Down at the Clinic this a.m. for a minor irritation. While waiting, watched a bloke trying to register his arrival on that touch-screen jobby.
OK, so he figured out he is male and touched that screen-button. Then you get a screen with 31, count them, 31 buttons where it asks you for the day of month of your birth (ding! ding! 31 - geddit? ding! ding!).
So what does the fathead do? His birthday was prolly lets say 23rd of the month, so he presses the 2 and then tries to press the 3. Of course, on pressing the 2, it goes to the next screen where you choose the month. Cue enormous frustration as after the 10th or 12th attempt he still hasn't succeeded, and stumps off to join the queue.
My wife - a very occasional user of the London tube - has a similar problem. The screens seem to misunderstand the buttons she touches and charge her more money rather than move through the menu. So after a few seconds she gives up and joins a queue for a real person.
Similar problem with buying a rail ticket on-line; she wanted a specific outward train, which she selects OK, then an open return some day later. Correct price is shown, but the next step is to ask her for the time of the return train!!!!
So I had to go to the station and buy the tricket for her. At least the ticket clerk there understood that an "open return" means "without specifying the time of the return!"
I have the same problem with touchpads on laptops - they always think I have "tapped" when actually I haven't. Where possible I disable this "feature", but the option is sometimes not present.
Well for a start dump the touch screen. there are already moves afoot from the blind community to ask questions like, how is this inclusive an indeed fair? Nobody seems to have thought it through, but there you go, much as normal in nhs. Its like the coloured chairs in a certain Eye clinic for the different eye conditions, Hello sire go and sit in one of the purple chairs over there. um, bloody insane. Brian
I don't think anyone tests anything properly any more.
I've just spent all afternoon trying to post a parcel left by my son, who emailed me the pre-paid label for special delivery.
Ist Post Office the "Local" type, said they didn't think they could take these. They needed a barcode to scan. I said isn't that square thing a sort of modern barcode? They said we don't have a scanner (she became we because she had to find someone with better eyesight).
Main Post Office, said "Oh it's Special Delivery, how much has he paid?" I had no idea. It doesn't say on the label. They say "We can't take it then".
Drive back home and email, and to be fair he does appear to have not read his bathroom scales correctly, but the only way forward is to pay the money for him.
Back to the PO. "We can't take it because you have stuck a pre-paid label on it". ME: "Have you got another piece of paper I can write the address on", PO "No, we won't accept it if that label has been stuck on it".
In the end, with the queue out into the rain, they agreed to take my £25.80 and stick their labels over the barcode and other stuff on my label.
I then came home to scan the receipt and tracking info into the email to the son. Told him the man in the PO had said "Best of luck getting a refund for what has been paid".
If I had shares, I would sell. They moved the PO from the purpose built building to this corner of a shop with no legal parking.
During the 90 mins or so I was sat there waiting, only two people couldn't make it work. Him, and an old bloke who seemed a bit uncoordinated in terms of pressing the screen buttons (and who only tried once). My guy had a copy of the business section of the Times under his arm and looked like he ought to have been able to manage it. I did consider going over to assist but he whizzed through his dozen attempts while I was mulling that over.
I suppose it might help if the buttons said 1st 2nd etc, but there's still the chance he'd wilfully misinterpret *that*. OK lessee now, I press 1st to introduce the first digit - but there's no row of buttons labelled 0-9 and why would I want to introduce a 31st digit anyway?
Oh. So the 99% of people who already manage are some sort of supreme intelligence? Well, if the person was really old, I guess they can be forgiven. If the individual was less than fifty years old, a plastic bag to play with should be provided free of charge.
Depends on how the other way is implemented. If it's "use the touchscreen, or wait in a long slow queue and someone will deal with you eventually", it's unfair to those who can't use the screen.
Though a sign over the chairs isn't going to be any more useful. Braille labels on the chairs?
The touchscreen doesn't let you queue jump, it merely saves the surgery manpower in recording that you've arrived.
Now if the surgery is sufficiently undermanned that they can't process the arrival of somebody who can't use the touchscreen in a reasonable time, that's another problem. But a manual alternative probably counts as "reasonable adjustment".
Touch screens are bloody nightmare if you have Parkinsons as well... They can't tell the difference between your index finger or any other part of your hand that touches due to tremor.
Yes, but an offpeak return has different restrictions from an anytime return or a superoffpeakreturn which would be explained by the clerk but the website has to check that it's selling you a ticket valid for the train on which you want to travel.
Also it will offer to make you seat reservations if possible.
Even if you've specified a train and reserved seats on the website, you can still use the ticket (other than an Advance ticket) on any permitted train.
I think that many things can be made to work for both the sighted and blind, but for some things, doing so can make it a poorer experience for the sighted. Touch screens are a simple and effective way to provide interfaces that can easily be updated as required and can carry extra (useful but not essential) information. Maybe the way to go is to ensure that the touch screen is never the only way - even if this means that for some, they are not always using a fully up to date system and may need to deal with certain things via an employee.
The other way is go to the reception desk, just like it was before the touch screen arrived. But because some people use the touch screen, the average wait for reception is lower.
OK, you're the practice manager. How are you going to make it "fair"?
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