Assignment task: Canadian Pacific and International Bank
Stressful Times at a CPIB Branch
The downtown branch of the Canadian Pacific and International Bank in Brandon, Manitoba, is known for its friendly service and high levels of employee morale. Although the branch gets very busy at times, the employees regard it as a good place to work. There is a spirit of co-operation among the employees, and the bank manager, Marsha Cobourg, is well liked by the staff.
Roselynn Barkhouse, a 26-year-old customer service representative, has been employed at the Brandon branch for just over nine months. In general, co-workers describe Roselynn as a good, solid worker, but most also agree that she is somewhat shy.
Three weeks ago, Roselynn was working at the counter when Roy Romanowski came in to deposit money into his business account. Roy has operated his small convenience store, which is located about three blocks from the bank, for 31 years. He is a loyal CPIB client and visits the bank at least once a day. Everyone in the area knows Roy-while he is a very hard worker, he is also an impatient man and not overly friendly. Some area residents refuse to buy anything from Roy's store because, in the words of one woman who lives near the store, "He is just so unfriendly, cold, and abrupt, I will never support his store." However, Roy's wife and children, who also work in the family store, are well liked in the community.
Roy approached Roselynn's counter and gave her his deposit bag. A careful count of the money revealed that Roy had $2,314 to deposit. Roselynn filled out the deposit slip for Roy, had him initial it, and went to the computer to enter the transaction. However, Roselynn mistakenly pressed the withdrawal button (instead of the deposit button), so when Roy looked at his passbook, it showed a withdrawal from his account of $2,314. He noticed the error immediately because he always keeps a close eye on his account.
Upon seeing the error, Roy started to scream at Roselynn. The following conversation ensued:
Roy: "What are you doing? Are you stupid or something? You trying to steal my money? I work real hard for my money."
Roselynn: "I am very sorry, Mr. Romanowski. I will fix up the mistake right away."
Roy: "How can I trust you? I have always gone to this bank, and they always treated me right. Now, this happens. How many mistakes have you made before? I want to see the manager. I want to get you fired. There is no room in the bank for stupid people."
At this point, two other employees and the manager, Marsha Cobourg, arrived at Roselynn's counter. Roselynn was in tears, and once again apologized to Roy. Within seconds, the error was corrected, and Cobourg also offered her apologies to Roy and walked him to the door.
Since the incident, however, Roy has continued to come into the bank at least daily (and more often when his store is busier). Whenever he enters the store, he makes a rude comment to Roselynn if she is working. Often, his comments are overheard by other customers. At times, he also tells other people to avoid going to Roselynn's counter. Both Marsha Cobourg and Roselynn's co-workers have reassured her that her work is fine and have advised her just to ignore Roy.
Two days ago, Roy entered the bank and, as luck would have it, Roselynn was the next available representative. Roy, however, refused to go to her workstation and made this known to all the customers around him. The bank was very busy at the time, and Roselynn burst into tears, left her counter, and went home. The next day, she called Cobourg and told Marsha: "I am totally stressed out and just can't take it anymore. I'm quitting and am going to look for work somewhere else. The job is just not worth it." Marsha tried to comfort Roselynn and after much discussion, was able to get Roselynn to come in for a meeting the next day.
Discussion Questions:
1. The day of the meeting between Roselynn and Marsha has arrived. Was arranging such a meeting a good idea?
2. What should Marsha try and achieve during the meeting? Were there any steps that could have been taken to prevent this incident from occurring?
The meeting with Roselynn ended at 11 a.m., and Marsha Cobourg went back to her office. Forty minutes later, as she glanced out her office door, she saw a man wearing dark glasses and a baseball hat burst into the bank. At the time, there were six bank employees and seven customers in the bank.
The man was waving a shotgun and yelling, "Everyone on the floor. Don't look up and don't try and stop me. No one will get hurt." He swore several times and ran to the cash station. "Open the drawer and give me the money." The bank representative at the cash station complied with his request, and in a matter of seconds the bank robber had run out the door.
Within a few minutes, the police arrived, as Marsha had pressed the silent alarm in her office. Everyone was told to remain calm, and the bank doors were locked. No new customers were allowed into the bank, and everyone present when the robbery occurred had to remain inside. Each customer was interviewed by the police. Marsha also asked each customer how they were. Three of the customers were very upset-one woman who was in the bank with her one-year-old son was particularly distraught.
A number of the bank employees were also visibly upset. Others seemed to take a deep breath and appeared ready to deal with the business at hand.
One customer commented on how the atmosphere in the branch had changed so rapidly. Prior to the robbery, everyone was relaxed and people were chatting.
During the robbery, there was extreme tension. Then, the aftermath of the robbery was very different-some people were in shock, some seemed emotionally drained, and others were trying to think through what had occurred. The customer also noted that while a number of the bank employees were terribly upset, they seemed in total control during the robbery: "It was like they knew what to do. I only caught a glimpse of what happened but there was no show of fear or panic on the employees' faces. It was almost like they were doing a drill, but in real life."
After about 45 minutes, the customers were permitted to leave the bank. As Marsha returned to her office, she received a phone call from the police notifying her that they had just arrested a suspect as he was preparing to rob another bank.
Discussion Questions
1. Develop a safety training program for bank employees. What are the basic components of the program? What requirements would you build into such a program?
2. As a result of the robbery, a number of employees and customers may feel traumatized. What should the bank do in such a situation? Be sure to consider both short- and long-term suggestions.