August 24, 2006

ATM languages


The bank nearest to my house -- a Washington Mutual, or WaMu, as it often refers to itself -- has installed a spiffy new ATM, which moves beyond the standard language choices (English and Spanish) and offers two more.  Any guesses about what they are?


Well, language #3 is Russian and #4 Chinese.  These stuck me as sensible choices, given the likely clientele for WaMu's services at this location.  Surely, I thought, the choices are different at other locations, where the population mix is different.  But no, as googling on <"Washington Mutual" ATM language> shows: it's Russian and Chinese everywhere.  As Andrew Leonard wondered on Salon on 27 April, why Russian?

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Posted by Arnold Zwicky at August 24, 2006 12:02 PM