Hey, everyone. I’m Scott Savoy, continuing the month of November with a smile!
The holiday season is almost here and I cannot wait for it to start! Today, our president, Donna J. Jodhan, shares her perspective on self-checkouts. She feels as if she is between a rock and a hard place. We would like to hear your opinions! Send them to info@sterlingcreations.ca. Happy weekend.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by Donna J. Jodhan
For lack of a somewhat better description, these are my thoughts for today. As a vision-impaired shopper, I find myself being caught between two very interesting challenges each time I visit a super market.
On the one hand, if I choose to use the self-checkout option, I am unfortunately unable to do so because it is not accessible to me. Why? Because I cannot directly interact with the touch screens and need sighted assistance. Sure, there is a wee bit of spoken audio,, but in my opinion, it is just window dressing for me. So at the end of the day, I need sighted intervention. Either I take a friend with me or someone at the supermarket needs to help me.
Then comes the packing problem. Except for the Metro supermarket at the Bridlewood Mall in Toronto, I am yet to find a supermarket where staff offer to pack my groceries.
Instead, they are very content to cash the groceries and then literally fling them down the carousel as each item is cashe, and after the last item is cashed, they stand there and tell me what the total is. There is no offer to help me in any way to pack my groceries when it is as clear as day that I am vision-impaired, as I make sure to have my white cane in plain sight.
This is the world as it stands today at the supermarket for me. No access to self-checkout kiosks and no cashier willing to help me pack my groceries. I’d be really interested to get some feedback on this. Maybe a work-around?
Just my two cents for today.
To learn more about me as an award-winning sight-loss coach and advocate, visit www.donnajodhan.com.
