John, my old friend...
I could not agree more. If Apple's aim is Universal access, it is
incumbent upon them to insure that their staff are knowledgeable of
the appropriate feature sets.
When it is accepted that the sighted will not put our issues at the
forefront, because they are unable to empathize as blind people, we
shouldn't expect that they would do anything to accommodate us. I,
for one, will not accept a premise as such. Which basically means
that while I (a blind person) may makeup a very small portion of the
iPod market, I will insist that the "geniuses" are able to answer
basic questions specific to my needs, This is reasonable, For it's
not as if this is the first time Apple is putting out a product with
Universal Access as a feature set.
Of course, the service I've been getting from the staff at the Apple
Store in London, has been nothing short of Staler. What they do not
know of Universal Access on the Apple platforms, they see as their
duty to understand. One of the store manager Nye, an SF Bay Area
(Cupertino) transplant, will open boxes, research questions and even
direct his staff (who are generally keen anyway) to do the same.
Consequently my purchases at this particular store, have never been
followed with a bitter taste in the mouth.
Best,
A
-----------------------------------------------------
Abdul D. Kamara
Tel: +44 (0) 77 3322-0646 (UK Mobile)
Tel +1 650 391-5563 US Mobile
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Skype: adkamara
On 21 Sep 2008, at 13:03, John Denning wrote:
Cara -- I did via my survey. But also since this latest, only
minutes before I posted, I will also send an email.
And as you said, it's not a disability issue. I don't only have
questions related to VO, or UA. I had the same poor apple store
experience when I asked about Aperture. And it was NOT an obscure
question, very basic. What she should have done if she didn't know
is. "let me get our Aperture expert, he's a real genius." But no she
gave me an answer off the top of her head and it was 180 degrees
wrong. I knew it was, well was fairly sure. But I didn't want to
challenge her, just went home.
I'm mostly concerned that those who are not savvy will just give up.
We all here probably know visually impaired people who just hate the
Mac. Haven't used it, but hate it. It's not from Freedom Scientific.
So we are fighting an uphill battle with not only the sighted world,
but also other blind fanatics. They take the step and go into the
apple store and have a horrible experience. Their point is proven.
You listen to Mac fan boys, some of the podcasts. And they liken
going into an Apple store to a religious experience. So let's see we
have Genius's and Second Comings. Good gosh the standards should be
high to meet that :)
On Sep 21, 2008, at 3:33 PM, Cara Quinn wrote:
John, have you forwarded your concerns on to Apple? I'm sure
they'd be interested in hearing this.
I for one think that's a horrible way of dealing with customers
(with or without a disability) and is just simply bad form.
