She'd put a tube into a contraption and then later take it out and give something to customer.
Is this some type of money carrier - and the customers money goes to some cashier somewhere else and then their change comes back this way?
I've never seen anything like it.
If it's what I said above, did they not think the women could handle money? or it would deter theft?
Thanks for enlightening me.
You're right as to what the device is.
There's also a discussion of the pneumatic tubes on this board under the thread title, "Whay(sic) did she do at Bartocci's?"
That was a pretty common device used back then in large stores. They didn't have sales registers everywhere like they do now. So there was a central place to take money and give change, and the pneumatic tube was used to send it over then get it back.
I don't know if you have noticed but it is still used in drive-up windows of banks, you put your check or deposit slip in the container, insert it into the line, it goes inside to a teller, then the tube sends back your money or receipt.
It probably (in the 1950s) had less to do with "trust" of the sales clerks and more to do with centralizing the money handling.
..*.. TxMike ..*..
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes not.
These tubes were used to transport money and papers from the lower levels to the top floors and vise versa. She was making change, since she handed something to the customer. They are still in use today at some bank drive-ins. The person sends one out to you via a system that uses air, you put your deposit in and send it back the same way. They were common in department stores till the 1960's. I haven't seen any lately, but I would be surprised if they were not still in use in multi-storied department stores.
the UK still has them, a thief hid in the roof stealing money by intercepting it near where I live, he got greedy and they noticed before he left though.
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