The Continued Pin Pad Dilemma

Hey there and I’m Scott Savoy welcoming you to our second June weekend.
It’s a lovely weekend and today I am delighted to share our president’s weekly editorial with you.
For this week, Donna J. Jodhan returns to voice her concerns over those inaccessible pin pads.
She really hopes that developers, manufacturers, and companies start taking action or else? Maybe a bit of legal action?
Enjoy your weekend.


A customer pays for coffee in a café using a portable credit/debit machine with a touchscreen.The Continued Pin Pad Dilemma
by Donna J. Jodhan

I can only sit here and hope that some day very soon my message along with those from members of our disabled persons communities start to resonate with those restaurants who have adopted those pin pads where you need to input your info in order to complete your transaction. The grave concern here is that these pin pads present the following dilemma for us. When the pin pad is brought to your

One is now forced to use a touch screen to confirm the amount of the bill and to insert their desired tip but then? A small physical keypad is there for us to enter our credit card information.
Once again, pin pad developers and restaurants have failed to take into account that persons with disabilities also dine out! What would it take for these developers to understand that our dining world is made up of everyone? Mainstream and those with varying disabilities? What would it take for restaurant owners to realize that their dining consumers are going to be made up of more diners with disabilities? And the excuse being proffered that either the waiter or one’s sighted friend can assist is not an excuse but rather an insult and very disrespectful!

I can only urge developers and restaurant owners to start correcting this very glaring glitch. Just my two cents for today.


To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com


Important notice from Donna J. Jodhan
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to share news and or info about yourself or about others, then please read on!
Donna J. Jodhan can help you reach a rapidly growing list of over 12,000 readers and listeners and counting!
All you need to do is to give a listen to her monthly shows and if you like what you hear then here’s how it works!
For the very affordable price of $5, Donna will feature your info and news on 2 of her monthly shows.
Once on the Ask Donna show and once on the Dining with Donna show.
Both of these monthly shows run weekly
This means that your info will be featured twice for the month.
No more having to worry about posting to Facebook!
You’ll be able to engage with ready made readers and listeners!
Your payment of $5 will be prorated as a monthly payment.
So you can either pay monthly, or you can pay as you go.
Just send your info or news to donna at askdonnaonblindlife@gmail.com
No more than 150 words.
Donna will then post your info or news as soon as you remit payment to her at paypal@donnajodhan.com
To give a listen visit
https://www.donnajodhan.com/askdonna
and https://www.donnajodhan.com/dwd
Take advantage of this very quick and easy way to reach a ready made audience!

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The UPS Drama – Time to Identify

Greetings everyone and welcome to the jolly month of June! Ah yes! June, the month for brides and graduates!
Today I am pleased to share our president’s weekly editorial and for this week Donna J. Jodhan zooms in on a company that continues to exhibit reckless behaviour when it comes to customer service.
She would like you to send her your feedback at info@sterlingcreations.ca.
I’m Christian Robicheau wishing you a great June weekend.


A version of the UPS shield logo where the text has been manipulated to read "OOPS" instead of "UPS".The UPS Drama – Time to Identify
by Donna J. Jodhan

This is the second experience that I have had in the last three and a half months with UPS and I think that it is about time for me to identify. I will state here that UPS is not the only courier company guilty of such lack of customer service rep manners, decorum, and a general lack of the ability to really understand the true meaning of customer service commitment. However, I am identifying UPS because this is the company who in my mind has definitely crossed the line.

The following is my experience:
In late March I ordered some small products from the united States and I followed the requested protocols. The products were shipped to my associate in the United States and he shipped it onto me here in Canada.
On the morning of Tuesday April 11 I discovered a notice stuck to my door notifying me that a delivery was attempted.
Alas! I did not believe this because I was at home all of the previous day and no one knocked at my door.
I had to ask my mom and my neighbour to verify the info on the notice and they both confirmed that the notice only contained an info notice number which I was supposed to use in order to obtain my tracking number
And in order to obtain my tracking number I had to access the UPS website at www.ups.com.

My neighbour emailed me the info notice number as I could not read it for myself because of being vision impaired.
So off I went to the website and horrors of horrors! This website was not very navigable or usable for a vision impaired person.
I called the toll free number and spoke to an agent who insisted that in order to help me, she needed a tracking number.
When I told her that there was no tracking number, she told me to wait for a few hours and that the package would be delivered that day.
She was unable to use the info notice number that I provided to her saying that she could not find any info on my package.
No package arrived by 7 pm so I called the toll free number once again.

This time, I spoke to an agent who found the info on my package and then she told me that I had to pay a duties fee online in order to get my package.
She used the info notice number that I provided in order to find said info.
She transferred me over to another agent who after about 10 minutes of trying to locate my package with my info notice number found it and processed my payment
I was told that my package would arrive the next day.
I received an electronic receipt confirming my payment early on Wednesday morning.

We are now up to Wednesday and by the end of the day nothing had arrived.
So I called the toll free number once more and alas! The agent claimed that a delivery was attempted at 7:15 pm.
No, no! No notice was left and no one had knocked at my door!
I relayed this to the agent who told me that for sure, my package would be delivered the next day.
And true to form; no packaged arrived on the Thursday and no notice was provided!

On the Friday morning I again phoned the toll free number, provided my info notice number, and politely said to the agent that if my package did not arrive by day’s end I would put my story on Facebook.
And guess what? My package arrived by mid afternoon!

As mentioned above, UPS is not the only courier company guilty of such behaviour. I have heard and continue to hear similar horror stories from friends.
The sad thing about all of this is that I have had to deal with agents whose first language is not English. I live in an English speaking country and I deem it an insult and a disrespect when companies continue to staff their call centers with agents whose first language is not English.

I discovered from one of the agents that they are based in the Philippines and I was even treated to the sound of a roster crowing in the background!

For whereas companies are using off shore call centers to reduce their costs they are at the same time violating their commitment to customer service and even more sad is that too many North American companies from a plethora of industries are doing the very same thing.

This needs to stop! English speaking countries deserve to receive customer service in English. There is no excuse for this and I can only hope that UPS starts listening! I thought that UPS would have delivered my package much sooner but when you have agents who are unable to properly process my request, drivers who do not show up but claim that they did, and on and on it goes! No other alternative but to speak up!

Just my two cents for today!


To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com


Important notice from Donna J. Jodhan
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to share news and or info about yourself or about others, then please read on!
Donna J. Jodhan can help you reach a rapidly growing list of over 12,000 readers and listeners and counting!
All you need to do is to give a listen to her monthly shows and if you like what you hear then here’s how it works!
For the very affordable price of $5, Donna will feature your info and news on 2 of her monthly shows.
Once on the Ask Donna show and once on the Dining with Donna show.
Both of these monthly shows run weekly
This means that your info will be featured twice for the month.
No more having to worry about posting to Facebook!
You’ll be able to engage with ready made readers and listeners!
Your payment of $5 will be prorated as a monthly payment.
So you can either pay monthly, or you can pay as you go.
Just send your info or news to donna at askdonnaonblindlife@gmail.com
No more than 150 words.
Donna will then post your info or news as soon as you remit payment to her at paypal@donnajodhan.com
To give a listen visit
https://www.donnajodhan.com/askdonna
and https://www.donnajodhan.com/dwd
Take advantage of this very quick and easy way to reach a ready made audience!

Posted in Blog | Leave a comment

News – May 2023 – Donna’s Latest for Access to Information News

An image of Donna next to a desk covered with papers, a coffee cup, and an apple computer showing a blog.Finally, Donna has resumed posting to the Access to Information News weekly online newsletter sponsored by Mindvault Solutions!

To learn more about Donna as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate plus more visit donnajodhan.com

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News – May 2023 – Blog Roundup

An image of Donna next to a desk covered with papers, a coffee cup, and an apple computer showing a blog.Donna’s blog posts give you great insights into her daily life, challenges, and perspectives as a blind/vision impaired person. Here’s a handy roundup of her latest blog posts:

For more like the above, visit Donna’s blog at https://sterlingcreations.ca/blog!

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News – May 2023 – Catch Up on “Ask Donna” From “Whose Blind Life Is It Anyway?”

An image of a microphone with the words 'Whose Blind Life Is It Anyway?' above it.This month, Donna’s Whose Blind Life Is It Anyway? show “Ask Donna” featured the following topics:

  • Week 1 – Ask the Blogger:
    • What are some causes of bullying?
    • Tips on entrepreneurship
    • How to deal with phone scams and scammers
    • Advantages and disadvantages of self checkouts
  • Week 2 – Ask the Coach:
    • What to do when on antibiotics
    • About opened bottles of wine
    • For those who love to chew on lemon wedges
  • Week 3 – Ask the Homemaker:
    • Healthy substitutes for mayonnaise
  • Week 4  – Ask the Reviewer:
    • Donna’s product review is all about the Egg Pod
    • Her book review is on The Emperor’s Revenge by Clive Cussler

Donna’s mental stretch feature at the end of each show is a must-listen, and to participate you get to use one of your senses each week to help you do the mental stretch.

You can find Whose Blind Life Is It Anyway? at any of these locations:

You can listen to Donna’s “Ask Donna” shows along with highlights from her The Blind Lifestyle Newsletter by visiting donnajodhan.com/youtube.

You can read Donna’s “Ask an Author” tips by visiting sterlingcreations.ca/ask-an-author.

You can check out Donna’s “Ask an Expert” features by visiting sterlingcreations.ca/ask-an-expert.

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News – May 2023 – Catch Up With “Ask the Coach”

The words 'Ask the Coach' with seven branches coming off it, each represented by a relevant symbol: 'Expert', 'Consulting', 'Knowledge', 'Team', 'Advice', 'Trust', and 'Research'.This month, Donna answered the following questions for her “Ask the Coach” feature:

These were just some of the questions asked. Donna continues to answer questions from around the world both online and offline.


You can read more of Donna’s “Ask the Coach” answers by visiting sterlingcreations.com/blog.

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News – May 2023 – Catch Up With “Catching Up With the Coach”

An image of a magnifying glass highlighting the words 'Helpful Tips'. Behind the magnifying glass is a word cloud of related terms in rainbow colours.Donna included the following tips in her “Catching Up With the Coach” feature:


Read about the above and more at donnajodhan.com/blog.

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News – May 2023 – Advertise With Donna

Donna Jodhan, a woman with short dark hair and glasses, sits at a table with a laptop in front of her.

Important notice from Donna J. Jodhan:

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to share news and/or info about yourself or about others, then please read on!

Donna J. Jodhan can help you reach a rapidly growing list of over 12,000 readers and listeners… and counting! All you need to do is to give a listen to her monthly shows, and if you like what you hear, then here’s how it works:

For the very affordable price of $25, Donna will feature your info and news on two of her monthly shows—once on the Ask Donna show and once on the Dining with Donna show. This means that your info will be featured twice for the month.

No more having to worry about posting to Facebook! You’ll be able to engage with ready made readers and listeners! Your payment of $25 will be prorated as a monthly payment.
So you can either pay monthly, or you can pay as you go. Just send your info or news to donna at askdonnaonblindlife@gmail.com. No more than 150 words. Donna will then post your info or news as soon as you remit payment to her at paypal@donnajodhan.com.

To give a listen, visit https://www.donnajodhan.com/askdonna and https://www.donnajodhan.com/dwd.

Take advantage of this very quick and easy way to reach a ready-made audience!

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News – May 2023 – Recognition

The initials 'D. J.' appear next to a series of colourful cards that say things like, 'You're awesome!' and 'Thank you!'

In keeping with her commitment to recognize those who have acknowledged her efforts, award-winning author, advocate, and sight-loss coach Donna Jodhan recognizes the following persons for the month of May 2023, with special thanks to Aaron Di Blasi and Mind Vault Solutions. She also recognizes Michelle Parker! Donna is also pleased to acknowledge those who have and continue to recognize her as a sight loss coach! These are her All Stars.

If you would like sight-loss coach and author Donna Jodhan to recognize you then you really do not need to do too much. It’s really quite easy! Just retweet her tweets at @author_jodhan and/or like her posts on Facebook at Author Donna Jodhan. It’s all about everyone working together to recognize each other!

To learn more, visit award-winning author and sight-loss coach Donna at donnajodhan.com.

  • Gabriella Sharrard
  • Dave Steele
  • Laura McCoy Swinney
  • Sameena Karim
  • Linda Scott Sanders
  • John DiMarco
  • Rebecca A. Moore
  • RoseMarie La Rocca Wade
  • Tu Nhien
  • Sarah Synoground Souza
  • Matti Jatkola
  • CeCe Brennan
  • Juliet Liss
  • Natasha Rose
  • B.J. Le Jeune
  • Kirsty Jackson
  • Victor Gouveia
  • Maria Saieba Kovacs
  • Colleen Lynn Hess
  • Shailene Sun
  • Judy Chapman
  • Tania MacPherson
  • Erica McCaul
  • Beth McGarr
  • Melia Hayes-Biedscheid
  • Robert Antunez
  • Valorie Murrieta
  • Suzanne Wyrick
  • Michelle Reichert
  • Bijukumar B S
  • Ray Jackie Hoilund
  • Ariel Ocanas
  • Carolyn Johnson Whisenhunt
  • John Paul Rushing
  • Piesha Soriano
  • Kay Lewis
  • Regina Quesenberry
  • Daniel Alvarez
  • Lisa Paine
  • Lori Scharff
  • Brendan Wright
  • Anne L. McQuade
  • Sherri Langhorne
  • Madison Woodward
  • Theo Harvey Arthur
  • Louise Arellano
  • Juliet Liss
  • Jennifer Zadzilka Hoffmaster
  • Prakriti Puri Khullar
  • Lewis Nzimande
  • Hastina Kibwezi Disability forum
  • Manzoor Ahmed
  • Maria Montano
  • Josette Ritzinger
  • Wendy True Watson
  • Food Page
  • Avishek Kaushik
  • Amy Gordon Johnson
  • Jamie Principato Crane
  • Mocanu Catalin
  • Kamran
  • Connie Cuffaro
  • Beverly Anne Cathey
  • Syeda Asma
  • Wendy Morrell Dill
  • Gabriella Sharrard
  • Shane Bentham
  • Antonio Garcia
  • Jennifer Lockwood
  • Deb Kop
  • Robert Antunez
  • John DiMarco
  • Jasmyn Polite
  • Từ Thanh Hương
  • Anil Chondra
  • Eric Calhoun
  • Antonio Garcia
  • Saa Dia
  • Mark Williams
  • Shyla L Beatty
  • Jim O’Neill
  • Tania Perisic
  • Carey Ruby
  • Veronica Fenelon
  • Lacey Hughes-Miller
  • Sarah K Alawami
  • Janet Brandly
  • AliasJason Everett
  • Katrina Dolchok Jacuk
  • Stephanie Cave
  • Stephanie Quaye
  • Nhana Quophy Clinton
  • Valerie Collicott
  • Ian Fine
  • Brendon Charles Donohue
  • Trisha Fox
  • Azlan Haris
  • Tiffany Patton
  • Jilla Bond
  • Mary Campbell
  • Mohammed Elhassan
  • Candi Smith
  • Adrian Leong
  • Shanti Prem
  • Lori Scharff
  • Living Successfully With Disabilities
  • Candice Rae
  • Hayley Burman
  • Hareem Hareem
  • Azlan Haris
  • Reynold Chen
  • Annie Park
  • Debbie Hill-George
  • Jabriel Jamal
  • Blind Myth Podcast
  • Yael Lauren Burger
  • Lorraine Middlehurst
  • Heather Rupert
  • Victor A Armstead
  • Sherria Young
  • Harry Carr
  • Darlene Judd
  • Anima Ontora
  • Marc Baillargeon-Molloy
  • Michelle Wilder Larson
  • Lazaro Osorio Simon
  • Pat Bowling
  • Bree Costigan
  • Ming Chung
  • Froilan Manalo
  • Stan Gowin
  • Brenda A. Jennings
  • Kelly Newsholme
  • Ginger Dahle Roe
  • Yaseen Khan
  • Phoenix Similton
  • Gina Martin
  • Nick Crowell
  • Harry Reis
  • Alondra Pagan-Galarza
  • Mahalla Renee
  • Jon Goodman
  • Wendy Wind
  • Maria Novo
  • Tracy Cruz

To see the entire archive of those who have been recognized over the years, click here!

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Ask an Expert – June 2023 – How to Make Apps More Accessible and Inclusive

Donna Jodhan, a woman with short dark hair and glasses, sits at a table with a laptop in front of her.

Hello everyone!

Each month I will be responding to a question chosen from a pool of some of the most commonly asked ones that I have been asked over the years and continue to be asked.

This month, I’d like to answer the following question:

How to Make Apps More Accessible and Inclusive

Before you say no or turn thumbs down on these suggestions, consider these thoughts.
You can definitely increase your revenue and reduce both your internal and external costs and here’s how.

Take it from me! I have been an accessibility awareness consultant and advisor since 1998 and I continue to help companies to increase their revenues, reduce their costs, and reach hidden consumer markets!

The most important thing to remember here is that when you make your app more accessible and inclusive, you are opening your doors to the following: increasing the number of users and potential customers, using this as a great selling point to show businesses how they too can increase their customer bases and revenues, and becoming an expert at leading the pack when it comes to promoting accessibility and inclusivity. You will be able to take advantage of a very potent market of rapidly aging consumers who are going to depend more and more on convenience to do such things as order, purchase, shop, and keep up with the latest and greatest info and news.

So how does one achieve accessibility and inclusivity?

Here are some hints:

  • Make sure that all platforms that use apps can provide easy access not just to the mainstream user but also to the person with a disability.
  • Make sure these apps are fully tested by persons with a disability. IE. the blind/vision impaired, those with dexterity challenges, those with hearing challenges, and those with varying degrees of learning disabilities.
  • Make sure that the voiceover software and software used by other non Apple devices such as Android are fully tested with your app to ensure accessibility and inclusivity.
  • Engage all stakeholders; developers, testers with a wide variety of challenges, those mainstream testers, as well as companies such as Apple and others.

This should be a good foundation for you.


To contact me please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca!
I’m Donna J. Jodhan (award-winning sight loss coach and accessibility advisor)

Posted in Ask an Expert | Leave a comment