One of the banks in town (Arvest) was on the news tonight, announcing a new policy. What is that rule?
People can’t enter the bank while wearing hats, hoods or sunglasses.
The bank president who was interviewed on the local TV news said this change was made because “predators,” robbers and forgers wear these items.
We have an account there.
I wonder what they’ll do when I walk in with my Transitions glasses; will they be satisfied that they’re adjusting? Will my lenses change fast enough? What about the little old ladies wearing those dark wraparound sunglasses because they just had cataract surgery? Now we’re all predators.
This is being done in response to an increase in bank robberies in the state in the past year. (I recall there have been more bank robberies recently, but I don’t think any of the banks that were hit were Arvests.) The newscaster said this approach was effective in Missouri.
I understand that bank robberies hurt us all. Reasonable steps should be taken to prevent robberies. However, this seems a bit ridiculous, over the top. I’m laughing at the bank. This doesn’t help the institution’s public image.
This is not news to me; it’s been a policy of our bank for quite some time now, to the point where there are signs at the DRIVE UPS and ATMs asking people to remove the offending items before executing their transactions (though I’ve never heard of a robbery through a drive-up window, and an ATM isn’t going to be intimidated by how you look if you manage to break into it…)
A desperate person is going to do what s/he is going to do, regardless of the dress code a bank tries to impose upon people. This, I think, is a case of someone feeling as though they need to do SOMETHING and, in the absence of anything substantive, thought this up…
So if a bank robber enters the bank and refuses to take off his sunglasses, what will they do to him?