Got Cash?

An event occurred today at work that earned it a top spot in the ZCO history books: we got an ATM machine.

Our ATM machine was installed with no fanfare - the only way I knew it was even here was when someone in the front of the building emailed me to say she saw it being rolled down the hall.  The machine is installed out in the foyer between this building and the factory, about 20 feet from our cube. There were some hurdles to clear, however, and security issues had to be addressed. They installed a combination lock on the door going by the foyer, making us more secure. The first hurdle was the ATM machine being over a month late due to Hurricane Katrina.  I'm guessing it came from some place in Louisiana or a neighboring state.  It was supposed to have been here around the first of September. But better late than never. Then, there was a minor hurdle yesterday morning when they were getting it hooked up.  They had to shut off the power to that part of the building, and unfortunately our cube was the only work area affected, so we had a blackout for about 15 minutes.  Once the power was back on and the machine was hooked up, they anchored it to the wall and called in the tech people to get it programmed.  That took quite a bit longer than they'd anticipated.  The techies had the manager of the credit union, their head teller, and their assistant manager come over for the "unveiling" and those people stood huddled around the ATM for hours.  The credit union people finally left at 4:30 when we all left, but the techies stayed until they got it working. 

I'm very proud to say that I was the first ZCO employee to use the machine.  The big withdraw came at about 8:15 this morning.  The HR department even came out to watch the big transaction. I got my money without a hitch.  Our ATM is slower than most ATMs I've used, but it works.  One pressing question has come up since the machine has been in operation: why is there a hole to plug in headphones? If anyone of you, my faithful readers, happen to be ATM experts, please answer this question for us. 

For your viewing pleasure, I've posted a picture of our new ATM machine.  I especially like the lighted sign that says "ATM", just in case someone doesn't know what type of machine it is.