“It can`t be that hard, sit there and punch in numbers when someone comes up to bet”. If I had a dollar for every time i heard that I would`ve been a millionaire by age 20. The job itself looks easy on paper, but it`s a different thing when you have to actually do it. Most people do not bet correctly. Note, I am not blaming them or complaining, being able to figure out what a costumer wants is half of the fun.
To be a great Mutuel Teller, you have to know a lot of different things. Things like, which race tracks you have running that night, what kind of bets each track has, and also the dollar amounts they have. Most tracks have the same types of wagers and same minimum amount you can do, but not all. I had many new customers come to the track and say ” I got this amount of cash, that I can spend on this race, what`s a good bet?” A good teller will help you figure out what you want to try to also explain to you what is necessary for your bet to win. You also have to have a sense of humor. Any time you deal with money there is a chance you will get some pretty strange comments or questions. One time a lady came to my window to cash in a ticket that won over $700. Without even wasting a second she said “Where is the nearest department store I am going shopping!” Her husband , who bet with me on a regular basis was behind her making hand signals to tell me to avoid giving her any info on places to shop.
Another thing for all of you potential tellers out there is people skills. You will see the same people everyday of your life. This is not like 7-11 or walmart, where you see a guy everyday and he comes in buys a pack of gum and leaves. These people you have to deal with hundreds of times a day everyday you work. Sure there will be some customers you just can`t stand, but for the most part the people who become your regular bettors you will enjoy. Most of the people who bet with me on a regular basis I knew what kind of bet they were going to make before they even started, and some I even knew what numbers!
One big thing to think about before you get too excited about becoming a teller, is mistakes. Unlike most jobs where you make a mistake, you might get yelled at, written up, and maybe punished, making a mistake as a teller sometimes costs you money. If your drawer doesn`t have the correct amount of money in it at night you have to pay what it is short. Without getting into details there are many ways to mess up, and I have seen people have to pay thousands of dollars. Imagine not only not getting paid to work this week but maybe even the next year or 2. I will be honest there is not a single person out there that works as a teller that hasn`T come up short at least once. And it never fails, when you mess up and know you have to pay someone either your boss or a customer will come up and give you some line about “how come you aren`t smiling?” I always got in trouble for my answer but I told them “you cough up a few hundred bucks for something and see if you are smiling” Most times I got yelled at for saying it but my point got across and they left me alone.
This type of job is something you have to want to do. I know I loved doing it. Give it a try you might too.
February 20, 2012
oldskoolvideogames
2 responses to “So you want to be a Mutuel Teller”
martinisrule
February 20th, 2012 at 12:37
Your post really brought back memories of my first days as a teller. I had a full time job but i wanted something part time to make a little extra money. We were supposed to go in a couple of evenings to get some training. it was February and the weather was so bad we only got one evening of training. Then that first weekend i was supposed to work was cancelled because the track was frozen. So anyway, i go in the next weekend, (i was going to work Saturdays and Sundays) and was thrown right into the action. Well, that first day was so nerve-wracking, it was no fun at all. i was on a window in an area that seemed to be a magnet for the worst, crankiest customers. The next day i was driving in and was on the verge of a panic attack. I almost turned around and went home, but then i thought, no, i’ll try it again and see how it goes. I hung in there but it was a good six months before i was competent enough to enjoy the job. i remember one couple who were regulars. The wife was very sweet and could place her bets without a stutter, really smooth. Her husband was another story; he seemed to have some chip on his shoulder to begin with, and could not place a bet smoothly to save his life. Many times i had to ask him again what he wanted and would get mad at me!
Talking about coming up short, i would always hold my breath at the end of the night, hoping my drawer wasn’t short. You are not kidding, there are SO MANY ways to come up short! One night i came up $100 short, and could not figure out why. So the next morning i had to go to the money room to have it counted again (i had not been there long and so was immediately under suspicion). Then something occured to me, and i told the manager that possibly i had not run a voucher, so she offered to go through all my tickets with me to look for it. Sure enough, there was a $100 voucher that i had not run! Talk about relief! Another way to lose money is when you are dealing with new bills, they stick together and you can “gve away” $20 or $100 pretty easily. I got to hate new bills, so i would go through the whole stack and crinkle them. I worked there for nine years, and had more fun than i can tell. You’re right Ed, most of the customers were really nice folks and i enjoyed seeing them.
oldskoolvideogames
February 20th, 2012 at 13:06
There was a lady that worked in the money room , that taught me how to deal with new ones. She would go oto the watr fountain get a drink the stick the edges of the bills in the left over water. kinda weird but worked great.