The banking bellhop is a character unknown to many. Probably, many of you would have liked to know the figure of this endearing profession. It was a generally young person (14 to 18 years old, always men), in uniform, who, for work purposes, was at the first step of his professional career, of a life full of actions and emotions that are described in his story. .
Their job consisted of assisting the bank employees, carrying documents, packages and other small basic administrative tasks that were ordered, while at the same time learning the tasks of the trade. This charismatic and necessary character in banks, the "banking apprentice", disappeared in the 70s.
Today we are going to interview three friends and former bellboys, currently retired, on the La Vanguardia Readers' Network, so that they can help us reveal first-hand the profile of the banking bellboy, so that the reader has the appropriate information and can get closer to this character, his experiences, characteristics, personality and opinions.
What made you work in banking?
Tomás: The family economic situation and my absolute disaster in high school studies in the 4th year... by the way, same year, same year and same school, Escolapios de San Antón, as the famous singer Joan Manel Serrat. My grandfather was a friend of the chief of staff of the Bank of Bilbao at that time and he managed to get me to join the bell staff at the main office in Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Teo: I have completed my entire working life in the same group. I started working at Banco de Bilbao, which was founded on August 24, 1857, as an issuing bank and which later merged with Banco de Vizcaya and, later, a new merger with Argentería. Currently it is BBVA.
Manuel: In my case, I was advised by family and friends (among them a BB branch director), who told me that it was a "lifelong" job, that is, by fulfilling the obligations, I could advance professionally and achieve stability and job security for life. There was a competition for buttons, I applied and passed.
At what age did you start working, Tomás?
Tomás: When I was 14 years old. I remember he was wearing shorts.
And what requirements did you have to overcome, Teodoro?
Teo: An entrance exam with general culture topics and, subsequently, the corresponding medical examination. Both were binding.
Do you remember what your first monthly salary was, Manuel?
Manuel: My first salary was 423 pesetas per month in 1960 (approximately equivalent to 2.48 euros now, 2024). I remember when they gave it to me in a brown envelope, and just like that, I gave it to my mother. They also assigned us two uniforms a year, two pairs of shoes and a splendid Christmas package.
Do you remember the content?
Teo: I think so!!! A couple of bars of marzipan nougat, a can of preserves, a bottle of whiskey, two bottles of cava, one of wine and the star of the lot... a "pularda" (young fattened hen). All of this inside a magnificent bag that we later used as a sports bag. The brands of whiskey, cava, wine, nougat... changed, I think for the better, to the point that the lot was valued at 15,000 pesetas. Apart from the bank lot, if you were working in an urban (bank office), you received many gifts from clients, so many, that you had to take a taxi to go home.
The bellboys of the Banco de Bilbao wore a different uniform from the rest of the bellboys of other banks, why?
Teo: Indeed. It was made up of a navy blue tunic that buttoned up to her neck, with gold buttons and the initials BB (Bando de Bilbao), finished with a white strip on the inside of the collar. On her lapels were the golden letters BB. The black leggings were wide at the waist and hugged the legs (in the summer you would burn up), leggings (cloth or leather clothing that covers the leg up to the knee), also black, to finish with some booties (footwear that reached above the ankle, open in front and that was adjusted by means of straps or laces). There are several legends on this topic, one of them is: the regional director of Catalonia had been a soldier and that uniform gave a feeling of discipline. There is also another legend that says: in the past (1940s/1950s) bellboys rode bicycles to travel between the Bank's branch network and other entities. I guess it would be so they wouldn't get their pants caught on the bicycle chain. In previous times, the cap was part of the uniform. Around 1963, they changed the uniform with a very elegant design, a navy blue suit, with straight pants, a white shirt and a black "bow tie" on the neck. Probably, the people who made such a decision must have thought that being so young, we did not deserve that "penance."
Tomás, how many years have you worked at the BBVA group?
Tomás: I have been lucky enough to work for 42 years, "my entire working life." I joined the bank at the age of 14 and took early retirement at the age of 56.
What schedule did you have, Manuel, do you remember?
Manuel: Our schedule from Monday to Friday was from 8 in the morning until 1:30 p.m. with a short break for lunch, and in the afternoons, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., except on Saturdays, when we only worked in the morning. . At the end of the work day, we went to study at the bank's own training academy for bellboys.
What function did it fulfill?
Manuel: Banco de Bilbao was an entity that had always been concerned about the training of its employees. For this reason, I had created an academy that was located on the upper floors of the main office in Barcelona, where the bellhops were required to attend class daily, except on Saturdays, in order to acquire the necessary knowledge to be able to pass. the oppositions to a higher category, in this case, it was administrative assistant.
Who were the teachers?
Tomás: The professors were heads of the bank itself, qualified in this regard (some deputy directors, heads of different departments and directors of bank offices).
What subjects did they have?
Teo: The main purpose of the subjects belonging to the courses taught was to reinforce and update closely related disciplinary aspects of the profession. The subjects were: Financial Mathematics, fundamentals of Accounting, Grammar (the correct standard of speaking and writing), Geography (basic skills), History (up to the present time), civil and administrative law, typing, among others...
How many courses were there?
Tomás: The school for subalterns (job category of bellhops) consisted of four courses. To pass the course you had to pass all the subjects, otherwise, you repeated the course. From the third year onwards, it was not mandatory to attend class and you were already allowed to take the competitions for administrative assistant through the public exams that were held annually, where a very high number of applicants appeared. The bellboys who reached the fourth year and had not passed the exams for administrative assistant, due to their age (over 18 years old), were promoted to the category of orderly. I seem to remember that classes were daily and were taught from Monday to Friday, two hours a day, once the work day had ended.
Where did they eat?
Manuel: While there was this schedule, in my house, later with the change we took food in the lunch box and sat down to eat in flowerbeds and chairs in Plaça de Catalunya itself. At the end, and in a protest plan, all the employees of the different banks went in single file to our offices. The newspapers of the time began to highlight these circumstances. The police came to intervene and our bank, to avoid creating problems, set up some canteens in the old headquarters on Fontanella Street, where they offered us an excellent free menu: normal or regular.
Do you remember any social activities at the bank?
Teo: The bank, with very good judgment from my point of view, had created different social, cultural and sports activities to encourage the participation of its employees, which undoubtedly contributed to promoting camaraderie and coexistence. We could basically classify them into several types:
How would you describe the bank's organizational culture?
Manuel: In forty years of my working life, I have experienced changes that have influenced the organizational culture, all influenced by technological advances that have helped increase the efficiency of banking processes, their mechanization and reduce the number of people in tasks. that do not provide added value. At the end of the 1960s and the following decade, the bank made a strong commitment to information technology and experienced considerable and progressive change. Now with AI it seems anything but predictable. It will probably force the bank to do a deep analysis of the business model it wants. Our objectives were always: to generate trust by serving our clientele more and better, with transparency and integrity, always offering products and services of the highest quality. Our motto was "The customer comes first."
You have celebrated the XVII Trobada de Exbotones BB, what does it consist of?
Teo: Since 2006, one day a year, we hold a meeting of former buttons (now all retired from BB), around a good table (Asador del Mar restaurant), in order to maintain relationships with former colleagues and friends, promote and strengthen bonds of friendship and be able to remember all together the good moments lived.
How was the idea born?
Manuel: I had developed this idea with former students of my school. In 2006 I decided to apply it to the group of former BB buttons, together with Tomás Mayral and Manuel Bruna, organizing an annual meeting in a restaurant in the city.
What objective does this celebration pursue?
Teo: Perpetuate memories and foster camaraderie. It is an excellent excuse so that once a year we can meet up with old colleagues and friends. Together we have shared work, overcome obstacles and shared many joys. A very important fact is that some of the assistants left the bank, but they do not forget their bond with him and with their colleagues.
How many people attend?
Tomás: We have a census of 140 people. Attendees have ranged from 36 in 2006 to 73 in 2015. The celebration was only stopped in 2021 and 2022, as a result of the pandemic. The call is made through email and by letter to those who do not have this means.
What did being a bellhop and working at the bank bring you, Tomás?
Tomás: I consider my work life very important. He formed me as a person with a very solid scale of values, based on ethics, respect for others, friendship, responsibility, tolerance, professionalism... today I think it is difficult to find them.
Could you tell us some anecdotes from when you were bellboys?
Tomás: Like every day in the morning, I went to get water from the Canaletas fountain (one of the symbols of the city), with a jug. When he arrived at the office, he would put a good splash of anise into the jug. The employees called it "the miracle water."
Teo: Although before 1960 women were already working at the bank, it was at the beginning of the sixties when "new blood" began to enter, that is, more young girls and, from that moment on, marriages between bank employees multiplied. , which was quite logical, since continuous friction made love emerge and there was no need to go looking for it in more distant places.
Manuel: "The Balancing Machine", which was a recurring joke. In an urban agency there was a very joking client. They gave her a background check and told her that they were going to send the bellboy to pick her up and give her whatever he thought appropriate. Her business was the sale of kitchen, bathroom items and furniture, etc. When the bellman returned to the office he was carrying a bidet. Blessed innocence!!! On the other hand, there were employees at the bank who did not bring the sandwich, they asked us to go get them a Sputnik. It was a sandwich that the buttons had created, by the way, it was very successful. First we bought the bread (a half-kilo loaf), then we went to the "salty fish" so they could put inside the bread: mayonnaise, tuna, olives, a hard-boiled egg cut into pieces, red pepper, pickles, anchovies. We broke the loaf of bread into three pieces and miraculously turned it into three sandwiches (one was for us). If you haven't tried it, I recommend you do, "it's worth it."
Tomás, I understand that you were the bank's official photographer.
Tomás: When I was promoted to administrative assistant, I won several photography contests at the bank. The management proposed me to be the official photographer and until now, I continue taking photographs. By the way, La Vanguardia has published some for me.
