[nabs-l] mall travel and shops

[Nicole B. Torcolini at Home]

JMHO, it is best to know the layout of the mall before you go. I find 
tactile maps helpful. I usually plan what stores I want to go to. I then try 
to go in that general direction and I ask for help if needed. Using floor 
texture is not reliable, especially if you are using a guide dog and not a 
cane.
If you don't benefit from tactile maps, you could ask someone to write down 
the locations of stores. For example, if you come in door X and turn in 
direction Y, the first store on your right is A, the next is B, and so on 
with details like A has N number of entrances.
One thing that you can sometimes use is music. Some stores play really 
distinctive music, but that does not always work, especially if there is a 
lot of noise, and it certainly does not work around Christmas because *all* 
of them are playing Christmas music.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2012 9:46 PM
Subject: [nabs-l] mall travel and shops


> Hi all,
>
> So I figured malls are a fun place to be with all sorts of things to buy 
> and eat and you can practice travel skills there in a safe closed 
> environment.
>
> What tips do you have for mall travel? How do you find the stores and 
> escalators? Are escalators generally in a  middle part of the mall? That 
> seems to be the case where I’ve been and the up escalator is opposite the 
> down one.
>
> I know you can just ask a random person where store x is, but that is 
> limiting as you do not get the layout and if you go to only store x you 
> might miss stores y and z since you were traveling to only store x. Hope 
> that makes sense; like if I went to Bloomingdales only and did not know 
> the other major stores I passed, I would miss say CVS and Foot locker.
>
> I cannot always read signs. Once I find the store, do you remember its 
> location by associating a landmark to it? How do you identify it other 
> than asking someone? Some stores have smells and I’ve used that as a clue; 
> although it can be misleading as major department stores have different 
> smells. For instance, I can smell shoes, but this might be just a shoe 
> store or a shoe department of a larger store. It can mean two things. 
> Another idea I thought of is using the texture change of each store. Is 
> that a reliable clue or are stores so alike you cannot rely on it? I was 
> thinking you could say stores A B C have a wood surface with a carpet at 
> the entrance. Then stores D E F have smooth tile and small squares making 
> up the tile.
>
> Have you found it helpful to get a map and ask a sighted person to 
> describe and/or make a tactile picture of it for you?
>
> And, how do you know when one store ends and the next begins? They have 
> multiple entrances sometimes. thanks!
>
> Ashley
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