>Why on earth would they want a bank teller to stand?

Because the client is standing.

Here's a weird observation. I recently moved from the Seattle to Austin. In Washington State, every single bank I went to it was open air between the teller and the customer. Here in Austin, the credit union I use has a physical non-transparent wall and you can only see the teller through a video screen and microphone.

How much stabbier is Austin than Seattle?

If they're in the rapidly gentrifying area(s) on the East, which have traditionally been rife with poverty and petty crime (they were 10 years ago when I was there and before real estate is what it is now), then I'd answer "A lot more, a lot more stabbier."

Are you sure the teller is really on the other side of that wall?

At my CU there is a teller there 24/7, it's just that after hours it is via video terminal integrated with the ATM piped to some remote office.

I've lived in Dallas, Austin and New York, and I've never seen that. Where do you do your banking?

There are plenty of banks in Washington that have thick bullet proof glass. And not just in downtown Seattle

Use a bank that doesn't have tellers? You don't stand at First Republic Bank. The bankers have desks. You sit down with them for any transaction you need personal help with. Sorry if that sounds like an ad for my bank but so far, 9 years, I'm a happy customer

To be honest, that sounds annoying. I just need to hand the teller some papers, and have them give me back a receipt. I don't want to sit down and bond and feel respected; I want to go into a building and come out having accomplished my task, preferably in under five minutes.

I've been served faster at first republic than I ever have at a bank with tellers. It's possible I've just been lucky but I've never had to wait, something that can't be said for my experience and banks with tellers.

So you buy a couple high stools?

Or a little cubicle and a desk like the managers have. This way both the customer and the employee can both sit. The guy next to me in line doesn't need to know I just put $1000 in my pocket.

Do Americans really expect that a teller should have to stand all day because each individual client is only momentarily standing during the course of their transaction? It seems the most inane argument (or have I just fallen victim to Poe's Law?)

What client would choose a bank that won't even provide them a chair?

In the banks I've been to, the tellers are for quick in-and-out tasks like depositing or withdrawing money, and I'd no more expect to sit down for that than I would expect to sit down when ordering a cup of coffee or purchasing groceries. For longer tasks, like opening/closing/adjusting accounts, they have bankers with desks and chairs for all.

That said, I certainly would have no problem if the teller was sitting, even though I wouldn't expect to sit myself.