[blindkid] question re shopping assistance

Tue Dec 15 16:56:04 UTC 2009

Hello Melinda and everyone,

    If the blind person knows the store lay-out, particularly in grocery 
stores, he/she can create a shopping list keeping the store lay-out in mind. 
For example in our HEB Stores if one begins shopping in the delli they'll 
proceed to the baked goods section, the produce section, the meat department 
etc. one can add items to their shopping list based on where they are 
located in the store. Hence if Mary wants her swiss cheese it's the first 
thing on the list since I begin shopping in the delli. If we want cookies, 
pies, cakes or other baked items they'll appear on the list following delli 
items. The produce items follow the bakery items and meat and fish products 
follow the produce items.

    The same can be done with groceries in the various store aisles. In our 
case bottled and canned sodas are located near the fish counter. Pasta and 
soups are across from the meat department. The frozen food aisle is at the 
very far end of the store near the dairy products.

    If the blind shopper keeps the store's lay-out in mind he/she can use 
shopping and store employee time efficiently. Less time is taken up by the 
store employee to help the blind person shop. Jack-rabbitting all over the 
store to find this or that merchandise can be reduced if not eliminated.

    Then there's good old shopping online. We've sometimes found that one 
can get better deals on certain products by buying them online rather than 
at the local store. For example we normally buy a 12-pack of bath tissue at 
HEB but can purchess a case of 24 roles for the same price if we buy it 
online plus it will get delivered to us.

    I must credit my mother for insisting that itwas my responsibility to 
develop multiple strategies for handling life's chores and necessities such 
as going shopping. When I was younger she always insisted that it wasn't the 
responsibility of the store to provide assistance and that I should bring 
someone to help me shop. That was one of her strictest rules. However the 
times changed my outlook of such an extreme practice. We use assistance when 
we feel it's necessary to do so. None the less mom's basic philossophy still 
sticks and motivates us to explore new ways of handling all aspects of home 
and personal management including shopping. It is with sadness that I wrote 
the above as mom passed away the day before this year's Thanksgiving. Mary 
lost her dad last Sunday evening to cancer. Please keep us in your prayers 
and thoughts. All the best.

Peter Donahue

     ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Underwood, Melinda" <munderwood at vabvi.org>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 8:30 AM
Subject: [blindkid] question re shopping assistance

I'm not an O&M specialist, but I agree that the first best option is for
the student to know as much as he or she can about the store before even
asking for assistance. If the student decides that having a shopping
assistant really makes sense in the situation, calling the store in
advance to set up a time to meet with a store rep would probably create
better odds for success. I wonder if even Sears, if given time to
prepare, would come through.
Melinda

Melinda Underwood, M.Ed.
Teacher of the Visually Impaired
VABVI
38 Park Place
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-254-8761

On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 8:58 AM, SUSAN POLANSKY
<sepolansky at verizon.net>wrote:

> This week my son's O&M lesson was at the mall where he was going to do
his
> Christmas shopping. He has his list and his money and off he went with
his
> O&M teacher. In each store he was to ask for assistance to look for
the
> desired item. This went well in until they got to Sears. He went to
customer
> service and requested someone to assist him to shop and was told
> that they did not have anyone to do that. When I asked what the
> O&M teacher said about that he stated he was told that there was
nothing
> they could do about it as there is no law that says the store has to
provide
> him with assistance. Now I am 99% sure that this is not correct. Can
someone
> cite the law to me? Thanks.
>
> Susan
>
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