This is a practice I do NOT recommend. Our regional managers have decided tellers will be wear name tags with first and last names.

Are there any of you who have had this issue and how have you resolved it?

I would just use there first name and not even use the lst name .No Big Problem

I concur - why make them a easier target then they already are.......

I agree as well.

What need is there for a customer to know a bank employee’s last name? Officers’ first and last names are printed in our annual disclosure and on customer correspondence (it comes with the job).

Our servicing departments sign only their first name and first initial from their last name when corresponding with customers. Their voice mail is set up similarly.

Good risk observation, Fraudman. The teller position is the one position that I would agree should not have more than just minimal identifying information available. Even wearing a name tag with an unusual first name can result in a fraudster/badguy pretext calling trying to obtain the last name. The risk is that the employee could be contacted away from work and threatened unless they cooperate in some scheme.

At a minimum, no last name should be displayed in a customer-facing teller position. For your astute observation, Fraudman, I am confident your end-of-year bonus envelope will be much fatter indeed.

We did use our last names at a credit union I used to work at (now at a bank ) and there was a very strange customer that took a liking to me for some reason. He ended up getting my phone number and address from the phone book, followed me home a couple of times. It was very creepy and dangerous as I travel with a small child daily and he would pull up really fast behind me and flash his lights, pull up next to me and try to get me to roll my windows down. We said it was a bad idea when the president got the tags with last names, but being in a small town he didn't see the harm. I'll tell you what, my husband and I saw the harm. We ended up getting a restraing order and we closed his accounts too. Very strongly recommend not using last names for anyone that doesn't need to.

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This is a practice I do NOT recommend. Our regional managers have decided tellers will be wear name tags with first and last names.

Are there any of you who have had this issue and how have you resolved it?

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I agree--that is putting the teller in jeopardy from irate customers, stalkers, sickos, robbers, etc. The last 2 banks where I have worked, have not used last names on tellers' name tags for that very reason.

At my previous employer, one branch was robbed by a man carrying a shotgun who was subsequently caught. Before he was sentenced, he called the teller he threatened - AT HER HOME. He only had her name because of her name tag. Needless to say she resigned.

And one S&L I worked for ONLY showed the employees' last names - i.e. Ms. Smith, Mr. Jones. That is how we were to address each other and sign all of our correspondence. Unless someone had a truely unique last name, it would have been difficult to locate them in that city phone directory with no first name or initial. I liked that. There aren't many with my first name.

I agree that that is a problem! I was a single woman living alone in the small community that I once worked as a loan officer (we also helped in the teller line). I had an unlisted number, but someone followed me home on a Saturday and was upset about having his truck repo'd. The bank was wonderful at trying to protect me/us after that. (This was shortly after we were robbed at gunpoint and we were all on edge.)

Our bank only uses first names on nameplates for all tellers.

Back in the day when I had just started in retail banking, there was a similar situation that occurred with a robbery. The robber staked out the branch and realized he could easily tell who the newest employee was. At the time, all new tellers wore a name badge (full name that is) that also contained the phrase "Be kind to me, I'm new and in Training". Needless to say, it was an open invitation and he went directly to her. As a result, that bank discontinued the use of name badges, especially the for the newbies!

A bank I worked for several years ago used first and last names on teller nameplates. Using that information, a robber told one of our tellers that he had her family held hostage, and that she would clean out the vault for him. Luckily, he didn't have her family, and the last names were removed the next day.

Hopefully, we've given you some ammunition to take to your managers to change their minds about this! It's not worth the risk.

Am I the only person who sees a problem with this? How unprofessional to use only a first name! Do tellers have business cards with just their first names on them? Do tellers only identify themselves by their first name and then think the customer is going to view them as a financial expert? Anyone in banking who is "afraid" to use their last name is in the wrong business.

Don't you think that's a little strong coming from an anonymous poster? Professional or not, teller safety is the utmost importance. Our tellers only have first names on their nameplates.

Prarie Gardener,
I'm sure Anon was being sarcastic, otherwise it was just too funny.

We also opted to reduce the risk to staff members by having employees wear nametags with only the first name indicated.

as a teller we were also recommended to unlist our phone numbers. as far as name tags, tellers only had first names, but once you became desk side it was both.

Glad to see that all of you wouldn’t use a teller’s full name. Some areas of the country are providing tellers with business cards located next to the teller window. One financial institution trying to stress its local image has used television spots where the tellers name plate can be read in the feature. I videotaped this commercial and use it when instructing management and security officers.

Your reputation preceeds you! Thank you for weighing in on this question!

I was a part time teller when a large bank I worked for switched from first name to full name on our badges and name plates. Shortly after the switch I developed a "friend" who would call for me daily. He called my cousin (her first name was the same initial as mine and last name same) who lived in the same town. He followed her and her family several times. I lived three counties away and had an unlisted number so he didn't find me for many months. He always asked for me by full name, trying to get an address, pretending he was a lost delivery man, etc. He called me at both my normal branch and a branch six hours away by car that I worked at sometimes. Three police departments were put on alert whenever he'd follow me home. I had to take serious security training and so did the family.

He did this for FOUR years. My cousin never did stop getting calls until she moved and took an unlisted number.

Your tellers see every freak and good client that walk in the door. The good clients will get to know them, and probably learn their full name some day. Don't give the freaks a leg up on stalking an innocent person who has to deal with the goofballs. Tell your managers to consider the stories posted here before they do this to their tellers!

We removed last names from our teller name tags about 3 months after the stalking began. Problem was, the mistake was already made and I had four years of this guy to live through. Other tellers in other areas of the state had problems as well which is what prompted the bank to make the move. It was a stupid experiment. If your managers care for their staff, tell them NOT to do this!

My sister told me this story of what happened in her bank yesterday "Up North". A customer came in wearing fatigues and a beret and asked to see a banker to open up some CDs. When he was in the personal banker's office, he presented a large cashier's check. She needed to call the bank it was drawn on to verify it was not counterfit and told the customer she had to "get some paperwork".

He said, "Hurry up or I'll kill you".

She said, "Pardon me?"

He said, "I said hurry up or I'll kill you."

She went behind the teller line and told the branch manager who then asked my sister (a CSR in the lobby) to watch the man. They made some excuse (details unclear) as to why they could not open the CD's and he slowly left - after taking the banker's card and staring down everyone in the lobby. (at this point my sis thought he'd pull out a gun) Once he was finally out of the building, he stood outside in the parking lot for a few minutes, then sat in his car for quite some time before finally leaving.

The branch manager wanted to call the police to report the threat, but the banker is scared this nut will seek some kind of revenge. Small town and not too hard to follow someone home or find them in the book.

Not the same problem as the thread subject, but a good reminder that our safety should be #1.

Wow! Small town or not, the police should have been called. Today, any time a threat of any type is made, it has to be taken seriously.

Why wasn't your security officer invloved? This is serious enough to take to the president of the bank.

What if this guy returns as does some harm? Who do you think will have some liability?

Sorry, but I think that manager needs more training, especially in protecting the welfare of his staff.