HAY RIVER - For Bev Hogue, there are two main things that make a good bank teller.

One is accuracy when dealing with money and the other is good people skills, said the head customer service representative (CSR) at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch in Hay River.

Bev Hogue is head customer service representative at the Hay River branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"I can't separate the two," Hogue said recently. "They really need to go hand-in-hand."

She explained tellers must also understand numbers, even though they work with the help of calculators and computers.

Good math skills are important, she noted. "You're dealing with other people's money."

Probably more than most people working with the public, bank tellers are observed closely by customers, who often count along.

Hogue said, as in any job, there is pressure, but a bank teller can't get flustered and must remain composed.

If he or she gets overly bothered by the pressure, she noted, "Then you make mistakes."

She said, as in anything, small errors sometimes do happen.

Hogue explained if a mistake happens, it's up to the teller to catch it, fix it and apologize to the customer.

"The concern is that the customer is happy with the transaction. If they're not, you fix it to the best of your ability."

She said most customers are polite and co-operative. "For the most part, they're very understanding."

Hogue added that, in a small way, tellers help people manage their finances.

As head customer service representative, Hogue is responsible for distributing cash to the other CSRs, along with dealing with the public.

Hogue said one challenge for tellers is to meet customers' needs in a timely fashion.

"Everybody is concerned about lineups," she noted.

Hogue explained some customers simply take longer to deal with than others.

In fact, when people come to the bank from smaller communities, they sometimes bring the banking of friends and relatives in sealed envelopes. That means, while there may be one person standing at the counter, the teller may be really dealing with several accounts.

Hogue had never worked in a bank before starting the job last April.

She found out about the opportunity from a friend working at the bank.

Training was provided by a supervisor and online, she said. "I don't think you ever stop learning."

Hogue is enjoying the job, especially meeting people. "It's been a difference from what I used to do."

For 18 years in Hay River and before that at her hometown Ottawa Citizen newspaper, Hogue, 47, was a journeyman compositor - a person who helps put together a newspaper and design advertising.

She said she wanted to try something different by moving to banking.

"This way, I get to greet the people I only typed about in thank-you ads," she said. "It's more personable."