Fear of an Urban Planet...

[aknowledgeableperson]

Most of the time when I go to the bank I go into the lobby.  Drive through, for me at least, is only when the lobby is closed.  Same thing for fast food.  Can't even remember when the last time I used the drive-thru so it must have been a very long time ago.

And I didn't miss your point.  I chose to not accept it.  Your rant and rave, although maybe theraputic to you, was more like a child throwing a temper tantrum because mommy didn't buy the cereal he wanted at the store.

Most, if not all, businesses will cater their help where it will do the most good for them.  Not all bank transactions can be at a drive-thru so those customers have to go to the lobby.  In this case although the lobby had a line I would guess there were still more customers using the drive-thru.

So you do not like cars.  So use a bank that caters to your particular needs instead of one that seems to underserve them.

[Tosspot]

The status quo is always your favorite retreat isn't it AKP.

Your darn-tootin' I was pissed off. Let's just have society cater to the most wasteful and energy inefficient means of transacting business possible. Since no one but people on their bikes or walking gets upset, why change anything, huh?

[kcdcchef]

They all have drive-thrus. Every one I can think of.

umb at crown center? umbs main branch downtown? commerce bank downtown?

most suburban ones, yes, but there are still plenty of urban locations where you find nothing but walk up. you say you are all about urban, so this should not be an issue.

The status quo is always your favorite retreat isn't it AKP.

Your darn-tootin' I was pissed off. Let's just have society cater to the most wasteful and energy inefficient means of transacting business possible. Since no one but people on their bikes or walking gets upset, why change anything, huh?

so noone going through a drive through has a hybrid car? or an electric car? intresting, since they are selling fast nowadays and all. not everyone that has and uses an automobile should be persecuted you know, i take the subway and the train all over here in pittsburgh, and when i lived in new york and washington, but once in a while i use a car, therefore i am wasteful? my wife and i share a honda, that gets like 42mph on the hiway, she walks to work, we walk to eat and we even walk to shop even though it means walking into the ghetto over a major bridge, at night no less, walk to shop at macys, 10 blocks away, walk to go outdoor iceskating, walk to synagogue, walk to hockey games, but when i am running errands once or twice a week ,and use a drive thru from the convienence of my car i am paying for, i am wasteful, non energy efficient, and killing society basically?

get off your soapbox dude.

And I didn't miss your point.  I chose to not accept it.  Your rant and rave, although maybe theraputic to you, was more like a child throwing a temper tantrum because mommy didn't buy the cereal he wanted at the store.

basically, yes, that is what is happening here. i got the shaft today while going grocery shopping because i had to wait in line because the lady in front of me spent too damn long scanning coupons, and the dry cleaner because there was only one register open. boo fucking hoo.

[Tosspot]

I live four and a half miles south of downtown. And this part of the city was the first to be settled, so don't give me your bullshit about moving or whatever else you're about to bloviate about.

"noone" is not a word, for the fiftieth fucking time.

The rest of your post was a pseudo-sympathizing logorrheic pile of tripe-ish hurl that I don't know what to make of, other than you really enjoy seeing your writing on a computer screen.

[nota]

"noone" is not a word, for the fiftieth fucking time.

and "dumbfuckerous" is????? Kind of funny comment for the king of the made up words.

They have meds for blood pressure you know. You seem to be getting yours up for no good reason here. Bank on the internet. Use an ATM. There is hardly any transaction one needs to do inside a bank if one doesn't want to?

[chrizow]

while i think that drive-thru banks are regrettable (esp. the ones that waste space in the heart of downtown or the xroads), i can't understand the vitriol.  so you had to wait like 7 minutes?  oh well.

[KCMax]

I understand your frustration at the catering to the cars thing, but the whole "breeders" comment throws me off. I thought the whole point of getting rid of the car was to interact with others - share diverse ideas in a "third area." Suddenly you don't like the ideas and conversation of the people ahead of you and are complaining about it? Take the opportunity to wait in line to interact with your fellow citizens. We are losing more and more of these kind of interactions all the time (largely due to the automobile but also with greater automation of customer service). You should be utilizing these opportunities - possibly to promote downtown and a car-free lifestyle - instead of stewing in your own anger. What's the big hurry?

You should always carry around some of your pics! They're a great conversation piece!

[Tosspot]

More like a fifteen to twenty minute line chritz.

Max, believe me, it was an insipid cliched conversation that I wish I had earplugs for. Having kids is one thing but then babbling about it and how you're a great-grandmother at the age of 40 just isn't my idea of "meeting people" and community togetherness.

[chrizow]

what did you want the people to talk about?  the raping of the urban landscape and strip mall gulags? 

and while i don't like waiting 15 minutes to do things, if KC was as dense and "vibrant" as we all want, i bet we'd be waiting 15 minutes to do everything! 

[Tosspot]

I don't think I ever waited fifteen minutes for anything when I was in Hong Kong. But, you all know how I just can't get enough of Hong Kong.

The rape of the landscape, strip mall gulags, and a high proportion of bank tellers allocated to the drive thru window are all correlating factors.

[Tosspot]

I don't think I ever waited fifteen minutes for anything when I was in Hong Kong.

Except at the airport. 

[LenexatoKCMO]

Be glad they didn't charge you to go in the door.  It has become fasionable at some coastal banks to charge a service fee for actually going in the bank and taking up the teller's time.  They want you to use the lower overhead ATM out on the sidewalk instead for anything you possibly can - it doesn't require health insurance or pension contributions.  The bank would really prefer that you only interact with a human being in a situation where the ATM or website absolutely can't handle your problem.  The irony is that this actually makes the wait inside worse because the people who find themselves in line usually fall into one of two categories 1) too incompetent or stubborn to operate an ATM; or 2) there because they have some more complicated piece of business the ATM can't handle - either one translates into a long time at the counter. 

[Tosspot]

That's another thing that pisses me off about that Commerce branch; the only outdoor ATM is a drive thru, and there may not even be one inside the building but I can't quite recall for sure.

[LenexatoKCMO]

That's another thing that pisses me off about that Commerce branch; the only outdoor ATM is a drive thru, and there may not even be one inside the building but I can't quite recall for sure.

Now thats something to bitch about - at least the one on charlotte has both a walk up and a drive through ATM.  Not putting in a walk up ATM in an urban environment is pretty inexcusable - I believe the UMB in the xroads commits the same sin. 

[KC0KEK]

What's wrong with walking up to an outdoor ATM? I bank at the First National on SMP, and for years I've been walking and biking up to the ATM. No biggee.

[chrizow]

yeah.  it's not ideal, but an atm is an atm.  who cares if you are standing in a "driveway" vs. a sidewalk or vestibule?

[Tosspot]

What's wrong with walking up to an outdoor ATM? I bank at the First National on SMP, and for years I've been walking and biking up to the ATM. No biggee.

Does it ever feel ridiculous standing between cars? It's the same issue that gets talked about on this board all the time, design. Instead of designing the human environment for humans, we design it for the goddamned cars.

[kard]

Car exhaust is awesome!

[Tosspot]

yeah.  it's not ideal, but an atm is an atm.  who cares if you are standing in a "driveway" vs. a sidewalk or vestibule?

Raytowna Beach has apparently rendered you brainwashed. Or, "brainwarshed" as they like to say in rural Kansas.

[LenexatoKCMO]

What's wrong with walking up to an outdoor ATM? I bank at the First National on SMP, and for years I've been walking and biking up to the ATM. No biggee.

There is a big difference between an outdoor ATM that is on a sidewalk and one that is placed essentially in the middle of a road.