"Stephen D Rogers - A Matter Of Interest" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rogers Stephen D)

"Oh." I had gone for years without paying much attention to my bank statements. It seems to have been a good policy. Just for the heck of it I continued, "There isn't a third person who might be able to help me, is there?"

"There's Miss Jenkins who handles New Accounts."

Again I took the lead. "Is Miss Jenkins at lunch?"

"No." The teller didn't appear drugged or insane, and I assumed--or had assumed--the bank wouldn't hire a moron to handle money. Perhaps she was new.

"Is Miss Jenkins out today?" Watching someone snapping gum could not be worse than this.

"No."

"Can I talk to her?" Maybe I'd learn to bank by telephone. Perhaps the whole trend away from customer service was a plot to drive us towards doing more business over the Internet.

The non-Dawn must have clicked into helpful mode because suddenly she asked "Would you like to open a New Account?"

I took a quick look over my shoulder to see if she was talking to someone else before answering. "No thanks. I already have two. I have questions on one of them. That's why I'm here."

"You could speak to the Vice President."

There were cameras all around us. Perhaps this footage would appear on a comedy show, or at the annual holiday party. "I thought that the Vice President was at lunch."

"That's him coming through the door now."

Turning, I saw a man entering the bank as though pursued by the Furies. Just wait until he had to deal with the three tellers.

I turned back to the woman who remained nameless. "Thanks for your help. I'll think I'll go talk to the Vice President."

"His name is Mister Kowalksi. Have a nice day, and thank you for doing your banking at Safe and Trust."

I nodded and nearly ran from the teller area, intercepting the Vice President as he opened his office. "Mister Kowalksi?"

"That's Kowalksi. What can I do for you?" He waved me ahead into his office. It was probably twice the size of the space I rented, and at that I sublet half of it to a dentist.

"Sorry about messing up your name. I must have misunderstood what she said."

"You should try working here." He sat down behind his desk.

Ignoring his comment, I told him who I was and that I had somehow bungled my average daily balance calculation.

"This is a business account, you say?"

"Yes. I have both my personal account and my business account here. It was my business account that I was checking."

He raised his hands as if to ask why. "Your business account doesn't earn interest. The average daily balance figure is meaningless."

I placed my calculations on his desk. "Be that as it may, business has been slow and I decided to decipher my last statement. If you could just show me where I messed up."

"But the number doesn't translate to anything. Even if it is listed incorrectly on your statement, it doesn't matter."