Ash ExantusChief Financial Educator, Ash Cash Enterprises · Financial Empowerment Leader | Public Affairs Strategist | Media Executive | Advocate for Economic Equity & Financial Literacy | Champion for Formerly Incarcerated Communities

Breaking Barriers From Teller to Customer Service in Banking

1 Oct 2023 · 1 min

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In this personal narrative, the speaker recounts how seeing a relatable, non‑stereotypical branch manager inspired them to pursue a career path beyond the teller role. After eight months as a teller, they set their sights on a customer‑service position, deliberately changing their appearance by wearing suits (the attire of customer‑service staff) and adopting the professional lingo. By being exceptionally helpful to both clients and colleagues, they made the job easier for others, which led to successive promotions. The story emphasizes the impact of representation, intentional image management, skill acquisition, and service excellence on career advancement within a bank.

Chapters

You might not even be in finance if it was like a white guy in a suit, corny looking dude. If my branch manager was a white corny looking dude, I probably would have been there 8 months and I would have probably found something else to do. But the fact that I saw that the highest level of the bank, this guy ran it, I started to say, all right, that's what I'm going to do. And in fact, it's funny because I was only a teller for 8 months after that, right? So I visualize now. So now I say, you know what? What's next? I want to be customer service, right? So, now I'm starting to wear suits because the tellers are only wearing shirts and ties, customer service wear suits. So, I'm wearing suits now. Now, I'm learning the lingo, I'm seeing what they doing, I'm being extra nice with my clients, I'm making their job easier, and that's how I started getting promoted. Every single time, you know,