Sunday, October 5, 2008

CD: That's compact disc, right?

My husband and I are very fiscally conservative. Our parents were told about the Great Depression in Great Detail by their parents and have passed this data down to us, as well. So, all of this financial turmoil has prompted some action.

Through a series of mergers, it has ended up that we have most of our money with Bank of America. So, we decided to diversify and put some in a very old, small, conservative Bank with a long, solid history. My own family has banked with Woodsboro Bank for many years (since 1899, to be exact), but that is a little far from my husband and I, currently. So, we looked around for another bank with similar characteristics.

Burke & Herbert has been in Alexandria since 1852. It's the oldest bank in Virginia. Whoo-hoo. Sign us up. We decided to try one of their Promotional CDs.

So, we walked into the bank today. Here is a transcript of our conversation with the first teller. It's so priceless that it has to be shared. And before you ask, the teller was rather young. Just out of college would be my guess.

Teller: How may I help you today?

Me: I'd like to open a Certificate of Deposit, please

Teller: [Pause] I'm sorry, what are you looking to do?

Me: I'd like to open a Certificate of Deposit

Teller: [Looking at me like I've landed from Mars] I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean.

Me: [Looking at teller like he's landed from Mars] A CD ... I want to open a CD.

Teller: [Clearly relieved to discover I was not a Martian, after all] Oh, Ok. To the side, please.


Does anyone else think it odd that a Bank Teller has never heard the term "Certificate of Deposit"? Anyways, we got a good laugh out of it. We'll be at a holiday party at the end of the year with the bank's president. I bet he'll find this story hysterical, too. Maybe.

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