Not a robbery, just a 'language barrier'

Here's an interesting story from the US for which there was a reasonably "happy ending". However, it is clear that banks on both sides of the Atlantic have difficulties with customer service when the customer does not have an understanding of English:

A language barrier resulted in a bank robbery scare Friday morning.
"There was a lack of communication, but after investigating we determined nothing criminal occurred," Chief Dan Martin said.
Around 8 a.m. an Asian woman came into Harris Bank, 360 W. Maple St., and handed the teller a note with a denomination written on it. The teller asked if she was being robbed and the woman nodded.
Witnesses said it appears the woman did not speak or understand English.
After receiving some money, the woman left and police were notified.
"Like every robbery report, this was taken very seriously," Martin said. "She was stopped and taken into custody."
The woman was brought to the station and interviewed by detectives with help from her family and a translator.
"It turns out (at the bank) there was just miscommunication ... a language barrier," Martin said.
As of Friday afternoon, the incident was still under investigation, but police were not planning to file charges against the woman.
Harris Bank referred comment on the incident to its corporate office.

LangCommLive can help overcome the language barrier with their telephone interpreting service. Visit LangCommLive and see how your organisation can enhance its customer service through good communication across languages.