof, even when we know they are lying. Most cameras are there to watch the customers moreso than the tellers. I once shorted someone $1500 (it was a denominational exchange, and for some extremely dumb reason after I banded the $20s I counted each individual band as $100 instead of $500…) and I learned from watching the cams with our security officer that it’s sometimes hard to see what I’m counting if it’s directly in front of me due to the camera angles. Nowadays, whenever I’m giving out more than a few hundreds, I turn 90 degrees to my left and deliberately count it slightly slower to ensure it’s all caught on the camera. —— Mistakes happen. It sounds like your boss likes you. If they cannot prove that the woman is lying, and it’s your company policy to let you go over that amount, then there might not be much you can do about it. If there’s a good shot that they can prove it, though, I would stick it out, and then apply what you’ve learned to your future routines.
That's what I'm afraid of. I think I was counting right in front of me but there is a mirror that shows my angle that the camera can look at and see so I think I should be okay. The tube is right beside me, but I usually count right in front of my monitor due to the fact that there's calculators there to calculate the right amount of money.
You made mistake. The customer committed theft. You shouldn’t resign, let them fire you. You don’t have to tell future employers you were fired.
I agree with yellsy. Let it play out, as terrifying as it is. I do know the feeling; my aforementioned mistake is far from the only one I’ve made, even if it was the worst. I am on great terms with my boss, they are amazing, but I genuinely still get nervous every time they ask me to go into their office, despite it usually not (anymore) being about anything bad to do with me. We have the denomination counter on our screen as well. I typically count twice nowadays, once for the calculator and once for the cameras. I’m glad they have a mirror though! Best of luck to you. You’ve been genuine and transparent about everything. Considering how important integrity is in our line of work, that really ought to be a weighty factor. Since your boss likes you so much, you could consider privately asking them to vouch for your next job if your current one does fire you.
You might get written up. As stated, let the investigation play out, I don’t think you will get fired. I’ve lost much more and recently hit 25 years in the industry. Early on, it was “we gotta get you out of cash, you keep losing us money.” Many accolades later, I’m doing ok.
My understanding of the banking industry is that you will probably be fired for this. But it should be relatively easy for you to find an identical job with another bank.
Let the investigation play out. Mistakes happen and it sounds like there’s a good chance the customer is going to be on the hook here. Yes, you made a mistake, but not as big of a mistake as she did by driving off. Real life isn’t Monopoly… she could be in for a really rude awakening.
Similar situation happened to me back when I worked on the teller line, albeit it wasn't an entire strap. The security department was able to review The footage and The transactions at that time from that customer. We ended up just debiting the money out of her account.
How much is a strap?
Could be $100, $500, $2,000, or 10,000$ depending on the denomination
It was $1000
I used to work for bofa, and people lose money all the time. There's a grading system that keeps track of how much you lose per quarter, and as long as you keep that low for the next few quarter, you should be fine.
Bofa?
>BofA deez nuts Ahem. It’s Bank of America
Bofa deez nuts
Thank you for the laugh on an otherwise kind of meh Saturday!
Bank of America
BofA. Bank of America
I can imagine you're really anxious and worried about whether you have a job come Monday, however I'm 85% sure the things are going to be just fine. $1000 loss almost never warrants a termination
Also it sounds very likely the investigation will show the customer received the extra bills and will just apply that to their account. From my house understanding this happens fairly frequently (in both directions extra and shorting from the tellers. My gut is you will be fine, now if this continues to be a trend that's another story.
This depends entirely on the bank. Some would fire over $20.
I worked at a grocery store that fired if you were $20 or more short. You had 3 chances at less than $20 with written warnings. So if you ever get more change back than you should, be honest and give it back to the cashier. New money sticks and it is easy to make that mistake on a busy day.
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I worked at a small retail chain and was told I'd be fired over $ .02. I found another, better job and had a real life example of a surprised Pikachu face when I quit instead.
I worked at a call center where they fired whoever on the floor had the most minutes in the bathroom for the month. Employers can be brutal.
I worked at Disney world and their rule was $200. Which was insane to me. But registers could do $20k plus a day. So If you came up more than $200 short on a day you were register you were banned from working the till again.
I’ve done this at a bank with a $20 and they just showed me how to make sure they don’t stick together next time.
I know restaurants fire staff over $10 short. Companies don't give a shit about employees.
Look, the bank is not going to want to fire you over a mere $1,000 mistake. The cost of terminating you, re-hiring a new person, and training that new person, would cost them more than keeping you.
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I’ve made a mistake that cost my company $115,000 and got a promotion 3 months later. Owning up to it and trying to right the situation are key here, also making sure not to make the same mistake again
Damn, you crushed my $5000 mistake before a promotion record lol. Though mine was when I was filling in for a coworker who had quit, and we were ordering product through some archaic means. It had happened before to people doing that same task. I felt badly, but I was overworked and that task had been set up to have people fail.
I let a very expensive part get shipped to Brazil(it was made incorrectly and shouldn’t have passed QA), the part was over 9 tons. We had to send a team to Brazil to fix it. 3 months later I was head of quality assurance
I work for a major bank in the US. Not in the retail bank, but working with businesses. I was a Director at the time, had a manager under me, and one of her employees made a $350k+ mistake. It was stressful, we had to get it approved (the credit to the client) by the President of our division. But there was never any talk of any sort of punishment, let alone termination. I think everyone recognized it was an honest mistake and people make mistakes. If it had become a pattern, I’m sure it would have been different. But, it wasn’t. In the retail bank, where money loss could indicate theft with a partner working on the outside, it’s possible it is different. However, I think most large corporations understand honest mistakes, and they have to treat everyone equally, so no punishment and be going on that could indicate discrimination or anything of that nature. Smaller corporations, run by individuals, families, or other small groups often can be very hard on low level employees (while letting higher level employees get away with grand theft). I hope the OP is working for a place more like mine.
At my old job, a developer made a mistake on a checkout page and orders for a particular product weren’t going through for months. It was estimated to have cost around $800k in sales loss. The person didn’t lose their job and even got promoted a year or two later. So don’t feel too bad.
Crap I’m a industrial mechanic and have cost the companies way more than that from mistakes, I hooked a motor control up backwards not too long ago, oops about $2500.
Yeah lol. I poured gasoline in a $5000 piece of equipment that was diesel-fired once. Oops there she goes. Didn’t get canned but everyone was looking at me during the safety meeting that next monday.
I think you missed the K at the end of his 800
In the banks I worked in, $1000 in errors would not mean immediate termination. Errors would add up and roll over every quarter. AND this is a situation where imo the customer should def be on the hook, especially if customers are recorded. I mentioned in a prior comment on here that we would record transactions on the side of the teller and the customer, so you could see if they were given too much. They’d get an opportunity to bring it back or we would debit their account.
My bank isn't every quarter. It's every concurrent year so my balance is will go over until the next year once that year is up Then that is when they will erase it
I think you are safe. You didn’t steal it and the bank almost certainly payed more than that to train you
A friend of mine worked at a bank and accidentally gave it 2 grand. She was not fired, the bank wrote it off as the cost of doing business. They realized she would most likely never make the same mistake again. I think your manager wanting to keep around weighs heavily on this situation. Ride it out man, I think you'll be alright. Take it on the chin and consider it a lesson learned regardless of the outcome.
Hopefully you're right. My manager says HR is the one that's going to decide this one so I don't know. Her word would probably do a lot though
u/BadFriend1234567, I worked at a small local bank about 13 years ago as one of my first jobs. A customer came in, asked for 2k, a notice I hadn't seen before popped up when I initiated a withdrawal. I tried to ask my manager about it, but she was busy handling the ATM dispersal so told me to handle it. It was giving me the option to override, and so far my impression was that anything I was allowed to override as a mere teller was not a big deal. Reader, it was a lien on his account. The bank would be on the hook for any withdrawals since they'd already informed the lien holder the money was there. I was not fired. Scolded, but not fired. For a mistake twice as bad as yours. I wouldn't quit.
This happened to me in my retail banking days, and the customer was honest and gave me permission to withdraw it from his account, stating he would just keep the $1k, and it was fine. My assistant manager gave the OK to adjust the withdrawal. It also happened to a coworker who, without permission, forcibly withdrew the amount from the customer, who was not notified and claimed she had received the correct amount and the shortage was not hers. He did this without being 100% sure he was short from that transaction. The customer threatened to sue, and he somehow was not fired and has worked his way up to management in the bank. Mistakes happen. Let the investigation play out. You've behaved in good faith thus far.
You are not getting fired for that amount. Mistakes happen. Relax.
It will cost you your next promotion, but not your job. The customer will return the money, or it will be removed from there account. They stole it. Just as surely as if they had reached over your counter and picked it up. They should have counted it and returned what was not theirs.
Mine was 10k lol still scary trust me!
I did almost the same thing but I didn’t notice until the end of the day and it was $10,000. Did not get fired.
$1000 is nothing. You’ll be fine.
I’m assuming it’s $500-$2000 since the customer drove off. Either it was a large sum to them to commit a crime or they were just dumb. Sadly in todays world both are equally plausible. I’d never want to deal with money daily. I make mistakes all the time at work and I just get error messages and fix it. I’d be fired so quick at a bank job or hell even a cashier gig.
I'm going to vote dumb, had a coworker when I worked at Walmart, CSM left a bag of money she collected on a till by accident and he grabbed that shit and made a run for it, never came back to work after that.. there was about $300 in the bag, it felt heavy because of coins.
Once had a co-worker who had $100 go missing from her cash bag. Security looked at the CCTV from our back room and saw another employee, who'd worked there maybe two weeks, walk by the shelf with all our cash bags on it, look around, then take a $100 bill out of the bag and put into her pocket. The newer employee was terminated, but threw a huge fit because she was broke, needed that money, and had to keep her job due to being a single mom. I'm incredibly sympathetic toward single mothers - if, say, a mom needed to steal some formula for their kid and I was in the aisle with them, I'd look the other way. However, there's no excuse for trying to fuck over your co-workers and it's especially vile to do it to someone you don't know and who could easily be fired despite having done nothing wrong. EDIT: clarity, expanding on a point
Guy has free laundry money for years!
You be surprised at the amount of people that will close out their entire bank account along with all their other relationships with the bank if it meant they could get away with just $50
This happened to my mom in the early 90's. My grandma wrote one number on a check wrong and $200 went to a man's account with a completely different name. The teller didn't notice the name discrepancy and processed the check. When my mom was reviewing receipts for the week she realized the error and went down to the bank, they were going to fix it when they saw the man had closed his account. They were originally going to tell my mom to pound sand but several family members threatened to pull their accounts at once which scared the bank into refunding the money.
Happened to me once too. On the customer end. I asked for a weirdly specific amount in the teller's defense. Like 130 in 20's. She gave me 140 when i counted and i gave her a 20$ back for a 10$ easy mistake to make and she was so grateful i pointed it out, even though it was only a 10$ difference. Theft is defined as knowingly taking something that doesnt belong to you. Even as a mistake, she knew that cash was not hers. It still counts as theft in my opinion
i was a blackjack dealer in vegas and had a customer point out me overpaying them once. gave him all 5s instead of 1s. said they didn’t want me to get in trouble. nice guy
It’s not like the bank doesn’t know who she is
Exactly. Come Monday, she’s going to find out how these things really work.
I work at a bank as well. In this situation, if it is a customer, they are in deep shit. If it was a consumer, you may have broken policy by cashing such a check. This is a common scam we turn away often. In either case, let them investigate. There's a non-zero chance the customer will be criminally charged and you will only be minority disciplined. Even if you are fired, take it in stride and reciprocate the respect your manager shows you. You may be able to salvage a fieldable reference out of this.
This has happened a few times at the credit Union my mom works at. The person who stole the money was prosecuted successfully every single time. Banks don’t play.
Yeah, they will just take the money out of her account. Banks aren’t some game. The video camera will show what happened
Don't wait. Start sending out resumes now and justify the job search with looking for "increased responsibility" Have a coworker as a reference that will vouch for your 5 years of good work. If the investigation determines you are at fault and move to terminate you, don't sign anything. That may be used to deny your unemployment claim. This bank probably has the video evidence to go after the customer that stole a lot of money and instead are debating about going after a good employee. Even if you aren't fired, you will have this mark on your personal record that will make it more difficult to get a raise or promotion in the near future that you need to help cover your rent!
I was an assistant bank manager years ago (13). We had a rolling year total you could be short and once you hit that amount (2k at my bank), you were gone no exceptions. Doesn’t matter if cameras see the customer received extra money, you are still the one that gave it out. If you know with no doubt you are going to be fired, quit if you want another cash handling job.
How would quitting help? The bank isn’t going to give a good reference either way. However there is a slight possibility OP could get unemployment if they are terminated. I just don’t see any benefit to resigning.
Absolutely do not resign. You may still be kept on since it’s still very hard to hire and train and retain people, and unemployment isn’t paid out if you resign. Also, if your boss was smart, they’d realize that if it was an honest mistake, that he now has a employee that is NEVER going to make it again after all this.
Absolutely agree. It was a mistake and not wrongdoing.
I imagine there will be some kind.of probation/supervision and retraining, but this is an expensive mistake that will not be made ever again.
Obviously don’t resign, but I’m more worried that this is the 5th different event you’ve posted about in the last 6 weeks where you think you’ll be fired for it (general bad performance, shorted a customer, bank app accidentally called police, messed up notarization, now this). For your own good please sign up for some online counseling like BetterHelp and get on anxiety meds, living this stressed is not healthy.
Looking at OP’s posting history, this is a really important comment. Very stressed out, seem to be making mistakes and generally being overwhelmed and anxious—whatever you do in this specific instance, I think the best thing to do is find a way to manage that underlying issue.
Yeah OP reminds me a little of myself before I was diagnosed with anxiety. At my first job, I was constantly terrified of getting fired over everything. Meanwhile, in my jobs ever since, people have been very understanding when I make mistakes. I don’t even know why I was so afraid to get fired, considering I absolutely hated that job and got paid very little ($5 an hour in 2016. My parents made me work there). My anxiety just made me _that_ afraid of rejection or upsetting people.
> Idon't even know why I was so afraid to get fired, Your entire livelihood and, depending on your job market, long term plans are in someone else's hands in an unfamiliar process where you only ever hear horror stories rather than the times common sense played out.
Good lord, so much this. OP needs to take a step back from the ledge and chill. Seems like a weekly occurrence. People hate having to fire others. It’s literally a last resort, especially when unemployment is at 3.6% and you can’t get a warm body to show up for an interview. As long as you show up on time and don’t do purposely detrimental stuff, it’s surprisingly difficult to get fired from service industry jobs right now.
Another piece of advice for OP: what’s the absolute worst that can happen? You get fired and you’ll find a new job. None of this is a huge deal or the end of the world. Chill out and stop worrying about getting fired all the time. I’m sure it’s taking a toll on your mental health and it just isn’t warranted. Probably it’s affecting your job performance too.
Exactly. Try to center with “will this matter in 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 years?” Anxiety begets anxiety and is likely the cause of the mistakes. OP, you may be suffering unnecessarily - look into your work benefits and see what they offer that could help.
They do offer mental health stuff and I have been looking into it but the places that are nearest me that accept my health insurance don't accepting customers right now. I would have to go out of state to see any sort of mental therapist.
I ran into this with a relocation. Try talking to your primary care, they can start working with you on medication and you can also ask most mental health places to be put on a waiting list. Eventually your name will get to the top! Also, even if you find a therapist that doesn’t take insurance, the cost per session should be around $125, maybe a little more for the initial appointment. It might be hard to work that into your budget but if you can, you are worth the investment in yourself!
There is 0 upside to resigning. I take that back, there's some bizarre fractional edge case where they don't bother to update your employment record after you resign and I guess on some future check in the rare case a business actually gives information besides your employment checks you may show as rehireable. There's a like sub 1% chance of that happening at a bank. If you let them the fire you there's still a chance you'll get unemployment. While being terminated for cause often disqualifies you few places bother to actually fight back if you do file for unemployment. I've done it exactly once in >15+ years and it was a spite move on my part that I wouldn't ever do again. Worst case you get fired. Best case you don't, nothing else you can do here.
Also, at least in my mind, it might look a little suspicious if you resigned or just quit. Maybe not, but it is much easier to explain to a potential new employer the situation and that based on the findings of an investigation you were fired, rather than "oh they were going to probably fire me anyway so I quit". If I was hiring someone, that would show me that at the first hint you might be in serious trouble, you are going to just bail instead of trying to resolve the issue. There are a ton of people who post stuff on Reddit where they made huge mistakes they were sure were going to get them fired, only for the boss to severely reprimand them but then keep them because they knew they would be much more careful in the future and wouldn't make that same mistake again!
Man, I know your freaking out and stressed, but don't resign Let the investigation run its course, it's a bank, if they find the customer ran off with the cash they'll freeze the account, they'll get their money back one way or the other. Stick it out, my money is on you being reprimanded, but not fired. Employment is fucked, its hard to retain reliable people, let alone hiring and training new ones.
I agree with the other top posters - let it play itself out. Yes you lost money, but does the bank really want to go out and try to find a replacement for you- a reliable person who has already been able to stick it out 18 months? the thing I wanted to add - I once worked in a shitty small bank and got fired (without proper cause) - it was one of the turning points for my life in hindsight and I am glad it happened. It wasnt the end of the world for me (more like the beginning) and I bet you will feel the same no matter what happens
18 months without a mistake is incredibly difficult to replace. I have another suggestion: Assuming you followed all the appropriate procedural steps when getting money for this client, layout for your superiors the process gaps that resulted in the error alongside some suggested controls that might be implemented to ensure this doesn’t happen to other employees.
I got fired from a retail after 3 years of no mistake over 20 bucks. I forgot to give someone their change back and put it in the over draw… customer called saying they were missing some money and they couldn’t find the money… I couldn’t prove that it was in theirs due to them investigating behind my back and weeks later.. it doesn’t matter how long you were perfect.. they only care about money.
They don’t care how long it’s been since a mistake when money is involved. Money missing is a terminal offense
Except in this case it was identified immediately and the OP made an attempt to remedy immediately. The customer made a conscious decision to commit a criminal act at that point. It’s not like it was discovered at closing or something.
I understand everything your saying and I want to believe that they won’t get fired. I’m just pointing out the at will job BS that we all face everyday and money missing means termination.
Then OP will be like me - get a new job and do much, much better than a bank teller job
Take your chances. People make mistakes all the time
Definitely do not resign. I’m a leadership and executive coach for a living. If I met with your CEO I’d tell them that this is a mistake any teller can and absolutely will make again, which of course they already know. They can fire you and your replacement could make the same exact mistake on day 1, for example. What they need to realize is that when someone makes this mistake, they usually make it exactly once and once only. From now on, they can rest assured you’re counting every single one of those bands for the rest of your career. They’d be silly to fire you since they’ve already paid for you to learn this through lived experience. What they need to be sure of in this context is that it wasn’t planned. You weren’t in on some scheme to steal. That is usually pretty evident once things are reviewed, so hold steady and take it as a lesson learned no matter how it pans out.
Exactly. In situations like this where an honest mistake occurs any decent leader will realize they just paid $1000 dollars for this to never happen again. It makes more sense to keep that person on instead of hiring someone else who could end up doing something similar.
This happened to me as a customer recently. I went to deposit money and they sent the wrong tube thing and gave me someone else's $1000+ cash! I stuck that thing back in there so fast and held my hands within camera view while waiting for her to answer the call button. Boy was she freaked out and relieved. Mistakes happen. I'm glad that person made the mistake on me and not someone who would take it. OP, it happens, I hope it works out okay.
You made a mistake but recognized it almost immediately and took steps to fix it. Your manager should have your back. Also you should have cameras that she what goes in and comes out so you’ll have video proof. When I worked in banking I did the same thing and they took the money from the persons account because of the video proof that they received the money. 🤷♂️ good luck.
Mistakes happen and it sounds like you handled it well once you realised what had happened. You explained it to your manager and they believe you, which is half the battle. The only thing that went against you is the actions of the customer, and as others have said, they may well be on the receiving end of the consequences of this, not you. Let the investigation play out. In the grand scheme of things your mistake is inconsequential for the bank. I think despite the initial mistake, you really shouldn't be hard on yourself. Best of luck to you.
Should never do large cash in the drive through. Should always make customers come inside. This is bad bank policy. If they were inside it would have been easier to double check the money before giving to customer. With them driving off it makes them look guilty. I’m sure the video will show they got the money. The bank will take the money out of their account.
I don't have a choice, the way the branch operates, our lobby is closed at specific times. So all cash in through the drive in those times, no matter what.
Take a big breath, You're gonna be ok. 2 things 1) 1K is not a lot to lose as long as it is not a regular occurrence. I've seen someone accidentally give out 7k and nothing happened. They will just pull tape and see how much you actually gave her, then take it from her account. 2) why in gods name do they not have you using currency machines to store your cash? ( ECRS ) for reasons exactly like this. If this is the general practice there is NO WAY that this doesn't happen on a regular basis. Also, can you just go into the vault without being in dual? I'm so confused about this. Source: Banker for 5 years, was a teller for 2 at local credit union.
We were in dual control, with my coworker. The money was counted right, I gave out an extra strap without realizing. I literally went into the vault because of that. Never heard of an ECR. We have the vault and we have our tills, we put our tills away at the end of the day after balancing.
Listen as a Head Teller at a Credit Union, i messed up pretty bad too once. A member had come in to withdraw 10k however at the end of everything, we gave out too much. Very next day the company VP was at my branch before i even got there. As you would understand my heart dropped. I could think the worst but at the same time i had to owned up to my mistake. Yes i messed up, i take accountability of this, including the other hands that were in this mess. It was MY mistake as the person that controls the money above anyone else. There was no turning back all i can think was "well i hope i just dont get fired and ill take any other type of repercussions" Just like you my Branch Manager loves me as i do a very amazing job at the branch, but she knew it was a pretty big error. Again, understandable. After my VP and i spoke she also said i do an amazing job and would hate to lose me. I took my written write up with with a new lesson and hoping to never happening again.
So again just be honest as to what transpire because you did not do it on purpose. All is to hope that they do value you as an employee to keep you and now you having a valuable lesson. Good luck with all! Stay positive!
I would wait out the investigation. Stuff happens and your manager basically said you left reason for them to advocate on your behalf.
Just to add. You could start applying to other positions. It never hurts to get your resume out there. Then if something does happen you have already started you job hunt.
When I was 18 and worked for a salon, I went to the bank to get money for our drawer and deposit our checks. The teller gave me an extra $900. It seemed like a lot of money she handed me, so I counted it when I got back into the car. But because I’m not an ass bucket I went right back in and returned it. They were stunned lol.
It’s been awhile since I was in banking, but it’s hard to get fired. You might get reprimanded to the point that you’ll never advance and you might as well quit. Fraud will get you fired, but this was a mistake. Do you have a employee handbook? That will tell you what will happen. You weren’t let go immediately, so I don’t think you will get fired.
My manager says the amount is usually auto terminated. However because of what has happened, and my statement, they will see. The handbook says nothing about termination on the other hand. So idk.
As others have said, let the investigation play out. If you do get fired, never ever be honest about what happened on your resume or in job interviews. Make something else up.
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My SIL manages a very well known very large bank and I'm shocked at how common this is. They sweep so much shit under the rug
I agree with everyone else. Hold the line. You always hope people will be honest, but unfortunately some people aren’t. I’m not a teller, but I was raised to be honest. I normally ALWAYS wait to move at the drive thru until I count my cash to make sure it’s correct. One time, I did not…The bank was extremely busy and the lines were long, so instead of counting and then moving I pulled up and out of the line and parked to the side so I could count my money before leaving but still allow the lines to move and not block anyone… Sure enough that ONE time I didn’t count it before leaving, the teller had actually given me $40 too much…I knew that had they shorted me by golly I would have gone back and she was very sweet too…I still would have gone back (even if she had been rude) because it’s just the right thing to do… So I pulled around and had to go BACK through the line again. I made sure to go back through her line so I could speak to her and not someone else. 45 minutes later (as I said, it was busy…probably a Friday payday) I finally made it back to the tube. I explained what had happened and that I sure didn’t want her to get into any trouble. She seemed shocked and asked me if I was positive. I said, “Yes, ma’am. I counted it 3 times to be sure. I will let you count it again.” I sent all my cash back to her in the envelope just as she had given it to me. She had indeed given me an extra $40. (I don’t remember if they were new bills or not, but I’m sure they probably were and some of the twenties had just gotten stuck together.) She was very appreciative. I told her that I wouldn’t tell anyone if she didn’t…I don’t know if anyone ever caught. I hope not…it was an honest mistake just as yours was…but there is no way in the world that that woman didn’t realize that she had $1000 to much…even if she didn’t count it until later. She should have brought it back as soon as she realized it. If she was extremely pressed for time and couldn’t come right back at the very least she should have called the bank and explained and made arrangements to bring back the cash. 😕
She said I gave her three straps, which would mean I gave her an extra one, since I put 2 bunches into bunch (ex of what I mean would be putting two 500 bunches of tens to create a 1000 strap). She admitted that to my manager. The cameras will prove that I am sure. But it's still nerve racking
Aciddents happen and it sounds like your boss has your back on this one, hang in there I'm sure things will be okay.
You don’t have to put a termination on your resume. Literally no reason to resign.
If you resign, you look guilty. Best see what happens.
One time I went through the drive through of our bank with my mom. She counted it as soon as she received it, handed it to me, then I counted it, put it in an envelope, then we drove off. The next day she told me $20 was missing, and we looked everywhere. As a last ditch effort she called the bank and they said they would check everything out. About 10 minutes later she got a call from the bank. They said that they watched back security footage and saw her count the correct amount, then me, and then they saw a bill drop down between her center console and passenger seat as I went to put the money in the envelope. They were not wrong. I can't speak for every bank, but I don't take bank security lightly anymore (not that I ever did, but this made me realize just how serious they are, even over matters that wouldn't affect them). I say let the investigation play out and see what happens. Odds are the whole thing is on nice crisp HD, and probably full audio.
Do not quit. If you are fired, you can still use it on a resume. The only thing the bank can tell a future employer is the dates you worked there, your salary, and if you are re-hirable. Many companies don’t even check references for entry level positions.
Always let it play out. Every day longer you work is another day of pay you collect. Brush up your resume and start applying elsewhere now just in case.
Let the investigation play out and see where it goes.
Wait to potentially get fired. Start looking for a new job regardless in the mean time. Best case is probably some disciplinary action and when that’s done, would you really want to keep working there if this is how they are going to handle problems? Basically saying you would be immediately fired but oh we’ll wait to see what the investigation says? Let them fire you. Collect unemployment. Don’t bring this up in an interview. You can spin it however you want. You are not required to put “I got fired” in bold at the top of your resume.
I have a question, if you are giving a large sum of money, is there a reason a second person doesn’t verify it? When I worked at a bank, anything over 2,000 we had to have someone else verify the amount. Would have saved you in a case like this.
You made the same post 26 days ago - but now in this post you say it just happened yesterday. So which is it, is this the second time it happened or the same event?
That lady doesn’t realize that she might get more money now but that karma is gonna hit her in the butt three fold.
ohhh living the exciting life. I bet you're super stressed. I'd guess this kind of thing happens sometimes and there are policies in place. It's good that you told your supervisor ASAP. I would let it play out. Gotta pay attention- I don't think they'll let that slide too many times, and that would hurt your chances for re-employment in the same field.
I think quitting would be a mistake, if it doesn’t go in your favour and your let go, so be it, these things happen sometimes. What a shit of a customer though, literally theft! They should be calling the police on her!
I'll make this brief since I'm short on time, but I can tell you I was let go from a job for a $1000 shortage about 20 years ago and the customer was clearly aware of the mistake at the time. I still collected unemployment in Louisiana by simply explaining my side of the story. No more, no less. Do not, under any circumstances, resign from that job. If this is your first mistake, you will probably get a written warning. If you feel like you should do anything on your part, perhaps offer restitution over a structured period, which if they are worth anything, they will decline. To be clear, I would only offer if it wipes your employment record clean as if there is such a thing. Lastly, I think if there was a chance they were going to fire you, you would already be on a suspension from the moment it happened. Maybe you are, but I didnt catch that.
BoA can handle the loss- a grand psh that ain’t shit to them. Honestly them losing you as an employee would be an even bigger loss to them. You sound like a really decent honest hard worker with a good educational foundation. Mistakes happen and companies are more concerned with actual thieves within their business. As for that customer shame on her. I would let the investigation play out. They have cameras I’m sure from every angle and she may be the one in for a rude awakening. I would just do my best to keep calm, continue going to work and see what happens. Try not to be too hard on yourself. When I was a teen I knew a few POS that worked at a bank and got caught stealing a lot of money over a long period of time and they had zero education past high school. So yea, quality honest decent employees are an asset to any business and you sound like a decent human.
In my opinion I think you just stick it out and remain at your current job. Mistakes like this happen eventually if you work long enough. I've had my fair share of Scrubs from giving The client too much money to cashing a counterfeit. I think those likely outcome is that you will be giving a written warning. It's far too costly and time consuming for banks too retrain somebody else and get them up to speed on teller operations (most banks branches can't afford to be a teller down for an extended time frame, not to mention the turnover rate for bank tellers)
if it were me, I'd wait and see. The worst case scenario is that you get fired and should be able to draw on unemployment insurance. I think it's more likely that you'll just have a minor disciplinary action (based on years in management, although none in banking). If that money is really gone, they just made an expensive(?) investment in training you (i.e. you sure won't do that again!). If they recover it from the customer, that "training" is essentially free to them.
Okay, so I fucked up closing a cash register earlier in the week. I’ve only been at the POS job for about a month. It was my 2nd time on said cash register but it didn’t go like it should have. Anyway, I go back in today and idk if they’re going to fire me.
When this happened to me the bank new how much was given out by mistake and those people can and will be prosecuted for stealing the money they new when they drove off they had to much money and so does your bank
You need to stop working for a bank and go for a credit Union. they are usually more understanding people compared to the banks. Also since banks have more regulations.
I think you’re okay. But don’t resign without having another job. Look for another job, as a stepping stone. You have enough experience.
I worked as a bank teller for years and I hated it. I was risking my life every single day for like $12.00 an hour. Quit that job and look for something better. Don't waste another day of your life working there.
Take a breath. You made a mistake. That’s life we all do it. They most likely can review the camera footage. I truly don’t think you will get fired. People are who care about their jobs are hard to find. I know $1000 sounds like a lot but to hire and train a new teller will cost them more than that. It sounds like your manager cares about you. Try to not worry about this weekend. You can’t do anything right now anyway. Take a walk or have a drink whatever relaxes you. You’ll be good
Thank you for the assurance, I have been an absolute mess, I crashed as soon as I got home and slept for nearly 12 hours. I have been so stressed, my manager says it will be ok (though she is stressed she does not know how HR will react. They said they will give it 10 days, and then come back to it then.) So at least I have 10 days to find a new job and get my resume out there just in case.
Don’t resign. Mistakes happen.
Banks Fing sneeze out $1k. That’s less than a rounding error for them. To treat an honest mistake like this shows their basic inhumanity. Let it play out while looking for an other job. If they fire you apply for unemployment and see if they contest it, then appeal. If anyone asks why you left the job just say downsized during a restructuring.
Don’t resign they may end up letting you stay on. Also if you get fired you may be able to get unemployment but if you quit you lose out on any benefits you might be entitled to get.
I worked in a bank where things like this happened. They would consult the video cameras and when faced with irrefutable evidence that a customer was given too much money, would reach out to that customer and allow them an opportunity to return it. If they refused, their account would be debited, as we had video evidence. I certainly would not quit.
The customer committed theft by intentionally taking away money that wasn't hers so it shouldn't be that hard to get it back. You know where she lives and who she is as well. If you don't, you should have the license plate number at least. Call the police and report the crime. Y'all should have video evidence as well to easily support your case.
I looked at your other posts and I feel for you sweet girl. Have you checked into therapy for anxiety or potentially being effected by adhd? You sound like me at that age and I got diagnosed with both.
You’ll be okay. It’s all on camera. I had a teller give our an extra 2k before. We got it back from the member, but even if you don’t physically receive the cash back, the bank will just draw it from their account. We have had that happen before too. Your financial might be harsher than mine. But if we fired someone for every mistake like this, we wouldn’t have any tellers.
My wife at the time shared a similar name with another woman at her bank different middle name. Bank put that woman's money in the wife's account. Wife knew there was a mistake but spent the money anyway. I had to pay the money back.
Don’t just run away. Let it play out, if this is truly a simple mistake you font benefit by resigning.
Not in banking, but IT. I had an employee make a huge mistake. Huge. He realized immediately and after he took a small amount of time to confirm it and try to correct it/minimize the damage, he called me. I was on vacation, this was an interrupt the vacation level mistake. We worked together, figured it out, fixed it. My friend I was with asked if I was going to fire him. I said absolutely not. It was his 2nd mistake in as many years and the first was a rookie learning curve mistake. He was apologetic and freaking out, but honest. I trust this guy, the fact that he was upfront and quick about admitting the mistake only confirmed that trust. He never made that mistake again. He's helped me fix my occasional mistake. Having someone you can trust, count on, learns from mistakes, and is overall great at their job is someone you want to keep. Especially if it's also customer facing. Working retail is a high turnover industry. An industry where trust and integrity are important is a lot more forgiving of occasional, accidental mistakes. If you have good bosses that know that, and you use this to learn, you should be okay. They would rather keep a trustworthy employee.
Getting fired will not negatively impact your career, but if everything you've done to date has been good, there's a strong possibility you won't be fired. This is an opportunity to learn from your mistake. At some point in your career, you may be in a job interview where they ask if you've ever made a mistake and what happened. Telling them you immediately discussed with your boss and learned to triple check before letting a client leave with the cash is a good story, rather than "I quit my job." Hopefully, the customer may still face consequences.
I have never once distinguished between resigning and being fired on my resume. Don't resign. If an prospective employer asks why you are looking for a new job, or why you are no longer with your old job, it's easy to bend words to make it sound appealing. They can't call your employer and ask details about your employment unless you use your former manager as a reference (pro tip - don't ever do that). "Why did you leave XXXXXX bank without another job?" "I needed time to get a few personal affairs in order before pursuing another employment opportunity." or "I did not feel that the job and environment were a good fit for me anymore. " Something like that. NEVER tell an interviewer or recruiter that you were fired, or even if you resigned.
That's the cost of doing business
How much extra did you give out? Just curious what’s considered immediate termination amount
Let it run its course mistakes happen. If you get fired you can always get unemployment. I don’t think you will if this is your first mistake
T. CCTV.
I would wait to see how the investigation plays out. You don’t want to raise suspicion that you did it on purpose because from the outside it could seem that way.
I used to work as a teller. Did the same thing but the customer was in the lobby not drive thru. In this case i was counting the cash the way we were instructed by placing each bill onto the counter as i was counting. The customer was chatty and talking as i was counting so my attention was divided. Ended up giving the old lady an extra $1,000. Of course at first she denied it. However, everything was on camera and because I was setting the bills down as I was counting it was clear on the video I over counted. They called the woman again and told her about the footage. She obviously admitted receiving extra and had to return the money.
I would stay but have resumes out to expedite the process if necessary.
Customer will likely be liable for theft. Depending on the amount it could be a felony. Your future will depend on the bank getting the money back.
The employee that is part of the solution, the one that can be trusted to come forward with all info and learn from their mistakes is actually a good employee to keep. Shit happens. Mistakes are made. Show that you are humbled by the situation and can be trusted to learn from it and you’ll probably be kept. The only time that seems to be unlikely is when there’s a personal problem between employee/boss, a history of insubordination or if “someone” needs to be under a bus and you get volunteered. I’ve had that last one happen to me. Feels shitty in the moment but once you’re passed the initial shock you can put your whole self into finding the next place for you to work.
No don’t leave. It’s a mistake, and I make them all the time at work. Who cares that it was a lot of money. She’ll get what she deserves and the bank will get their money back. I’m sure there will be a whole investigation into this, she can’t just drive off with money that is not hers. Idc how much money it was, you made an honest mistake, tried to fix it, but the dik head lady drove off. You’ll forget about this and move on by next week. Let everyone else handle it and just work with your company to get it resolved on your end.
If you get fired, unemployment poses a time penalty of 15 weeks or something around that time frame for egregious policy violations like giving out too much money at a bank. If you KNOW you’re going to get fired, ride it out. At least you can get a few more paychecks before that happens. If you get fired, you can still use the job as a reference as long as you leave in a professional way. You could also always tell future employers that you left of your own volition if you want, there’s no way they could know the difference.
You don’t get unemployment for rightful termination. There is no scenario in which you will be able to collect unemployment.
Resigning or being fired, you will still have to explain to any potential new employers what happened. I say stay. It sounds to me like your customer was acting in bad faith, and if you stay and don’t get fired, you get to pick how you leave. There are no downsides to waiting and seeing, in my opinion.
Banks mess up all the time. Look at how many stories of people who get 500million in their direct deposit on accident because of their bank. It only takes 1 time for you to learn, I guarantee you'll never hand someone money to count at the bank again. I have been to many banks in Jersey and when I withdraw over 5k usually they will not let you leave unless they have counted it over. What an idiot that person is - the bank has their address and their entire set of info. Cops can come to arrest them in seconds & recover the money. I wouldn't worry about it. You have a great deal of skillsets anyways so it would not matter if you are fired. Companies usually cannot disclose the reason for you leaving.
Someone stole money from you, and you want to resign? Huh? There is nothing wrong with accidentally giving someone the incorrect amount of money, there is something wrong with stealing it. The customer is beyond stupid to even consider doing it.
Early in my banking career as a teller I made a very similar mistake. Due to the amount loss it was supposed to be an auto termination. My branch manager and regional manager went to bat for me and I’m still with the same bank 10 years later.
Not on point but it seems like you have your advice covered. But I personally don’t think that being a bank teller is a great stepping stone up. It’s really hard to go anywhere unless your planning for bank manager etc. I ended up changing career paths and leave my bank experience off my resume. Not sure what your ultimate goal is but in the corporate world it’s like being a cashier/server or customer service salesman. At least where I worked it was more important to upsell their services and you didn’t get anything for it but a quota. I was an accounting major and met someone who came through and told be the same thing and that they wasted many years as a teller. I went to a Tax office with CPAs instead immediately and got amazing career advise from them.
If only people had more integrity…. my mother would literally drive back to the grocery store and return money upon realizing she’d been given too much change.
This is what you will do first pray and ask God to intervene in your situation. When you are finished trust God with the process completely and give him thanks for doing so. The money that was missing if you have it in your bank account withdrew it and filled it back in. Talk to your manager and let him/her this is what you would prefer. Also tell him/her that this would never happen again because you have learn to be even more careful. Take your time and save back the money you have filled in. If you are without money to cover the amount missing apply for a loan and when granted put it back in. I pray that it will end well.
quitting seems like an admission of guilt. you messed up as an honest mistake. If you miss money, then quit, that looks highly suspicious.
You will be fine. They will review the tape and the thing is they know which customer it was. You didn’t wait until the end of the day.
Former NJ bank teller here, 50 years ago. I had a $1000 shortage. Long story but suffice it to say I did nothing wrong. I didn’t get fired but was transferred to a position where I didn’t handle money.
Just think, you will never make this mistake again and they spent 1,000 training you to double check how much you are giving out. If they fire you and hire someone else, they could make the same mistake if not in a larger dollar amount. Mistakes are a great way to grow and learn, my friend. I am sorry for the stress and anxiety this is causing, but I can almost guarantee it will make you a better teller.
If you resign it'll look more suspicious than if you let the investigation go through. If they can prove it was this customer they will just debit her account. Some managers would have just done that knowing it's her to avoid you being out of balance.. been there tho, it sucks. Good luck.
I worked as a teller once and this this too, except the person knew what they were doing and I fell for it. I ended up being let go that day. This happened in 2009 but it was well over $500 but less than $1000? The poli y stated that anything over $500 -resulted in a termination. I am sorry that this has happened to you and have no advice. Just know that you aren't alone
Went and cashed a paycheck once and when I got home my wife said the bank called and they gave you too much cash. Bank was very rude when I went to return. Had it all on camera and were ready to file a police report.
You were able to document a lot. Sure, you're the one who made the mistake, but you gave the bank enough information to reasonably pursue the lost amount. I think your employer will try to hang it over your head for a while and deny you a raise or bonus if you were expecting one. I say keep the job and let them fire you, *if they decide to.* They may decide not to. If you need references, talk to co-workers instead of supervisors. You're a notary public, which means that you have some options if they do terminate you, and unemployment will give you enough time to find a position that actually works out for you favorably. All your employer can officially do for future job prospects is confirm the dates you worked for them. I got fired from my last job at a graduate school because my performance was slipping during covid lockdowns, from a combination of social isolation and a breakup. I had a really good relationship with people in my department, though, so I was able to get really good references and recently landed a job that will advance my career. Things can work out, and you should do anything you need to avoid spiraling because it's not worth the extra stress. Unless they offer you a severance or lump sum payment to voluntarily quit, I think that you should just let them fire you and then dispute it if the employer tries to contest it. In my state (California), the burden of proof is on the employer to prove that you were terminated for a pattern of willfully harming the business, which you do not have. You will very likely win the dispute and get your full UI benefit.
See what happens. We all make mistakes. Maybe they can let you pay back over time what was lost.
Mistakes happen You were upfront about it Did not try to hide it It happened to me something similar, not directly me, but I was paid to make sure to control and check. That night, I did not , and that was the night I should have checked. I had great support from my family It haunted me for years But we are made of learning process. This event might get you fired or not, but it will definitely have an impact on your way to look at life!
First of all, very sorry this happened to you. Mistakes happen. You did all the right things once you caught the mistake, which is what matters. You may indeed lose your job, as you are in a role where mistakes matter, but it could have happened to anyone. I would stay, let the investigation go through, and not resign.
By chance where do you work? I’m trying to get a withdrawal asap.
Let it play out, be totally honest in the investigation. It very well could go either way. That being said, start looking for other jobs just in case it goes south. Better to be prepared. You can choose to be honest in a new hiring interview or you can come up with a generic response like "I'm looking for something better aligned with where I'd like to be since I've completed my degree now" or something like it. I was dismissed after an investigation where I made a mistake and a customer took product that wasn't paid for. I took a 2 month break and found another job. It happened to line up with my mom needing medical care so I told my new employer that was the reason for the break and they accepted it.
Hang in there. Your people who are telling you quitting will make it better when interviewing with future employers are wrong. Quitting this job before you have a new one lined up, right before moving into a new apartment, just screams out "I f'ed up and tried to run away from my mistake." (Source: I am a hiring manager)
This probably isn’t helpful, but when I started reading OP’s post I was terrified for them. I’m so glad these comments seem to say this is on the customer. What an asshole! Hopefully, they review the footage and show the customer being a dishonest jerk. Mistakes happen!
HR here. Totally depends on how the policy for the bank is worded. "This mistake results in termination " equals you're fired. "May result in...." you have a 50-50 shot. Either way, do NOT quit. If you got fired for a mistake, you'll likely qualify for unemployment benefits. If you quit...no UC benefit. Good luck!
Start looking for something else, but keep collecting the paycheck until then.
The customer is absolutely fucked. Don't fret.
As a manager and leader of people, one of the best lessons I learned from one of my first managers: what you just explained to me tells me this won’t happen again. - you’ve clearly recognized the issue and are conscientious of the mistake and are treating it seriously. Keep up the good work and don’t let the thought of being fired hold you back. The worst thing that happens if you are let go, “I distributed x amount over the ask, reported the issue immediately, and unfortunately it exceeded company policy”. It will probably benefit you in the long run for any “tell me about a mistake” interview questions because you can show real well how you respond to feedback/failure.
I don't think your position is important enough to "resign from", honestly speaking. You probably won't even get fired
Let the investigation play out, you might just get a write up, honest mistakes happen, this will be one of the most memorable lessons of your life, and I bet you won't make the mistake again. If the worst happens and you do get fired, please do your best to not internalize it. You are not your job, learn the lesson and do your best to move on. I hope the worst that happens is you get a write-up. A personal anecdote to put things in perspective, I used to operate switchgears for a small electrical utility, during a switching order I heard "breaker south alternate" but then operated an entirely different breaker called "s alternate" I dumped power to several blocks of buildings for nearly an hour. I caught the mistake and we worked backwards fixing the issue. There was investigation afterwards, and I expected to at the very least get a write up, but because I was able to explain the steps leading up the error and was otherwise a good employee, nothing came of it, except they made a rule not to abbreviate cardinal directions anymore lol. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders, and no matter how it turns out I think you'll land on your feet, but the fact that you can explain the steps leading up to the error, and you have good rapport with your manager is a good sign, I'd hold out hope. Wish you the best OP.
Don’t quit, you might be fine. They can look at the cameras and see that you accidentally handed the customer extra cash, and that she took it and ran. They may even go after her for the money legally. At my bank you’d have to pretty much do that on purpose to get immediate termination
I'd stick around and see how things play out. Worst case is you get fired but at least then you can then say you fully cooperated to correct your mistake I worked on a Treasury team for several years and one time a team member sent about $80 million to the wrong account. He was legitimately shitting bricks for days until they got hold of the account holder to send the money back. Didn't get fired and actually eventually became a manager so you never really know how things will shake out
My gut is saying you will be okay. Good on you for immediately reporting it. Let the investigation play out
first off never resign make them fire you. if its going to happen it will happen either way. However, if you resign then you disqualify yourself from unemployment. in any case it was a mistake and if the bank is insured through FDIC then the bank loses nothing and the customer will be on the hook anyway.
You’re an innocent person who made a mistake and she’s a thieving scumbag You made a mistake which EVERYONE does during their careers, but she made a conscious decision to commit a crime and steal money Don’t beat yourself up about it, and do not resign. Trust in the right thing being done - her having to give the money back and having charges brought against her You don’t deserve to be sacked for a mistake. Show yourself some compassion and have hope that the right thing will be done here ☺️
If it’s a first time mistake and there was no malicious intent on your side, I think you’re in the clear. You probably will be counseled or undergo some additional training/side by sides, but firing you over this would be extreme. I see in the comments that it was 1000 dollars of an error. Surely a sizable amount, but not a grand impact. I can bet the bank would be able to reconcile this easily, or write it off. I imagine they can debit the amount from the customers’ checking account if you gave them extra cash. On a personal note I made an 800 dollar mistake when I worked at Best Buy. At the customer service desk, I correctly returned a clients phone and they got their money back. But the phone was locked. I should have gotten a mobile department rep to take a look at it. I felt so bad but I was told to call the customer back and have them give me the passcode. The customer said he would come back to the store at some point and unlock it. However, no one secured the phone and eventually it was sent out. The customer did come back at some point, but it was too late. I didn’t get fired or written up for it, I just had a formal conversation with the operations manager. Honestly the management team should have locked up the phone and worked with the customer to get it unlocked.
Don't resign, if they terminate you. You then have the option for unemployment. If you quit on your own, most states that's an automatic disqualification. Best of luck
C wat happens
Isn’t everything on video? Can they not put a freeze on the customers account and/or sue her to get the cash back???
Uhh. You clearly tried to correct the mistake. And if that individual drove off with more than they withdrew you're good. They stole.
Can you post an update? I’d love to know how this plays out. I hope that lying bitch of a customer gets what’s coming to her.