[nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Chris Nusbaum
dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Mon Oct 24 03:30:48 UTC 2011
Hi Carly,
The only thing I will disagree with you on is the Blind Driver
Challenge. Yes, the Federation is big on keeping what works, but
we are also big on increasing the independence of blind people in
whatever way we can and utilizing whatever technology/resources
are available to us, especially after the opening of the Jernigan
Institute. Currently, we have to rely on a sighted person
(either in the form of a hired driver, a friend/family member, or
a public transportation driver) to drive us to wherever we
need/want to go all the time. But wouldn't we increase our own
independence greatly if we were able to drive a car
independently, just as sighted people do? Wouldn't it be
liberating to, as a sighted person can do, be able to get in a
car and drive to wherever we want to go independently, without
having to schedule a pick-up and take time out of a sighted
person's life to have them drive us somewhere? Yes, the current
system works, but this is the key question here: why not? If the
technology is currently available that would allow a blind person
to drive a car independently, and a major engineering department
of a major university (namely the Robotics and Mechanisms Lab, or
RoMeLa, at Virginia Tech) believes it can be done and is
currently working with us to make the challenge a reality, why
not take advantage of that technology and that belief in the
feasibility of our dream? Why not change the system so we're even
more independent? Why can't we drive a car? This concept is why
the newsletter of the Jernigan Institute is entitled
"Imagineering our Future" (key word, imagineering, which is a
compound term invented by Disney, which combines the words
"imagine" and "engineering") and the fundraising arm of the
Federation is called the NFB Imagination Fund. Both of these
titles symbolize a concept that is at the core of the Federation
philosophy; imagination. Not only do we want to get rid of the
failed systems of the past, but once we find a system that still
leaves us somewhat dependent on sighted assistance, we still ask
ourselves: how can we make this system better so that we may be
even more independent in whatever area it is? This is the driving
force behind the Blind Driver Challenge and of the Jernigan
Institute, and of the Federation as a whole, as I see it. My
friend Nathan tells me that Mark Riccobono is on this list, but
I've never seen him post to it. So Mark, if you have any
thoughts on mine and Carly's comments on the Blind Driver
Challenge and the Jernigan Institute, please share them with us,
as you are an expert on the subjects in question. Anyone else is
also free to leave their thoughts!
Chris
----- Original Message -----
From: Carly <carlymih at earthlink.net
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:53:32 -0700
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Good afternoon, Ariell,
For me, it seemed a symbol of ways in which our
community is
so sharply divided, the blind driver's challenge. What blind
person
that you've heard of let alone have personal acquaintance of will
choose to waist an only income which is most likely born of SSI,
benefits, anyway on a friggen CAR?
I always understood the Federation to be sort of big on, if it's
working, why change it?
But essentially, I am in agreement. How are sexy flash bulbs
going to
say anything about us when someone need only peruse our ,
employment
statistics, which next to those of our so-called, counterparts?
are
so depressed and notice that the stats are so pathetic, primarily
I
imagine because we are hard pressed to a crew meaningful
experience
though we have ample training and more than sufficient,
personal drive.
the symbol of blind people "driving"to me, is striking. As a
blind
person I wouldn't want to drive. Let someone else do that. just
as it
has always been.
How can we demand equal treatment including a driver's license if
we
don['t even have meaningful experience with which to land a job?
for today,
Car I completely agree. I really think that NFB should put more
effort
into making cash management and other entry-level jobs (i.e.
food
service, data entry etc.) accessible instead of focusing so much
on
the accessibility of the Kindle, the Target website, and airport
kiosks. Perhaps the biggest social problem we face as a group is
unemployment, and the fact is that when we are starting out in
the
working world, most of us will have to start at the "bottom"
before we
can land those prestigious jobs as lawyers or doctors or
engineers.
That's the case for blind and sighted workers alike. If we don't
gain
access to such beginner jobs, how will we ever be able to attain
the
basic employment experience that is so crucial for landing
competitive
full-time jobs-and more so in today's economy than ever before?
How
will we be able to reduce our dependence on SSI and other public
assistance when we are in college?
The Blind Driver Challenge, Youth Slam and other such programs
are
flashy and have great symbolism for us and our movement, but I
question their practical utility. I think that before we can
really
become capable of first-class citizenship we need to work on the
most
basic problems that affect us-lack of access to entry-level jobs,
educational materials, public transportation, etc. Making
McDonald's
jobs accessible might not win us as much press attention as the
Blind
Driver Challenge, but I'm pretty sure it would lower our
unemployment
rate-and give blind teenagers and others who are starting out
that
extra experience edge that will enable us to walk into job
interviews
later and say that we were able to handle the same kinds of
beginning
jobs as our sighted peers. And only if we fix these
long-standing
employment issues can we take advantage of what Amazon and Target
have
to offer us.
I'm curious what others think.
Best,
Arielle
On 10/22/11, Hope Paulos <hope.paulos at gmail.com> wrote:
VR assitance occurred to me after sending the message. Will
try and find
out by the end of next week
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Bouchard" <davidb521 at gmail.com
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 12:38 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
I'd be interested to know the cost, and yes, the brand and so
forth.
Perhaps if you were planning to work there long enough, the
investment
would be worth it, and if a job that required you to use such a
device was
your goal on the IPE, a reasonable Voc. Rehab agency would
purchase it.
David
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Hope Paulos
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 11:30 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Hello all. I know of a person who ran a snack bar and had an
accessible
cashregister with credit card processing capabilities. The
only problem
is
they are more expensive and not every cashregister talks. So in
order for
an
employer to hire us, they'd have to pay more money for the
adaptive
equipment. I can try and find out the name and brand of the
register if
anyone is interested.
Hope Paulos
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Bouchard" <davidb521 at gmail.com
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 12:25 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Hello.
Are there not accessible cash registers which allow credit card
processing? If not, then that should be worked on, as that would
open up
more jobs for blind workers. As for identifying currency, some
sort of
efficient bill identifier is a must in my opinion. The honor
system
wouldn't be viable in the workplace.
David Bouchard
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 10:49 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Vejas,
Yes in NFB activities its different. But when you are dealing
with the
general public in the stores, it's a different story
-----Original Message-----
From: vejas
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 8:10 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
I guess the honors system would have to work, although with an
identifier you would know if they are telling the truth or not.
Usually, however, our community--NFB--has been very honest with
us, as they know our situation.
Vejas
----- Original Message -----
From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:57:02 -0600
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
I'd be curious to know if anyone blind has worked as a cashier
before.
It would be do-able technically, but the employer would need to
be
willing to take some risks as far as assuming customers are
giving the
right bills. Like at NABS events we have blind cashbox workers
who can
take payments and give change, but we use the honor system
because
most of us cannot visually verify the currency being given to
us.
Something like the IBill might work, but I don't know how long
it
takes to process each image.
Best,
Arielle
On 10/21/11, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
Ah, no. You need to see the bills; we don't have accessible
currency and see
the screen.
You can't see the credit card or someone's signature.
-----Original Message-----
From: Humberto Avila
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 6:25 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Hello.
I did not know a blind person could not be a cashier at a store.
Since it
involves math, and just be able to punch a few buttons to get
the quantity
and change and ETC. it is doable. All a blind person has to do
is learn the
layout of the controls or dial pad they use at the store to get
receipts,
cash, and be able to learn how to help the customer pay his
purchases. It
does not involve a lot of visuals, probably unless, yes there
are
touchscreens everywhere where the cashier has to operate the
controls. But
otherwise, learning how to add, subtract and do the math
correctly to be
able to give the right change, the right cash, ETC. is all is
needed to be a
blind cashier. If I am wrong please correct.
Cheers,
Humberto
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 2:37 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Sales associates show people around the store and you have to
see
merchandise and read labels. There people who walk around
looking for
customers. Like every store has help wanted signs for them and
cashiers; we
can't do that.
I think a guest services job would be doable because you answer
customer/visitor questions; it's all oral.
-----Original Message-----
From: Arielle Silverman
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 12:09 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] mall or customer service jobs
Hi Ashley,
What's a sales associate? Why can't you do that job?
I haven't done ticket sales or guest services but both of those
jobs sound
like they would be totally accessible.
Best,
Arielle
On 10/18/11, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
Hi all,
I've graduated from a university a few years ago. I'd like a
job in
communications, outreach, or even being an administrative
assistant.
But not many employers are hiring.
To make a little money, I wanted a part time job. I cannot be a
server, pizza driver, or sales associate in the mall. Those are
jobs
that are flexible and part time.
So I got to thinking other jobs I could do with accomodations.
I
thought of customer service representative or working the mall
at
guest services where you sit and answer questions from the
public.
So has anyone had these types of jobs? Was the computer software
very
accessible?
For guest services, there is no computer involved, so it's a
matter of
finding that job opening.
What about selling tickets such as for the ice arena? Movie
theater?
or maybe box office?
I'd be interested in knowing what you all have done.
Babysitting is
part time, but I don't have the confidence to watch kids being
the
sole supervisor of them.
Thanks.
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