Working as a teller has made me notice how much I assume someone can follow just by watching. From my side of the counter, the steps of a familiar task can feel straightforward. For the person in front of me, the experience may be different.
Working in banking gives me opportunities to connect my studies to everyday interactions. It also reminds me that knowing the information is only part of helping someone. I need to explain it in a way that makes sense to them.
Learning to explain what someone cannot see
One experience that stayed with me involved helping a customer who is blind. When I first served him, I was unsure how to adjust my usual approach. I wanted to provide the best experience I could, but this was new to me.
I stayed patient and described more of what I was doing as I completed the task. He could not follow those steps by watching, so information I might normally leave unspoken became part of the conversation.
At the end of that first interaction, he thanked me for being patient and communicative. That meant a lot because I had been learning how to adapt as I went. It helped me recognise the importance of slowing down enough to consider what the experience was like from his side.
As I became more familiar with his particular needs, serving him felt more natural. I’m leaving out identifying details and banking activity because the lesson I want to share is about my own communication.
CNIB’s guidance on common courtesies when interacting with people who are blind recommends speaking naturally, addressing the person directly and avoiding assumptions about assistance. It also explains how descriptive verbal information can make an interaction more accessible.
That guidance helps me reflect on my experience without assuming it applies to everyone in the same way. What helped one customer does not tell me what every person with sight loss will prefer. I can bring patience and a willingness to adapt to the next interaction while staying open to what that person needs.
Recognizing what I take for granted
Working in banking has also made me more aware of differences in financial knowledge. Through studying finance and using banking terminology at work, certain terms have become familiar to me. It can be easy to forget that other people have had different opportunities to learn about them.
For example, I have explained the difference between a credit card and a line of credit to customers. Those conversations remind me that something familiar in my daily routine may be new to someone else.
I want people to feel comfortable asking questions. If I react as though an answer should be obvious, I could make the conversation harder for them. I’m learning to pay attention to my assumptions and focus on explaining the information clearly.
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s clear language and presentation guidance recommends using familiar words and considering the audience’s knowledge without underestimating their intelligence. It also cautions against removing important details simply to make information easier to understand.
The page primarily addresses written consumer communications. I see a connection to my conversations at work: an explanation can be understandable while still being accurate. That connection is my interpretation of the guidance, rather than a claim that it describes how to handle a particular banking transaction.
Bringing that attention to a busy shift
Our branch is busy, and I can help around 50 to 60 people during a shift. Moving between different questions and needs has taught me to be adaptable.
Someone may know exactly what they want to ask. Another person may need time to explain what they are unsure about. Even when the task is familiar, I cannot assume the conversation will follow the same pattern.
I give each person the same respect and care while adjusting how much explanation they need. This takes attention, especially when there are other people waiting. I’m still learning how to keep that focus throughout a shift.
Accuracy is another part of that responsibility. Double-checking information is a habit I take seriously in banking. Helping someone feel heard matters to me, and so does being careful with the task they have trusted me to complete.
Seeing customer experience through my studies
These interactions have expanded how I think about a company’s brand. Before working in banking, I associated a brand mainly with its advertising and appearance. Now, I also think about the everyday conversations people have with employees.
I cannot measure a change in someone’s trust from one interaction. What I can describe is the feedback I received and what I learned from it. Being thanked for my patience showed me that the way I communicated was something the customer noticed.
As a marketing student, that makes customer experience feel more concrete. It gives me something specific to consider when thinking about how a business presents itself and how people experience it.
In future marketing or customer-focused work, I want to carry that attention into the messages I help create. Before deciding that an explanation is clear, I want to consider whose knowledge and perspective I am starting from.
Explore my experience to learn more about my work in banking and automotive customer service.
Sources
CNIB. “Be Natural! 4 Common Courtesies to Offer People Who Are Blind.” CNIB, www.cnib.ca/en/be-natural-4-common-courtesies-offer-people-who-are-blind.
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. “CG-3 Clear Language and Presentation Principles and Guidelines for the Industry.” Government of Canada, 25 Sept. 2025, www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/commissioner-guidance/guidance-3.html.
