Disability: to think businesses should email when asked

[Pawsitive]

I'm struggling to find a dog trainer at the moment because they all want to talk to me on the phone rather than emailing me dates and prices. I'm finding it really frustrating because I find using the phone difficult (I'm hard of hearing) and in particular numbers are tricky for me (letters can be worked out with the phonetic alphabet but numbers cant). I'm happy to meet with them if need be to discuss my requirements once I've ascertained if they're within my price range and availability, but many just refuse to engage. It's a waste of both my time and theres to not have a simple email conversation when phone is not an option.

This isnt just a dog issue, every online form nowadays forces you to leave a phone number and there is often no free text to indicate your contact preferences.

I understand email can take slightly longer, but it's not just a preference. I cant hear well, its embarrassing and I struggle with new voices, accents and situations.

AIBU to think businesses should be more disabled friendly? It's really frustrating, especially when they have a huge web presence.

YANBU.

While matters have improved based on what they were 10/20/30+ years ago, we still have a long way to go before society is truly inclusive and accessible to all.

How annoying and frustrating for you too! I know you shouldn't have to do it because you should be able to email but is there a friend or relative who could come over and make the calls on your behalf? Or maybe a residents group or dog owners group on FB where you could ask for any local trainers to message you to discuss potential work?

Or maybe a residents group or dog owners group on FB where you could ask for any local trainers to message you to discuss potential work?

That's a brilliant idea, thanks, didn't think about it!

My friend was looking for a chiropodist and did that, that's what made me think of it. She put a post on the village FB group basically saying "I'm looking for a private chiropodist who can do home visits, please private message me to discuss". An hour later she had someone.

YADNBU.

On a personal level, it annoys me when businesses insist on phoning if I say I'm autistic and avoid phones, but it suddenly becomes possible to email them if I point out i also have a hearing loss.

Accessibility isn't supposed to involve playing disability top trumps to decide which disabilities are worth accomodating.

YADNBU

I have no particular hearing issues and I still hate people calling me. Email, it’s 2019!

YANBU at all, OP. Some businesses can be very inflexible and it's wrong. I try to avoid speaking on the phone, too. I take loads of pain meds which have an effect on my cognitive abilities and so often find it hard to keep track when talking and then can't always recall much of the detail afterwards. I get easily confused so prefer to take time and write/email my questions, and to be able to re-read and digest any response I get.
I dont understand why businesses don't realise the custom they are missing out on from the disabled community.

I think one reason is they can sell to you on the phone, in email you might get a quote then you might dismiss them
In the phone they can go more in depth on services etc, ask you question etc
Not saying it's right but as a business it's easier to sell that way / make a sale

Yes! I moved house, so contacted a local leisure centre to ask about their accessibility as there was reference to an accessibility plan on their website but no actual link to it.

I filled out a contact form on the website, which asked for all my details and also asked how I would like to be contacted. I chose email.

They phoned me the next day (I didn’t answer) so they left a message requesting I phone them to discuss my requirements.

I didn’t bother, seeing as they had already ignored my first requirement to discuss via email. Instead, I’m sticking with the further away leisure centre (near my old house) because their accessibility and customer service is fantastic.

YANBU. I have no disabilities, but find email generally easier because I don't have to respond immediately when I'm either with my child or at work. I was getting very frustrated the other week with three companies that were all trying to call me instead of replying to my email as requested, and it did occur to me at the time that if someone had disabilities that thoughlessness in not using the requested communication channel could become very limiting. Certain text methods like chat also require customers to remain online even for simple text reporting of an issue, which is also limiting and could cause some people issues because it ends up taking half an hour instead of handing the issue to customer services who can respond in their own time, I imagine not everyone can manage that. I don't know what can be done because it must be enormously frustrating to have to tell every person about your disability just to make them message you, many sympathies though. I also second the recommendation of a local facebook marketplace, nextdoor.co.uk, or a local forum; they can be helpful and it's all online.

Hi OP yes I've often thought this when businesses, both large and small insist on you phoning them or them phoning you. I prefer email, not because of any disability, I just find the phone annoying especially when you trade messages all day and then they phone when you are on a train going in and out of coverage.

Also customers need to understand that service providers may be deaf. I went to a networking event a few months ago and one lady was saying she was struggling because customers wanted to phone her but she couldn't use a phone, though she was ok face to face. We advised her to ask someone to help her set up a voicemail to explain and say no messages (and set it not to allow messages if that was possible) and say all contact needed to be done by email or text.

As a customer you should be able to make the same stipulation to a service provider.

every online form nowadays forces you to leave a phone number there actually used to be something where you could put in a certain number and it went through to a voicemail message saying you wanted to be contacted by email but I think it must have been stopped. If I don't want to give my no I just put in 01234 567890. The best online forms let you stipulate how you would like to be contacted, though I see from the pp above with the leisure centre that it doesn't always work.

I get where you’re coming from, but I also think sole proprietorships need some leeway when it comes to adjustments. Depending on their circumstances it might actually be very time-consuming to engage with customers over email, and I believe the standard that applies to larger businesses becomes more difficult to justify at that point. For example, if they spend most of their time engaging customers on a hands-free while they are actually walking three dogs, it’s not going to be possible for them to engage via email at the same time.

Facebooks always been the answer for me, just sending the message on there or leaving a comment if they’ve disabled that feature.

I just don’t like phone calls unless I absolutely have to.. me n dp have a child and i still text him unless it’s urgent and if he calls were on the phone 2 minutes.. I stutter and I hate it so just avoid it as far as I can. I also prefer it written down because I have the memory of a 90 year old gold fish.

I feel for you OP. I prefer email as I can take my
time to digest the information and compose a
response - I dislike being put on the spot (which is why some businesses will call, as they are hoping to get you on the hop and that you will agree to something verbally then and there).

I had a phone call this week that I had to take as I was waiting for some information and it was not what I wanted to hear. I was then pressured into considering another scenario which was impractical, but I found myself panicked and almost agreeing. An email would have been far better. Again, the caller chose that method for exactly that reason.

ITA OP! My bugbear was the NHS - they always want you to phone about appointments! It meant I had to go there in person to arrange or cancel something face to face!

Yes, I've found this too. Even if I ask people to call me instead of a family members with speech issues, most companies ignore that and ring them anyway. I queried this with one of them, asking had they got the message, "oh yes, theres a note about that here" they said. They had just chosen to ignore it.

I get where you’re coming from, but I also think sole proprietorships need some leeway when it comes to adjustments.

But then you're letting businesses off the hook- just because they're sole traders doesnt mean they should be able to dismiss simple accessibility because it's too difficult.

I facebooked one I had found and they came back almost instantly and I'm booked in for monday. So the ones that cant be arsed taking an extra 10 mins miss out on the purple pound that they're always banging on about.

Accessibility isn't supposed to involve playing disability top trumps to decide which disabilities are worth accomodating.

Absolutely. I have some mobility problems and sometimes use the accessible loo for various reasons. I wish I was imagining the glowers I got from a wheelchair user when I came out. I look fine (I look 30 and healthy and pain free) but the reality is much different. It was fairly humiliating to smile and hold the door open only to be completely ignored in front of a queue of people waiting on the usual loos. It was obvious they all assumed I couldnt be bothered waiting.

I would wonder whether the individual in the wheelchair had speech issues and couldn't say thankyou? You dont know really that the people in the queue assumed anything?

She was talking to the person she was with.so no speech issues.

Ive had the youre not disabled head tilt more than once in my life. The invisible disability signs are great but dont change attitudes.

Are you sure you arent just getting this wrong? So in the possible half a minute it took for you to come out and her to go in, she was mid conversation with someone else, and you are upset she didnt make some sort of communication with you?

I FAR prefer to email, firstly the client has information in writing to refer back to and secondly I can avoid falling into the trap of spending hours of my time on the phone to someone who then takes that free advice and never hires me.

Shop around, not all of us dog trainers want to be on the phone, but I would check out the facebook group Dog Training Advice and Support - it is fairly strict on posts being on pre approval and new members reading the units, however once you are in and can ask a question the advisors are all highly experienced and there are trainers, behaviourists and vets on the team. Everyone gets a proper experts advice as the first response to their question so there's no riskof the 'ooh it sounds awful but it worked for me' type rubbish you get in many groups.

YANBU.

I am autistic and find processing speech difficult, hence I don't find phone conversation accessible, so I avoid it whenever possible. The NHS is a particular offender (ironically) for not allowing you to email them.

If a form forces me to fill in a phone number I put in the appropriate number of zeroes (or sometimes starting with 07, if their form checks for that).

Then if I contact anyone by email I get people replying to me saying "how unfortunate we don't have a phone no for you...". Well it's not unfortunate for me (unless they're implying I received an inferior service as a result, which I wouldn't be surprised about).

Also the service provider for my Disabled Students Allowances support kept expecting me to speak on the phone, when I'd already explained my issues with that to the company. So even companies that are supposed to be experts in the field don't care.

Rosie, I dont think it's that they dont care, but that they dont think. Speech is so integral to life that it's hard for people to realise that some people just cant do it.

I’m exactly the same, I really struggle to hear properly and speak clearly on the phone due to my disability. I state that on any email I send to businesses now. It is a pain of a form doesn’t allow you to mark a preference. If it’s one I really can’t talk to I don’t put my real number down