We have seen a lot of initiatives come to fruition over the years that sound really cool, really good for the environment, and have been marketed as a good idea. When one stops to consider the fall-out, the aftermath, how it changed lives, then maybe we see a need for a diversity of products as there are for just about every personality.
No more Printed Manuals
I recently bought a sewing machine and lo-and-behold there was no printed manual. So, I emailed to have one emailed, even made it a request as a person with disabilities and I was sent the PDF to print myself. The stated reason was green initiatives. Well, I can only imagine how many more warranty cases they have fielded since then, holy moly. It assumes that a person who has decided it is best to fix their own clothes has access to: internet, a computer, and a printer! That is a huge asking. Now, you are also on your own to bind it yourself in some fashion - requiring a trip to a larger store. Not to mention the use of magnifying devices is still very much in fashion in many of these circles. Indeed, the fonts of theses manuals ought to find a middling ground between large print format but small enough to not be too many pages. The do-away with physical manuals feels like a liability issue to me.
Need to make a modification to your cell phone plan? No problem - your local store agent will direct you to call the 1-800 number to serve all your needs. It is not a one or the other wins scenario here, we simply need both. Some folks tolerate calling over the phone better (social anxiety, etc) while others need in person (learning disability, deaf, or blind) and either have their own accessibility issues. For example, over the phone, a company must ensure all employees have good and clear headset microphones that can best allow voice programs to capture the customer service rep voices for accessibility apps to do their jobs properly. Whereas a store would need to ensure a person with mobility issues can access the front counter safely and even have places to rest or lean. Really, I grew up in the era of trained customer service - overall so much has changed to a detriment to product sales, its incredible. I enjoy the evolution of telephone based customer service as well as appreciate the in person benefits. Again, the answer is its both just to give your customers options and better chances of buying your products.
Paper changes the way any food tastes or feels. Then for the super sensitive, it is even worse.
4. No more brick and mortar banks
You know who suffers most? Seniors and local businesses. Really, everyone does. Remember when you built relationships with your bank rather than call a randomly assigned person. If constant and consistent handoff is made between agents, it can work well, whether online or in-person or, my fav, both. It also assumes rampant data accessibility to log into mobile apps and computer accessible websites.
The irony behind all this is many of these companies claim diversity and accessibility in the lens of universal design. It was supposed to get easier as technology developed. however it seems that the higher ups, who have readily available internet, printers and money have assumed its the same for all. I often call this urban bias. Truth is that internet/cellular data infrastructures have developed unequally, even in Canada, and requires further considerations, like quality of the headsets. I do not think we need to choose online versus in person; in fact I believe there is a symbiosis to be found. The answer to universal design, accessibility, and greater revenues lies in valuing and leveraging both as the fill gaps of one and the other.
Remember: available does not mean accessible and accessible does not necessarily mean available. Both availability (ubiquitousness) and accessibility (audience) ought to be considered.
Can you think of other initiatives and their fallout as well as what we can thus learn?
The Unlibrarian
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