It Pays To Pay Attention

I started a new job and opted to sign up for direct deposit for my paychecks. I took the paperwork to my bank to make sure everything was correct before turning it in to my employer. I worked my first two weeks and eagerly awaited my deposit.

Friday came and nothing was deposited. [Manager] contacted [Payroll], who said it might take a little while because it’s a new account and I should check with my bank. I contacted my bank and they confirmed there was nothing on hold.

Saturday and Sunday went by, still nothing, but it was the weekend so I wasn’t expecting it.

Monday, Tuesday, and finally Wednesday arrived with no pay. The bank confirmed again that I had no pending transactions. I went back to [Payroll] myself.

Payroll: *Impatiently* “Yes?”

Me: “Hi, I’m [My Name]. My manager contacted you on Friday about my check?”

Payroll: *Rolling her hand forward* “And?”

Me: “It still hasn’t been deposited. Can we look into this?”

Payroll: “Checks are deposited every other Friday. It’s Wednesday.”

Me: “Right, I’m talking about last week’s check.”

Payroll: “And checks are deposited every other Friday.”

Me: “I did not get paid. Please help me understand why.”

Payroll: *Sigh* “Fine, I’ll walk you through it. Wasting my time, but it’s fine!” *Pulls my deposit paper* “Is this information correct?”

Me: “Yes, I verified it with my bank.”

Payroll: “Okay, so I don’t see why you’re saying you didn’t get paid.”

Me: “Because I didn’t. Maybe something was entered wrong.”

Payroll: *Snapping* “I have been doing this job for ten years. I know what I’m doing!”

Me: *Snapping back* “And I’ve had that bank account for twenty years and never had an issue.”

Payroll: “Fine.” *Begins typing on her computer* “You’re with [Bank]?”

Me: “Yes.”

Payroll: “Routing number is [number]?”

Me: “Yes.”

Payroll: *Smug* “And as I said, your paycheck was deposited into account [12345]. See?”

She turns the computer screen to show me the proof of deposit. I turn the direct deposit paperwork back to face her.

Me: “My account number is [13245].”

[Payroll] is silent for a moment. She looks back and forth between the screen and the paper.

Payroll: “Are you sure?”

Me: “Yes. How are you going to fix this?”

Payroll: “I will have to look into this and get back to you.”

Me: “Thank you. I’ll be back at the end of the day.”

Payroll: “I don’t know if I’ll have the answer by then.”

Me: “I’ll be talking to Human Resources tomorrow either way.” *Sweetly* “Thank you for your time.”

When I went back at the end of the day, she had a paper check cut for me and showed that she had updated my account with the correct information. She did not actually acknowledge that she had made an error and didn’t apologize, so I went to Human Resources and reported her. She was gone a few days later.