Tillie the All-Time Teller

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Tillie the All-Time Teller
File:Tillie the All-Time Teller.jpeg
A screenshot of an advertisement for Tillie the All-Time Teller.
Type Automated teller machine
Launch year 1974 (1974)
Company First National Bank of Atlanta
Availability Discontinued

Tillie the All-Time Teller was one of the first ATMs,[1] run by the First National Bank of Atlanta and considered to be one of the most successful ATMs in the banking industry. Tillie the All-Time Teller had a picture of a smiling blonde girl on the front of the machine to suggest it was user-friendly, had an apparent personality,[2] and could greet people by name.[3] Many banks hired women dressed as this person to show their customers how to use Tillie the All-Time Teller.

History

It was introduced by the First National Bank of Atlanta on May 15, 1974. It started out at only eleven locations.[4] They were in commerce starting May 20, 1974.[5] Starting 1977, other banks purchased rights to use Tillie the All-Time Teller as their ATM system. By March 21, 1981, they were available at 70 locations,[6] including on a college campus.[7] On October 15, 2013, Susan Bennett revealed that she played the voice for Tillie the All-Time Teller, noting that she "started [her] life as a machine quite young."[8]

Appearance

Tillie the All-Time Teller machines were red and gold to make them look more attractive.[2] On the bottom left was the place to enter an "access card," which featured a cartoon character.[2] Above that was a place to enter a "secret code" that the customer choose.[2] On the bottom center was a picture of a cartoon blonde girl with china-blue eyes[1] and a red hat. Above that was the place it handed out cash and coins. On the top right was the place to enter a desired amount of money.

How it worked

File:Tillie the All-Time Teller appearence.jpeg
A diagram showing the steps to using Tillie the All-Time Teller.

Customers could use Tillie the All-Time Teller by following these steps:

  1. Inserting an "Alltime Tellercard."
  2. Following instructions presented on its TV screen.
  3. Entering a "secret code" and entering a desired amount of money on the "money keyboard" ($200 was the limit).
  4. The machine would automatically hand out the desired amount of money.
  5. Entering a transaction envelope in the deposit slot.

Advertising

There were a variety of advertisements made by the First National Bank of Atlanta in order to promote Tillie the All-Time Teller. These include:

  • In one of the advertisements, a blonde woman that wore a red and white polka-dotted dress sang "I'm Tillie the All-Time Teller, I work for First National Bank" while standing beside the machine.
  • In another advertisement, a balding, middle-aged man approached the machine singing "If You Knew Tillie" to the tune of "If You Knew Susie." The song went like this:

<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

Oh, if you knew Tillie like I know Tillie
Oh, oh, oh, what a girl!
She works to please me, to make life easy
Oh, oh, she makes my banking smooth and breezy
Day or nighttime, I don’t care
When I need money, I know my all-time teller’s there!
If you knew Tillie, like I know Tillie
Oh, oh, oh!

  • For Tillie the All-Time Teller's third anniversary, the machine was featured in an advertisement where they sang "She's a Jolly Good Teller." It originally aired on KSEL-TV and KAMC.[9]

In popular culture

The word "Tillie" has become a slang to describe any ATM.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bibliography

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