Today I went to the Wachovia drive-through banking facility (my receipt says Sandy Springs Detached Remote Atlanta-the walk-in bank is across the street) at the corner of Sandy Springs Circle and Roswell Road today and saw something that I still can’t believe.

Next to the structure that holds the cylinder that sends the money and deposit slips back and forth from you to the tellers inside was a very large banner that you could read from your car; it was all in Spanish-no English translation. I asked the teller through the little speaker box to translate it for me. The banner said that if you open a new account you would get $25.

I asked the teller if this offer was only available to Hispanics or to people who spoke Spanish. When she said that it was available to everyone my next question was, of course, why this information on the banner wasn’t also in English. The teller said she didn’t know and apologized.

I want to emphasize that this wasn’t a situation where a sign is in Spanish and also in English, which we see all the time in Atlanta. This also wasn’t in a Hispanic neighborhood. This was in the heart of Sandy Springs (right across from Pier One, Trader Joe’s, etc.), a very affluent city.

Is this the wave of the future for the United States of America?

K.P.
Georgia