BANKING
Fees aid in services, total relationship with banks
“Ways to cut bank fees” (Living, Feb. 10) starts off on a good note — that some changing bank fees may be necessary to offset increased regulation. It then uses an unfortunate word, advising readers how to “dodge” bank fees. Fees for services are part of doing business. And yes, there are smarter ways to approach some services and fees.
Your bank is likely looking for a total relationship: They want your deposit accounts, opportunities to lend to you and more.
If you go one place for a loan, another for a certain CD rate and another for lower-fee checking, you may not save money, and you’ll sacrifice service and some perks that come with a total relationship. Help them look at your big picture. I bet they’ll be better able to address your needs.
The article ends on a note with which I do agree: If a business does not offer you the service you deserve, find one that does.
Charles B. Crawford Jr., chairman, Private Bank of Buckhead
SOCIETY
MARTA worker’s good deed well appreciated
I wanted to share a “miracle” story about a MARTA employee who recently showed exemplary customer service.
My daughter is a freshman at Georgia State University. She called me Feb. 8 to say that she lost her wallet while riding on MARTA. After a frantic search, she proceeded to cancel her ATM card, and apply for a new student ID and driver’s license.
The following night, a MARTA employee came to my door with my daughter’s wallet. Everything was there: the cards, the cash and the key to her dorm room. I couldn’t believe it.
Her name is Ms. Green, and she is a maintenance employee at MARTA. I could not let such a good deed go unnoticed. I wanted to let the people of Atlanta know that there are good people all around us.
Ayalah Moshay, Lithonia
SUNDAY SALES
Purchase of alcohol on Sundays should be OK’d
As an orthodox Jew, I, too hold the Sabbath to be holy. Thus, on Saturdays (the Jewish sabbath), I do not purchase alcohol — or anything else. I do not, however, hold that my beliefs should impede others from their right to participate in open commerce. It is time for Georgia’s Legislature to not interfere with commerce, and allow the citizenry to pursue its varied commercial interests and desires on any day of the week — including the purchase of alcohol on Sundays.
Moshe R. Manheim, Atlanta
PUBLIC SAFETY
Don’t single out roadside memorials as a hazard
Have the Department of Transportation bureaucrats one shred of evidence that any driver has ever had an accident because he was “distracted” by a roadside memorial? I didn’t think so.
If a few flowers and stuffed animals can cause a dangerous distraction, we’d better outlaw advertising billboards, “food ahead” signs, and acres of wildflowers on the median. And, there is no bigger distraction than a police car parked with flashing blue lights. Maybe we’d better outlaw the cops.
Walter H. Inge, Atlanta
