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At a time when all we ‘}';e‘alr“;;o‘;x‘t‘.‘;a cross i)order shopping and losing manufacturing jobs to the U.S., isn‘t it nice to know that we have one thing better than them? In'beeoming larger they expect to become more efficient. Are they following the lead of Canadian banks? So far this year in the States about 70 banks have failed. By the end of 1992 that number is expected to reach 400. How well l\)v::isl' you sleep at night if your money was in a small U.S. Recently there have been three large mergers of American banks. Laws which used to restrict banks are changing and so some American banks are becoming larger by merging. This reduces jobs, cuts overheads and allows computer systems to be integrated. io cce eecee oc ma n on dnay, TeaWwes: Americans wait for twoâ€"three days before they get value for their deposits. It takes that long for their cheque to travel through their clearing system. And safe. Canadian banks are safe. When‘s the last time you heard of a national Canadian bank failing? Sure, we‘ve had a few small Canadian banks fail over the past 20fiyears, but they were very small, MR ow aliory dsn a ie i 4 Bs vait is 0 It‘s because of this efi{ciency that your bank will give credit for that cheque immediately in many cases. t oc en e onl ty n . M 1 _ Try and tell an American this. He can‘t even dream of this service. For a long time, American banks were prevented by government rules from expanding past state borders. They did not develop a national bank system. They were local in nature and their customers had to accept the inconveniences throughâ€" out their system. Because there are so many U.S. banks, the clearing system is a cumbersome one. It allows banks to exchange their cheques. By doing that, a cheque deposited at one bank gets back to the original bank where the account is held. The bank can then debit the right account for this cheque. Does this sound difficult? m You bet. Canadian banks have very efficient clearing systems. In fact if you deposit a cheque written on bank A to your account at bank B today, bank A will have that cheque in their hands by 2 tomorrow morning. Impressed? You should be. You may keep your account at the Waterloo branch of a Canadian bank. While you‘re on holidays in another Canadian city, Vancouver for example, you drop in at your bank, update your bookLand withdraw some cash. A simple transaction. After n als ce t : t io o o en en e ns e emeeR Vn edcet all, that bank is where you keep your money. It shouldn‘t matter what city you‘re in. Canadians take this service for granted. Pattie Moran is a corporate banker living in Waterloo. Many U.S. banks only have one branch. Canada, on the other hand, has a small number of national banks. And each_one of these has an average of 1,000 branches. Canadians demand a lot more from their banks than Americans. And it‘s good to know that they get a lot more banking services than our American cousins. Canadians should be proud of their banking system. Compared to our American neighbors, Canadian banks are safe, efficient and large. American banks â€" well, there are about 15,000 of them. That‘s a lot. You see, the United States doesn‘t have a branch banking system like we have in Canada. We should be proud of Canada‘s banking system If you are interested in delivering mwsr-pen on Wednesdays after school, please fill in the application form and send it to our office immediately. EARN MONEY DOLLARS AND SENSE you To illustrate her concepts, McLean uses a personal example. Recently, while shopping for a particular product, McLean says she came in contact with many sales representatives who were offering very similar products at very similar prices. "It was really all about supply and demand," says McLean, "Times were tough, jobs were harder and harder to get and I started thinking about what people could do to get that extra edge. And, when you stop to think about it, good business is really about customer service and the key to good customer service is treating people the way you‘d like to be treated in the same situation." What McLean does is teach an ancient truism â€" "Do unto others" â€" in an easy #0 learn fourâ€"principle system xth an emphasis on the modern world. If you think that sounds like something your mother used to say, you‘d be right, says McLean. Etiquette is an ageâ€"old tradition, something that was required learning for all proper ladies and gentlemen once upon a time. Unfortunately, says McLean, having good manners fell by the wayside during the cutthroat, competitive years when being good in business meant stepping on as many toes as possible. "The word etiquette often brings to mind the image of stuffiness and formality," says McLean, "but, in this sense, it means much more. Basically, it‘s manners, treating people with polite and common decency and acting appropriately to the situation you‘re in." Emily McLean, president of People Skills Seminars, says the key to success isn‘t what we are or who we think we have to be or how educated, smart or rich we are. Instead, says McLean, the answer lies in the ageâ€"old secret of etiquette. ‘"When I eventually settled on Some say it‘s money, other‘s say it‘s happiness and still others say it‘s power. But a Waterloo business woman believes the answer is much simpler and, unlike some of the others, much easier for the average person to attain. Keren Adderiey Chronicle Staff Success can be defined many different ways. BAD BUSINESS Bad manners is simply ~NMal is asto. WATERLOO CHRONICLE ~_~~~~* Postal Code "It‘s a strategy that‘s appropriate for everyone from the sales person to the company president," says McLean, ‘‘because, if a president doesn‘t show respect and consideration to his or her employees how can that president expect the employees to show that same respect to the clients or customers?" In her book, she stresses the importance of treating each situation differently: dressing in the appropriate clothes for your particular job, that is, don‘t wear jeans to the office or a business suit if your job isn‘t suited to more formal attire, and acting in a way that is appropriate in that particular situation. McLean‘s seminars are based on her book, The Polished Image: A Concise Guide to Your Personal and Corporate Image, which outlines her strategy: Introductions, Dressing, Relationships and Communication. one company, my final decision was based on the impression one salesman had made on me. He was pleasant, outgoing and took the time to answer some very basic but important questions for me. In short, he treated me with respect and consideration." Emily McLean has turned good manners into business. Circulation Department _ _ +75 King St. S., Waterioo, Ont. N2J 1P2 or call us at: 886â€"2830 Age ‘"Learning proper etiquette really is a life skill," says McLean. "A basic, but impopant. skill for people of all all aspects of life and learning the appropriate behavior early in life can be invaluable to a young person. Unfortunately, many families just don‘t have the time to teach the basics anymore." McLean says her seminars for children will be just like any other lessons or activities parents enrol their children in. like dance, piano or baseball. In this case, however, children wi}} be learning important life skills Although she‘s only been presenting her seminars since January, Mclean says the reception has been so positive, she‘s already decided to expand She is now offering seminars to children and young people. M motees "Success in life isn‘t just limited to business. it relates is to make an overall favorable impression," says McLean ‘"What difference is it going to make if you‘re dressed to kill but every other word out of your mouth is foul language. The idea The key, says McLean, is to focus on the overall image rather than any one thing in particular, such as attire ito a thriving Keren Adderiey photo & 7