<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
<p>Hello everyone, for what it's worth, here are my two cents.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>First, no one solution will be right for everyone. Second, some
folks will feel more comfortable with one solution over another
one depending on their own situation, confidence, and skill set.
So, please take this into consideration as you continue to read
what I have to offer.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Whenever I visit a retail store, I will do one of three things
depending on time, location, and comfort level.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>1. Use the structured discovery method and explore my own
surroundings to find what I need. This can be the most
time-consuming if it is a new store and if I am pressed for time
because it can take the longest. That being said, if it is a store
that I am familiar with, I can generally get to the area of things
that I want and either ask a fellow shopper nearby in the aisle I
am in for assistance if I need it, or I can use a scanning app
from my smart phone. Again, for me this is quite tedious and
time-consuming, but also gives me the freedom of not having to
wait on an in-store assistant shopper.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>2. Ask for in-store assistance. Like has been pointed out on this
list, many folks will use in-store assistance. Many times the
results will vary because the person assisting might not speak the
local language or they may not be literate. Please do not get me
wrong, I feel that there is a job for everyone, no matter the
circumstances. However, there have been times that the in-store
assistant shopper had the IQ of Bubba, the shrimp person from the
movie, Forrest Gump. He was very nice, but he could not read very
well and he didn't understand the differences between typical 2
percent milk, skim milk, and almond milk. He didn't understand the
differences between the different steaks I wanted. In the end, he
basically served as a sighted guide and I did the shopping my
identifying the products I wanted myself. So, it was almost as
time-consuming as my method 1 above. In fact, at our favorite and
local H.E.B grocery store here in Texas, the customer service
people know my wife and I so well that they know that when a
shopper assistant helps us shop, they have to speak English and
know how to read. It's sad that it has come to that requirement,
but this is based on our own experience. One suggestion I can make
about in-store shopping assistant people and requests is that if
it's a store you shop at regularly, maybe give them a call ahead
of time and ask when a good time might be for you to shop so that
a person can be made available. I have found that doing this,
especially if it is a store you frequent regularly, they are most
accommodating. I am not a legal expert by any definition of the
word, but I believe there is a gray area concerning the Americans
With Disabilities Act and whether or not the store has to provide
a shopper assistant person to begin with. I have heard Yes, No,
and Maybe from people more intelligent than me, so if you really
want to know, please find this out from someone who is an expert
in this field.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>3. Shop with a friend of volunteer. If you are not able to take
the extra time of exploring things on your own and you don't want
to take the risk of a bad in-store shopper, going shopping with
someone external to the store might be a solution. This can be
done through a volunteer service or through a trusted friend. Here
in Houston, the Light House has a volunteer program that people
with disabilities can sign up for to go and run errands. The local
college also has volunteer services where college students who
might be looking for hours will do services as well. While I can't
give you specifics because everyone interested in my message will
be in different parts of the country, I can say that this is not
unique to Houston Texas. Of course, shopping with a friend who
doesn't take over because they can see and you cannot is always a
good thing. Not only do you trust them, but there may not be any
time constraints. Then again, I have shopped a few times with a
friend who was in a rush, so there are no guarantees.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>In closing, if I choose the in-store shopper assistant and it's
taking more than 10 or 15 minutes, I will not wait and fall back
on structured discovery method. It has been my experience, and not
that I do it for this reason, but that if store employees see a
blind person going about on their own for shopping, in-store
shopper assistant people tend to be available more quickly. Sadly,
this is because of a lowering of expectations since many blind
people are perfectly okay with shopping on their own. The times
that I do it this way intentionally, I find that I get all kinds
of help offers even if I don't want or need them. I will also
sometimes use Be My Eyes or Aira, but this can present its own set
of challenges because of signal quality inside the store and
because not everyone pays for Aira or trusts a volunteer person
from Be My Eyes, so this is why I didn't mention them too much.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>I hope this helps as I have tried to be as thorough and as
understanding as possible considering that everyone is different.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Thanks all.<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-signature"><br>
Respectfully,<br>
<b>Raul A. Gallegos</b> / President<br>
National Association of Guide Dog Users, <i>NAGDU</i><br>
832.554.7285 | <a href="mailto:rgallegos@nagdu.org">RGallegos@nagdu.org</a><br>
<a
href="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/nagdu.org_7eopjofhnd4968m46rcmgrck0s%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics">Subscribe
to the NAGDU Public Events Calendar Here</a><br>
<a href="https://app.greminders.com/c/rgatechsolutions/r30/">Schedule
a 30-minute Zoom meeting with me here</a><br>
<a href="https://m.facebook.com/groups/nagdu">Join us on Facebook</a>
| <a href="https://twitter.com/nagdu">Follow us on Twitter</a><br>
<br>
"Blindness is a characteristic, not a handicap." -- Dr. Kenneth
Jernigan<br>
<br>
<br>
</div>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 3/26/2021 6:09 AM, Devin Prater via
nFB-Talk wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:1786e392898.2842.9343beaceee5adfd5722805b7ce72987@gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div dir="auto">
<div dir="auto">There was one time, when I went to Walmart with
a group of other people, when wehad an hour to shop. I sat
there at customer support, in my mask, for that whole hour,
with them assuring me that they’d get someone to help me, but
no one did. In the end, I left that store with nothing that I
came to get. Ah well, less money for them that day. But, other
times have been better. They just need more customer support
staff, trained to work with people with disabilities. Then
again, all their staff should be trained to work with people
with disabilities.</div>
</div>
<br>
</blockquote>
</body>
</html>