I work within five minutes walking distance of both of my banks. So when I needed to transfer some funds this morning, I took off my lab coat and jaunted off for a quick walk. After all, it would take at least 5 minutes to get up to the parking garage and out of it. Then I’d have to tangle about in traffic just to spend another five minutes traversing the parking garage maze again. It’d be much simpler-and better for me–to walk. And so I did.
What I didn’t count on was my bank not opening their lobby until 8:30. So, when I got to the bank at 8:15, I couldn’t go in. I started on my way back, then stopped short, realizing that I wouldn’t have time to get anything done before heading back to the bank again anyway. So I walked up to the drive-through and tried to do it that way.
The teller wasn’t quite sure it was safe for me to walk up to the drive-through. Cars just speed up to those things, you know. She warned me to keep watching over my shoulder–but she did let me complete my transaction.
I got to the other bank around 8:20 to discover the same situation–but this time the drive-through was filled with cars. So I sat outside the doors for ten minutes until the lobby opened up. Then I deposited my money and walked back to work.
I understand the convenience of a drive-through bank window for some people–particularly for mothers of young children for whom unpacking everybody just for a quick deposit might be overkill, and for disabled individuals for whom getting out of a vehicle is a huge rigamarole. But for the rest of us, are drive-through windows REALLY that convenient?
Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to walk into the bank. Yes, I have to turn off the car, leave the AC, and walk a whole twenty steps or so. But I get my money just as quickly, and I have personal contact with my bankers–such that they know who I am and recognize me when I come back in. On the other hand, driving through the drive-through means wasting gas idling while the person in front of me dinks about, it means messing with a machine that is nothing if not unwieldy, and it means opening my windows and letting the AC escape anyway.
It seems to me that the spurious “convenience” of the drive-through window is very little compared to the significant inconvience of not having the option of visiting the lobby. After all, since motor vehicles are the only entities generally allowed in drive-throughs, having only the drive-through open necessarily excludes at least three classes of people: those who walk, those who bicycle, and those who use public transportation.
What might be a “convenience” to some is just plain exclusive to others. And, an inconvenient truth regarding drive-through bank windows? They promote the waste of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases by idling vehicles, while penalizing those who choose eco-friendly forms of transportation (namely: walkers, bicyclists, and users of public transportation.)
On 06.18.09 – 7:13 am
mike said:
my bank allowed me to use the drive thur on my bike once..but only once…safety you know
On 06.18.09 – 8:13 am
Casandra said:
Oh Rebekah… haha. This blog is toeing the line of being a rant. :-)
I am sorry your trips to the banks were so inconvenient. But at least you were able to accomplish what you needed to accomplish – even if you had to stand outside the drive-through window and then wait 10 mins outside the door. I understand your frustration – especially since we always have so many places to be, a hold-up of any sort can be frustrating. Especially for people like me, who hate being late.
I love you!
On 06.23.09 – 9:42 pm
mangsta2 said:
You WALKED through a drive-thru???? THAT’S AWESOME!!!
Haha, anyway. Drive-thrus are thought of as convenient because most people are of a different mindset than you, Rebekah. You don’t really mind moving from place to place, chore to chore, activity to activity. Most people (at least I’d say most) don’t like change. Since they’re in their car, they want to stay that way. Since they’re not already talking to people, they don’t want to walk inside and start. It is a form of preservation—- it keeps your environment stable and minimizes threat of instability.
I’m not saying they aren’t inconvenient, just explaining [from what I see] the mindset of others.
However, I have 0 experience with banks. :-)