I want people to notice the 'barrier' of tablet ordering
🌞 Good morning, everyone. It's Hikaru, the number magician (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ
Today, I'd like to talk about a real-life friend of mine.
She is visually impaired, but she works at the same company as my husband.
My father, having heard that it's difficult for visually impaired people to find work, used his discretion to hire her into the department he was managing at the time.
Since then, she has been working happily in the interpretation department to this day✨
Now, this story is something I heard from that friend.
Nowadays, many restaurants have introduced systems where you order using a tablet.
While convenient, it can be difficult for visually impaired people to operate, making it hard for them to use in some situations.
In such cases, my friend often asks the staff to read the menu to her so she can decide what to order, but during busy hours, she is often turned away with, 'We can't help you right now.'
And this happens even though she confirms, 'I am visually impaired, is that okay?' and gets approval before entering the restaurant.
I can't help but think it would be nice if they could at least explain the lunch menu during lunch hours, or just the recommended menu at other times...
It wouldn't be a loss for the restaurant, either. Though it certainly takes time.
If she's with someone, they can read the menu for her, but when she goes out alone, these differences in service raise the hurdle for going out.
Similarly, there are cases where wheelchair users confirm in advance, 'Can I enter the restaurant?' and get an 'OK,' only to be turned away upon arrival because 'the part-time staff answered on their own.'
This is also truly incomprehensible, isn't it?
Each one of these responses strips away the 'courage to go out' from people with disabilities.
I really hope more people will become aware of this reality.
PS. Besides tablets, it would be easier for visually impaired people to order if there were Braille stickers on traditional paper menus. I suppose that's impossible for regular restaurants since they don't have equipment to print Braille🤔
Actually, I can read Braille😊
(Hikaru)
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