Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to J.J. Meddaugh's April 2019 article, The Hunger Pains: A Review of the DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats Food Delivery Apps.
Thanks for the review of this. Heard you talking about it on a podcast as well. Couple other words of caution that I think users should be aware of.
Some fees can be difficult to identify. You will sometimes see tax and fees lumped together and you have to expand to realize that the category can include a service fee, delivery fee, and small-order fee.
Also, customers should be aware that some restaurants charge more than their menu prices for items to be delivered so that in addition to the service fees and delivery fees you are also paying a premium per item in addition to their normal menu pricing.
You also may find that the description before you place the order shows a 15-minute delivery time and that after posting it that timeframe could change to one hour or longer. Many of these services will not allow you to cancel the order without being charged.
And finally, you may see promotions on television or on the radio for different restaurants. These promotions are often not available for delivery.
Just want to make sure consumers understand all the implications of the services.
Thanks again,
Mark
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Deborah Kendrick's April 2019 article, A Profile of Jeff Bishop, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation.
Thank you for this article on Jeff Bishop. It has wonderful information within it that can be shared with families and students served here in Iowa. I’m always on the lookout for good articles that show blind individuals in a successful way and the skills honed to get them there.
Thank you!
Deena
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Bill Holton's April 2019 article, AW Asks the Experts: YouTube Accessibility.
I thought this article on YouTube accessibility was informative and helpful. Thank you for taking the time to list keystroke commands and pointers for users. I was wondering why you did not address the fact that audio description is almost non-existent on YouTube? Especially when it comes to original programming funded by YouTube for their TV platform? A specific show that has garnered huge response and popularity is the Cobra Kai series, which is a take on the classic Karate Kid movie.
Thanks,
Everette
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Janet Ingber's February 2018 article, The iPhone X for People with Visual Impairments: Face ID, New Gestures, and Useful Commands.
I am used to bringing my iPhone up close to my face to use. Now with Face ID I either have to bring my arm across in an exaggerated arc or else move the phone away from my face in a time consuming and frustrating manner until it decides—or not—to recognize my face. I’m a week in and I really don’t like it. I can’t see how the move away from a finger ID is anything other than detrimental for users with visual impairments.
Thanks for your article.
Dr. Tony Rucinski
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to J.J. Meddaugh's April 2019 article, The Hunger Pains: A Review of the DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats Food Delivery Apps.
The only thing you didn't cover was, what about satisfaction?
I recently had a satisfactory experience having UberEats deliver lunch for my wife and me. While we got through the ordering process and lunch with only minor difficulties from the app, the biggest frustration that came when I checked the app after lunch was in the history book. I mean, really: Is it necessary to provide a rating for everything in the stupid order, even though the choices made during the ordering process were shared across a household? Maybe I'm in some other kind of minority here, but I do dislike the expectation that the app should need to know how I felt after the fact.
The bottom line, for me, anyway, is that the transaction was successful, and if I were displeased, of course, I would have let them know earlier rather than later.
David Allen
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This is just a short note to give some well-earned kudos to Deborah Kendrick for her outstanding writing for AccessWorld. She brings the people to life in her articles. Her most recent article on Jeff Bishop A Profile of Jeff Bishop, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation was most insightful, very interesting and informative! Even though he is a blind employee, he was able to rise to his new position at Microsoft by giving it enough effort and by working really hard to achieve his ultimate goal. Her writing is so good that it made me feel like I was right there with Jeff celebrating with him.
Another outstanding article that Deborah wrote was Barry Scheur: Reinventing Himself in Retirement. I saw my life in that article. That article got me right there!
Another example, if you don’t mind: Solutions For Seniors with Age-Related Vision Loss. To me this is another outstandingly well written article that presented really helpful, detailed information.
Deborah has written countless articles, but I thought these gave the best example of late.
The new format for AccessWorld is awesome once one gets used to it. I loved the app, but am ready to move forward with the new AccessWorld
I look forward to reading AccessWorld every month. Please keep AccessWorld going.
Thank you.
Grant Downey
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in response to the April Editor's Page, Announcing a New and Improved AFB Website.
Thank you for notifying us of what’s happening with the app.
I really enjoyed using your app, and I’m sorry to see it end. However, the steps you’ve offered for getting the site on my mobile phone are indeed helpful. I’ll try it out.
I’m curious how you’ll make the site more interactive.
Thanks,
Tina
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I just wanted to share my opinion that I think the AFB decision to scrap the iOS AccessWorld app was a bad one. While I appreciate the accessibility enhancements in the website you spoke of, I believe having a dedicated app to read content on a mobile device works much better than reading on Safari or another browser . It just seems a bit short- sighted, with the surge in mobile devices that is clearly taking place, that a decision to eliminate the app was made. While I appreciate your providing the steps to create a link to the AccessWorld website using Safari, a five-step process to create it just emphasizes my point that accessing content with Safari and websites isn't nearly as accessible or easy to manage as having a dedicated app. I hope this decision will be reversed at some point.
Alan Lemly
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to J.J. Meddaugh's April 2019 article, The Hunger Pains: A Review of the DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats Food Delivery Apps.
Great article on food ordering apps. I’ve found Doordash to be 100-percent accessible. I have no trouble flicking between restaurants and ordering food. I even get messages showing me the stage my food is at and I can go and see how far away my driver is. I haven’t tried the other apps.
John Riehl
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Steven Kelley's April 2019 article, A Review of the Jitterbug Flip and Smart2 Accessible Cell Phones from GreatCall.
My father has Stargart’s disease and has very low vision. For this reason I purchased him a Jitterbug phone years ago. Initially the phone was excellent. For the first few years it was reliable, there were no problems whatsoever, my father couldn’t be happier with it.
Then at some point the company changed hands and the phones did also. For about the past four years my father has had nothing but problems with his Jitterbug phone.
He has the flip phone. When he opens it up, there is supposed to be a dial tone. From there he should be able to do a voice-activated call. Half the time the dial tone is there, half the time it isn’t. When this occurs he has to shut the phone down and then turn it on again in order to get it working. Many times he has to do this multiple times until it finally works.
Other times he answers a call, he can hear the person calling, but they can’t hear him. This just happened on Sunday, I called him two times in a row, the phone rang twice then all I heard was silence. My father called me back and said he could hear me, but I couldn’t hear him.
Sometimes the sound quality is so poor it sounds like he’s calling me from under water. These sorts of problems have been happening pretty much on a daily basis for years. At first I would call Jitterbug, the tech would tell me to turn off the phone, take the battery out, wait a few minutes, then put the battery back in to reset the phone. This would work for a few days then the problems would occur all over again. I am in my 40s and have full vision so I am able to remove the battery (although you shouldn’t have to do this), but my dad is in his mid 70s and is blind; he can't do this.
He has gone through multiple phones from Jitterbug over the past few years and has the same problems over and over again. If you read the Jitterbug reviews on Amazon you will see that there are many complaints from customers with the same exact problems.
I have looked for an alternative phone for him to use and there is nothing on the market. I offered to take him to get an iPhone and to take him to be trained on it, which they do for people with vision problems, but he isn’t interested. He just wants a simple phone that works, and that is reliable which the Jitterbug is not.
I will say the customer service people are very nice and helpful but even they say there is a glitch in the phone. They admit this is a huge problem with most customers. I cannot even begin to tell you how much time we’ve spent calling the Jitterbug reps regarding these problems.
I’m at the point where I have thrown my hands up. I told my dad these problems have been occurring for years and obviously they will never be fixed. If he wants to continue to be a Jitterbug customer he just has to accept it.
I find it extremely frustrating because if an iPhone has a glitch it is fixed immediately. They know their customers are all over social media and aren’t going to sit by quietly while they work out their glitches. Jitterbug on the other hand knows their customers are elderly and blind and not likely to have a loud collective voice on social media and therefore are taking advantage of this by continuing to sell their customers these phones that don’t work half the time. And they know it. There are times that my father is home alone or goes for a walk alone and I am so nervous at the thought that he will need help and his phone won’t be working. It can be very unsettling.
In closing, I would hate for anyone to read your article and suggest a Jitterbug phone to a visually impaired person because most likely it wouldn’t be a helpful tool for them to have.
I would really like if you could investigate Jitterbug. Maybe some focus on the problems would force them to fix the situation. They should really be ashamed of themselves, I feel they are taking advantage of the elderly and handicapped. My father pays his bill every month, whether his phone works or not. I’m sure many other elderly and blind people do too.
Thank You,
Christine Pentland
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Deborah Kendrick's April 2019 article, A Profile of Jeff Bishop, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation.
Deborah Kendrick’s article on Microsoft access team member Jeff Bishop was inspiring, and of course well written. Bishop’s’s professional development reminds us of others, but his being a good person is mentioned. That’s always fun to read as our technology heroes do great things to help us. Thanks Deborah and thanks AccessWorld.
Mike Cole from Berkeley
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I am so disappointed that the AccessWorld app is being discontinued. This is frankly a poor decision in my opinion. While you have improved the website a lot it does not in anyway compare to the ease and utility of the app and has turned a pleasant reading experience into a chore. Please, please reconsider-this ill-advised decision.
William Austin
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Jamie Pauls' April 2019 article, FreeStyle Libre: An Easier Way to Manage Diabetes As a Blind Person.
Thank you for this personal and thorough assessment of the current status of blood glucose monitors available to individuals who are visually impaired. I trust the recommendations will be read, shared appropriately, and suggestions made for further development.
Margaret E. Cleary
