Discuss Detroit » Archives - Beginning July 2006 » Comerica Teller Machines no longer bi-lingual « Previous Next »
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Bob_cosgrove
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Username: Bob_cosgrove

Post Number: 421
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 9:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

This may just be true only of the Comerica teller machines I use - the Comerica branches on East Jefferson at St. Aubin and Grosse Pointe on Fisher Road and the machine in Henry Ford Hosptial on West Grand River.

All of these machines opened asking if I wnated my messages in English or Spanish. But, in the last 30 days there is no such message on any of these machines.

Why the change? Did they change the machines in southwest Detroit too? It was mildly annoying to me, since I don't use machines where there are many Spanish speaking people, but it must be a disservice if its been done in the areas with high Hispanic populations.

Bob Cosgrove
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 1781
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 11:21 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's about time for the Hispanics to immerse themselves in English. It wouldn't hurt.
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Ndavies
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Username: Ndavies

Post Number: 2332
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 11:48 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So, how many people who only speak spanish in metro Detroit have ATM cards?

Maybe by tracking the number of people who pressed the Spanish button, they realized that the people who couldn't speak english in the area didn't have ATM cards. My guess is the majority of people who couldn't speak english in the area are cash only type people. Why offer something that people aren't using?
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 1782
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Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 12:31 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What's the percentage of legal Hispanics who cannot speak English? Pretty small, I reckon.
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Barnesfoto
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Username: Barnesfoto

Post Number: 2771
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 12:47 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Chase's ATMs, on the other hand, now offer about 8-10 language choices. Chase Bank seems to be a NYC-based institution, so I'm guessing that what they do in NYC, they do all over the US.
QUOTE:
"It's about time for the Hispanics to immerse themselves in English. It wouldn't hurt".
It's never a bad thing to speak a second language, however, when you work 15-18 hour days, like some of my neighbors, always surrounded by others who speak Spanish, well, it's a bit tricky to get a good grasp of English.
But not to worry, these folks usually have kids, and their kids speak English pretty well.

Of course, it always amuses me that the folks who are most vocal about the need for certain people to become BIlingual are almost always people who are themselves MONOlingual.
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 1783
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Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 8:13 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"Of course, it always amuses me that the folks who are most vocal about the need for certain people to become BIlingual are almost always people who are themselves MONOlingual."


Some more red for you!

And more expected generalizations from a resident DY leftist. As for me, I'm fluent in German, HTML, C, C++, and Java and have a basic knowledge of Spanish, Dutch, and Russian. I'm sure that I could easily handle an ATM transaction in any of the above...
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Barnesfoto
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Username: Barnesfoto

Post Number: 2772
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 8:16 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

what, no mandarin?
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Pamequus
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Username: Pamequus

Post Number: 90
Registered: 07-2005
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 8:34 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There are parts of Miami (a large part of it too) that speak nothing but Spanish. Most of these individuals are Cuban and have been here for many years but refuse to learn English. Most of them are legal immigrants. They sued the State of Florida about 15 years ago because we didn't have enough Spanish speaking teachers. They got the Spanish speaking teachers. Now they have sued the State of Florida because the same students, educated in Spanish, can't speak English well enough to get a good job or succeed at higher education.

Seems to me most earlier immigrants that came to the States learned English....I have no clue why these folks think they should be able to come to this country and WE should change for them!!!
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Ordinary
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Username: Ordinary

Post Number: 68
Registered: 06-2006
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 8:38 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Barnesfoto,
You are so sirry! A mandarin is a musicar instrument.
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Supersport
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Username: Supersport

Post Number: 10895
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 9:00 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I've found that Comerica Bank ATM's switch on and off, sometimes offering bi-lingual, then not. The one down near Mexicantown on Lafayette was one of the first to offer the option, though it eventually disappeared (the whole damn ATM disappeared when somebody stole it...lol). After the bi-lingual option disappeared, just a few blocks from Mexicantown, to my surprise it appeared on an ATM up in Novi.

So as I said, I've found it very inconsistent in regards to offering bi-lingual on their machines. It seems to come and go sporadically. Here is what I've always found somewhat humorous, the fact that their is braille on the ATM buttons. Ok, so perhaps they could walk up to the ATM machine as opposed to driving, you still have to read the screen to know what the hell is being asked of you, right?
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1953
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Username: 1953

Post Number: 1154
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 9:10 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Since we are so close to Canada and we have french heritage, they should at least provide french as a language option!
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Barnesfoto
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Username: Barnesfoto

Post Number: 2774
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Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 9:10 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Pam, I'm sure that the folks here before 1492 felt the same way.
Things would be better if everybody spoke two or more languages. Some people are motivated, some people are not.
Businesses do all kinds of things to make people feel "comfortable", including putting messages in other languages unnecessarily. (It's pretty easy to figure out what "push" and "pull" means...but it amuses me that people get so bent out of shape about "Jale" and "Empuje".
When I'm on the east side of Detroit, I still see lots of signs in German. Street signs, signs on churches, gravestones...yet I never hear German being spoken. Evidently, people eventually learn the langauge that they need to learn, and if they don't, their kids do.
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Gildas
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Username: Gildas

Post Number: 894
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 9:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I particularly like the braille key pads on the drive up ATMs.

Makes me wonder about the person coming up behind me to use the ATM....hope they stop.
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Mind_field
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Username: Mind_field

Post Number: 644
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 9:25 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Oh hell no! If the Mexicans, or any other nationality for that matter, want to reside in the United States and assimilate into our culture, then THEY must learn English, BEFORE moving here, being employed here, etc. I work with Mexicans that are BARELY bilingual and it's a pain in the ass sometimes with frequent miscommunications.

Learn English dammit that is the primary language of the country YOU want to move to....If there was a shortage of people (lol, like that will ever happen) or labor shortages then I would be willing to make exceptions to the speak fluent English rule, but that just isn't the case in today's Michigan.
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Bob_cosgrove
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Username: Bob_cosgrove

Post Number: 427
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 9:26 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

At one time German was quite prevelent on the East Side, especially along Gratiot. Even the black employees at Volkswagon dealer Woods Motors spoke German. And then there was Krager's and the Little Cafe with their German menus and atmosphere - this was in the 1960's so it isn't ancient history. What ever happned to European Import on Gratiot that specifized in things German - they moved out to a new location, but are they still around?

Bob Cosgrove
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Spitty
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Username: Spitty

Post Number: 496
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 9:45 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I'm still embroiled in a lawsuit with the Outback Steakhouse because I didn't know that the "Sheila's" restroom was for Women. Imagine my suffering and embarrassment when I couldn't locate a urinal in time. Sure, it's not the Outback's fault that I'll only use urinals, but that's irrelevant in a court of law.
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Barnesfoto
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Username: Barnesfoto

Post Number: 2776
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 10:07 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"Learn English dammit that is the primary language of the country YOU want to move to"

My experience is that best way to learn a language well is by having a sweetie who does not speak your own language.

Why not set up your wife, girlfriend, sister or daughter with someone whose English is limited?

Be part of the solution, and learn punctuation, dammit!
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Adamjab19
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Username: Adamjab19

Post Number: 731
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 10:32 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Must be the ban of proposal 2 coming through...
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Supergay
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Username: Supergay

Post Number: 22
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 10:40 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"Comerica Teller Machines no longer bi-lingual"

But are they still bi-sexual?
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Yvette248
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Username: Yvette248

Post Number: 179
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 10:46 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

the people who couldn't speak english in the area didn't have ATM cards...

While at the outset, this seems like a racial remark, it makes sense when you think about it. I know when I visit a foreign country, I at least make an attempt to learn basic important terminology - like "how much does this cost"?
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Supersport
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Username: Supersport

Post Number: 10898
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 11:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


quote:

Oh hell no! If the Mexicans, or any other nationality for that matter, want to reside in the United States and assimilate into our culture, then THEY must learn English, BEFORE moving here, being employed here, etc.




Oh look, another Seinfield fan! haha
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Pamequus
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Username: Pamequus

Post Number: 91
Registered: 07-2005
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 12:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Supersport....I don't find that a racist remark at all. It's simply an opinion. Tell me, why is it, when a White American doesn't agree with some other race it's considered racist but when a minority speaks the same type of verbage it isn't?? Have you listened to black comedy lately and what some of them say about white folks??
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Yvette248
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Username: Yvette248

Post Number: 186
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Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 12:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

You have a point Pam, but *maybe* its because other races don't have such a history of racial violence as whites do in this country. Take a look at American racial history (Indians, Chinese, Blacks, Japanese, etc.), before deciding if whites need sympathy about "unfairness" on this issue.

While I will agree that there should be freedom of expression on all sides, at the same time it needs to be acknowledged that the playing field is not equal.
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Yupislyr
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Username: Yupislyr

Post Number: 174
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 12:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The braille on the keyboards are because the keyboards are typically a one fits all part. There is usually not a special keyboard that just fits in drive thru atms. The only differences are button placement or internally due to different levels of PIN encryption.

Also, on some brands of atms there is usually a small audio jack somewhere near the card reader. If you plug some headphones into that jack, the atm will sense it and guide you along the transaction through the headphones. This is all assuming the bank has ordered the audio feature and is using it in their software.
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Pamequus
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Username: Pamequus

Post Number: 92
Registered: 07-2005
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 1:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think all of the ethnic groups you named Yvette have their own histories of violence that could be criticized. Whether European Americans need sympathy is not the question nor the point. I don't think most of us are looking for sympathy but perhaps what has been so loudly and sometimes violently touted by minorities.... equality. In my world two wrongs have never made a right. Nope, the playing field is not equal, that is very plain and I find it amazing that people have been brainwashed into thinking that it is okay.

BTW, I take my equality. I'm a 57 year old female, of European descent and Catholic to boot. I had to fight and scream for my equality. I'm not dictated by politically correct and common senseless rules made to appease certain individuals or (insert here, if you will, your favorite minority).
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Mind_field
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Username: Mind_field

Post Number: 645
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 2:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Don't worry Pamequus, Superidiot's thoughtless 5 word post is likely just so he can increase his ridiculous "quantity over quality" post count. He's probably never had to communicate or do business with a non English speaking person on a daily basis. English is the language of business, especially in the United States!

His jab carries little weight with me, seeing as how this fool thinks Jennifer Granholm is responsible for all the auto industry problems that have led this state into an economic slump.
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Cheddar_bob
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Username: Cheddar_bob

Post Number: 781
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Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 8:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


quote:

Seems to me most earlier immigrants that came to the States learned English



You sure about that?




quote:

My experience is that best way to learn a language well is by having a sweetie who does not speak your own language




You got that right, Barnes. My girlfriend doesn't speak English and I don't speak Spanish. It's gone well enough for a year and a half. Then again, if she heard the things that came out of my mouth on a daily basis things might be different.
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Michmeister
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Username: Michmeister

Post Number: 19
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Monday, November 27, 2006 - 4:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have been living and working in Germany for the last 20 years.If I hadn`t learned the language here pdq I would not have gotten out of square one, and rightly so.I am the visitor here and when in Rome...... The thought never crossed my mind to try to get by here only speaking English, although the majority of the people that I work with speak enough english, that I could have possibly have gotten by. On a side note, my then girlfriend/present wife does speak english but refused to because I had to get by in the working world and using any crutch would not help. After not once receiving a formal language lesson worth mentioning, I am rarely recognized right away as a foreigner, much less an American. Okay, this doesn`t have much to do with an ATM but we have all digressed a bit. Schöne Grüsse aus Deutschland, michmeister
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Waz
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Username: Waz

Post Number: 2
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - 10:06 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Back to topic, the Comerica ATM at 14 Mile and Dequindre has a Francais option. Don't think there's much of a French population around there, but maybe since it's on Dequindre.....?
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Upinottawa
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Username: Upinottawa

Post Number: 638
Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - 10:42 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I believe Comerica has set up a branch (or is in the process of setting up a branch) in Windsor. From what I understand, ATMs in Windsor will need to (at a minimum) have English and French options (under Federal law, banking being federally regulated in Canada). That being said, I doubt an ATM on 14 Mile has a French option to cater to unilingual francophone Windsorites (if such an animal exists).

I assume Comerica includes different language options based on demand for certain languages at certain locations. Where there is a demand for Spanish service, I assume it is provided. If not, another bank would likely provide that service. Additional language options is just one form of better customer service.

By the way, there are many legal American residents who cannot speak English. There are probably even more American citizens who can barely read English....

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