3 ms·

There’s a lot of weird comments in here by people who don’t know anything about deaf people. 1. Text is a common medium for communicating with the deaf. Younge

by prpl 5y ago

There’s a lot of weird comments in here by people who don’t know anything about deaf people. 1. Text is a common medium for communicating with the deaf. Younger deaf people in particular will be fine with this 2. VRS is also an option, but it would be awkward in that scenario. VRS is subsidized by the government. VRS predates Facetime but both have been complimentary for deaf people 3. It wouldn’t be a huge leap to expect Apple to run their own VRS-like service optimized for deaf retail employees and situations, considering they make Facetime, and counting all the other anecdotes of interaction with deaf people here. The same should be true for any huge retail operation - Macy’s, Home Depot, Costco, etc… If you go to a hospital they already have something like this.

junon 5y ago
Eh. Idk. I know sign language, I've worked with a lot of deaf people throughout my life, and have quite a few deaf friends. I also worked a few years as a "sales associate" (retail guy) at RadioShack. I don't think these two mix well in practice. People are moody, in a rush, and don't generally have accessibility or the needs of others in mind when going to a store. Trying to communicate when you're also trying to convince someone to give you money is paramount. Any hiccups and both sides get frustrated which just sours the whole thing. This is more of a reflection on people than it is retail, deafness, etc. It's a terrible reality but it's reality. It's a really, really tricky, touchy and all around uncomfortable problem to solve.
- leesalminen 5y ago
  There’s a blind retail employee at my local Apple Store. He’s been there for years. I knew that it’d end up taking a few extra minutes to buy whatever when working with him, but it never pissed me off. I appreciated how hard he tried and admired the fact that he’d even be willing to work in a loud, crowded Apple store. Plus, he had a really sweet dog with him who was very friendly. Maybe it would be harder with a deaf person vs. blind. Maybe I’m just an outlier here. Dunno.
  - junon 5y ago
    I think it would. Blind people can still communicate freely - there's no inherent barrier there.

by prpl 5y ago

junon 5y ago

Eh. Idk. I know sign language, I've worked with a lot of deaf people throughout my life, and have quite a few deaf friends. I also worked a few years as a "sales associate" (retail guy) at RadioShack. I don't think these two mix well in practice. People are moody, in a rush, and don't generally have accessibility or the needs of others in mind when going to a store. Trying to communicate when you're also trying to convince someone to give you money is paramount. Any hiccups and both sides get frustrated which just sours the whole thing. This is more of a reflection on people than it is retail, deafness, etc. It's a terrible reality but it's reality. It's a really, really tricky, touchy and all around uncomfortable problem to solve.

leesalminen 5y ago
There’s a blind retail employee at my local Apple Store. He’s been there for years. I knew that it’d end up taking a few extra minutes to buy whatever when working with him, but it never pissed me off. I appreciated how hard he tried and admired the fact that he’d even be willing to work in a loud, crowded Apple store. Plus, he had a really sweet dog with him who was very friendly. Maybe it would be harder with a deaf person vs. blind. Maybe I’m just an outlier here. Dunno.
- junon 5y ago
  I think it would. Blind people can still communicate freely - there's no inherent barrier there.