Personal Touch

The other day my wife and I had some business to take care of at our local bank. (Unfortunately, it did not involve our receiving any kind of giant windfall from a rich relative neither one of us knew we had.)  During the course of our conversation with the bank manager, my wife observed that the bank seems to be utilizing few tellers than ever. The manager confirmed this. He explained that more and more customers are doing their banking on-line. Consequently, the bank has less need for maintaining the same number of tellers that they used to employ. This, he noted, is very much a sign of the times.

Still, though such action on the part of the bank makes sense, it makes it more difficult for those of us who still prefer taking care of "business" in-person to establish a friendly working relationship with employees there. In other words, that opportunity for a "personal touch" is compromised. While we still get our needs met, there is now less opportunity to enjoy seeing a familiar face again and chatting with that employee while conducting business. The interaction is more formal and less warm. While such a new reality is not the worst thing in the world, in a small way it lessens the kind of engagement that provides day-to-day living with more opportunities to smile.

Obviously, all of us communicate or interact with others on a regular basis. Often, however, it is those encounters that are punctuated with smiles and friendly banter that are the most meaningful and contribute to whatever joy we take from life. We are social creatures and thus need times when we are recognized and acknowledged. This is what I mean by the "personal touch." It is what gives whatever communicating we attempt the most meaning to each of us as individuals in a world inhabited by billions of people. We all need to not be dissuaded by decisions by businesses and to keep doing whatever we can to keep that personal touch alive and well.