This article originally published in Self-Service World magazine, July 2007.
Cash. Dough. Bucks. Bling. Cindy Gwynn knows firsthand about the attraction the bling brings. That's why she never takes the green for granted.Gwynn works behind the screens servicing ATMs for Cash Carriers of Houston, where she's worked for the past five years. Rather than desensitizing her to dollars, dealing with all that dinero has made her more aware of its allure.
"You actually gain more respect for it," she says. "People are desperate and stupid."
Cindy was targeted as a money carrier in her previous job -- something she remembers each time she steps out of her truck to a self-service machine. Although she says self-service machines are safer for moolah handlers to service than stores and banks, because the varied routes are nearly untraceable, she still worries.
"Every time you get off the truck, you're looking around and you got an itch between your shoulder blades to see if somebody's looking. If you get careless, if you get slack, you're going to die."
Then again, your adrenaline might take over and things might turn out quite differently. That's what apparently happened during Cindy's brush with an attacker.
"I lived through it," she says modestly. Others explain the story in a way that has become something of a legend in the brotherhood (and sisterhood) of money carriers.
According to the grapevine, after the would-be robber hit Cindy in the back of the head with a wrench or a tire iron or something, she didn't just go down. Things got a little fuzzy, she recalls -- or rather doesn't recall -- and she got aggressive. Witnesses reported that Cindy picked the guy up and body slammed him.
"He didn't get the money," Cindy summarizes simply. Clearly, she takes that "protecting the pay" part of her job quite seriously, even on a semi-conscious level.
"You have something in your hand that everybody wants," she explains. "It's not yours to give away. And you're hired to protect that."
She says she can't guarantee heroism in any circumstance, however, and values her life over loot. "Just because I got attacked and made it through doesn't mean the next time someone sticks a gun in my face I'm not going to hand it over."
Still, short of an armed robber, Cindy's WWF moves may come into play again to save the day. After all, it's her wad, too, Cindy says, since she's an avid ATM fan herself. "I've got a checkbook that I haven't written a check in for two years."
She's not the only one. Cindy says she sees everyone from red-carpet walkers to Red Cross-card carriers using ATMs. "It's going to come to a point where you don't need to go to a bank anymore."
That would be fine with Gwynn. She does love her work. "I love being on the road. I couldn't see sitting behind a desk all day long. My office is the front seat of this truck."
