Page 88 - A Banker Down the Rabbit Hole

26. Managing the public perception-

A depositor overhearing a
conversation

W e were told by our acquaintances that a particular

customer had huge money that he was keeping at home.
He could be persuaded to keep it with the bank not only
for enhanced security but also to get interest on it to
grow it. We approached him. Firstly, he told us that he was not a rich
person worth approaching for bank deposits. But later he agreed that
yes, he had some small savings at home that he could consider keeping
with our bank as a mark of respect for our visit to his house. We persisted
and told him the advantages of ease of operation and liquidity with bank.
He told us that he would consider this and come to the bank sometime
when he was free.

I waited for 3-4 weeks but he did not turn up. I went to meet him again.
He revealed to me, "I had gone to the branch to deposit a very big
amount of cash but returned. The reason was that when I reached the
branch, the armed guard of the bank was asking the other staff frantically
if they had seen the empty water bucket that was lying in one corner of
the branch premises. Nobody present there had any idea and the water
bucket had disappeared. If you have an armed guard and still could not
secure your water bucket, how you would secure my hard earned
money."

I knew what had happened. I explained to him that a neighboring
shopkeeper had borrowed it with permission of one attendant staff who
was not present at the time the guard was making frantic enquiry.

I told him, "We keep the deposited cash in a double lock cash safe which

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