I needed money: For a Starbucks, some greeting cards, and other sundries. So I drove my little car to the local ATM and prepared to go through the standard process. Insert ATM card, provide PIN number, tell the machine the amount you want, what account to take it from, and that you want a receipt.
It was while I waited for the money and the receipt that I noticed the sign: “Audio assistance available for the visually impaired.”
This seems like an oxymoron. It was, after all, a drive-up ATM. And if the driver needed assistance to read the screen what was he or she doing behind the wheel in the first place?
Maybe a passenger in the car was visually impaired but needed money. Then wouldn’t the driver have been able to help? Maybe there are people with licenses who can’t read or understand computers. But wouldn’t it be more logical for that person to go inside the bank erected next to the ATM machine?
The only thing I can even imagine is that this ATM machine is hit directly for a few hours each day by the sun. The glare makes the screen unreadable. I know; I’ve been there. So perhaps that’s when audio assistance is helpful.
Something to ponder . . .
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