An elderly woman walked into a bank one afternoon and asked to withdraw ten dollars.
The teller, a bit annoyed, replied:
“Ma’am, for withdrawals under a hundred dollars, please use the ATM. If you don’t have any other business, I’ll have to ask you to step aside. There’s a line of customers behind you.”
The woman stayed silent for a moment, then calmly handed her card back and said:
“Fine. Then I’d like to withdraw everything in my account.”
The teller typed in the request, and her eyes widened.
“Ma’am, you’ve got half a million dollars here. We don’t keep that much cash on hand. You’ll need to schedule an appointment and come back tomorrow.”
The woman tilted her head and asked:
“Well, how much can I take out right now?”
“Up to three thousand dollars,” the teller said firmly.
“Perfect,” the old woman smiled. “Then give me $2,915.”
The teller, now fuming, stomped to the vault and spent the next ten minutes counting out twenties, tens, and fives, stacking them one by one. Finally, she shoved the cash across the counter.
“There you go. Anything else I can help you with today?” she snapped.
The woman quietly placed ten dollars into her purse, slid the remaining $2,905 back toward the teller, and said:
“Yes. I’d like to deposit this back into my account.”
Moral of the story: Never underestimate elderly folks. They’ve spent a lifetime perfecting these skills.
