Bill Holton
One of the reasons Amazon is such a retailing behemoth is because of its fast and reliable shipping. Even in the small town where I live, many of my purchases come with one day Prime Delivery, the rest arrive in two. Let’s face it: we like things to be brought to us, even if we have to pay over $100 per year for the privilege. I don’t even remember the last time I bought locally batteries, printer cartridges, cookware, or even socks and underwear. The convenience factor is even greater for people with visual impairments, as it combines the enhanced ability to search and sort products using written descriptions and reviews with not having to travel to a store and browse the racks.
Of course there are items that you still needs to purchase locally. Gas for the family car, for example, and most food items, including those with a limited shelf life and those you wish to consume right away, such as restaurant fare. It’s unlikely anyone will even ship petrol via UPS or FedExbut food delivery has become commonplace, and, as we will see, it’s moving increasingly online. As is the case for many online resources, the accessibility barriers are rapidly toppling.
With this in mind, I took a look at a new eBook from the folks at Mystic Access: Dinner Delivered: Accessible and Easy Ways to Receive Meals Direct to Your Door, by Kim Loftis and Chris Grabowski. The booko is a comprehensive guide to accessibly moving groceries and prepared foods from the local marketplace to your front door. The 33,000-plus word tome is directed at the consumer with a visual impairment who uses a PC with a screen reader or a voice-accessible iOS or Android device. The text is both comprehensive and clearly written, with excellent overviews and, where appropriate, step-by-step instructions using both a PC and touchscreen devices.
Stocking the Pantry
Some local supermarkets and national chains have begun offering proprietary delivery services. These include Kroger, Safeway, and in certain areas, Walmart. These are mostly in-house operations without a national footprint, and thus are not covered by the authors. Instead, the first section of this eBook focuses on the two largest delivery services, Instacart and Shipt, with a brief detour through Amazon Fresh and Amazon Prime Now.
With Instacart and Shipt, the reader is offered comprehensive, step-by-step instructions on how to accessibly accomplish everything from creating a new account to finding local stores to checking out to rating and tipping the delivery person. Considerable care is devoted to guiding the reader through the steps of locating desired items and reviewing product descriptions, then adding the items to a shopping cart. After all, this is the heart of online shopping. Membership and delivery fees are also described in detail.
After reviewing this section, I believe even someone fairly new to using a screen reader or accessible mobile device will feel confident in creating an account and ordering groceries online. Most shoppers with visual impairments will enjoy an increased sense of independence when they no longer have to rely on friends, family, or a store clerk to help find groceries. But as Kim Loftis (seemingly the lead author) so eloquently describes, there is also the matter of the “sighted filter,” which is to say the unintentional limitations placed on the blind shopper when being assisted by a third party.
The example Loftis uses is a blind shopper searching for crunchy peanut butter for a fudge recipe. Her shopper adds it to the cart, but selects a too-small jar, and neglects to mention that white chocolate chips, which would make a great addition, are on sale. Myself, I love sweet plantain, and never thought to look for a frozen version, and my wife never thought to mention she’d seen them in the freezer case until I discovered them on an online store sales list.
Shopping help usually requires the customer with a visual impairment to pretty much limit the list to known items. Grocery shopping online, however, can go a long way toward product discovery and expanding your pantry possibilities.
Dining Out--In!
Of course there are times when you simply don't feel like cooking! Your community may have an extraordinary variety of eateries, from hamburger stands to fine French cuisine, but getting to a restaurant can sometimes be a real hassle. Perhaps you need to take a cab or subway, and you’ll likely wish to have a dining companion. Other times you just want a tasty treat to scarf in front of the TV, and you’re bored with your regular traditional pizza and Chinese delivery options.
The second section of Dinner Delivered covers the four big names in restaurant delivery: DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats. Each of these services feature different restaurants and fast food options. Of course the variety and number of listed dining delights will depend on where you live. Naturally, larger metropolitan areas will offer greater choices. Consequently, you may wish to learn about most or all of these services and determine which one or two you find offer the greatest choice and best match your needs and appetites.
Again, the coverage of the various services is complete and easy to follow, with step-by-step guidance on how to accessibly sign up for the various services, locate your favorite eateries, browse menus,and place and complete orders.
I must admit that about halfway through this chapter my mind drifted and the only solution seemed to be to log onto Grubhub and order a Philly cheesesteak from my favorite diner. My order arrived in less than 30 minutes. The deliveryman handed it over, already paid for with a 20% tip. No fumbling through and identifying currency from my wallet, asking for change for a twenty on a $10.95 order, or wondering if that was really a five he handed me back.
Talk about convenience!
Other Options
The authors end the first section of Dinner Delivered with a discussion of Amazon Fresh and Amazon Prime Now. Both of these services are provided by Amazon.com, and deliver fresh meats, produce, and other perishable grocery items. Their coverage is rather sparse at the moment, limited to major metropolitan areas, so the book’s description is not as detailed. In the last section, however, they offer a few tasty nuggets for those at the far end of the delivery spectrum: people who live in low-population areas not yet covered by the major grocery delivery services. Which is not to say big city readers won’t also benefit from this concluding section, which describes a smattering of food-related Web purveyors that deliver across the country. The focus is on three: Thrive Market, Nuts.com, cheryls.com and ohfudgestore.com. This list is by no means meant to be comprehensive. Instead it’s meant to offer just a taste of the online food shopping possibilities. And believe it: the possibilities are only limited by your imagination and your taste buds. Enjoy rice pudding? Check out Rice to Riches for some gourmet fare. Want some extra spicy sauce for your famous Buffalo wings? You’ll find plenty of heat at Mo Hotta Mo Betta.
Hungry? I know I am.
Product Information
Dinner Delivered: Accessible and Easy Ways to Receive Meals Direct to Your Door, by Kim Loftis and Chris Grabowski is available from the National Braille Press in choice of Braille, DAISY and Word formats
Price: $18.00 for Braille or eBraille, DAISY or Word download . (Add an additional $2.50 for delivery of eBraille, DAISY or Word formats preloaded on a USB drive.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
Related articles:
- Shop Independently with Shipt: an Accessible App that Brings the “Store to your Door” by Deborah Kendrick
- A Review of Format Your Word Documents with JAWS and NVDA: A Guide for Students and Professionals, by David Kingsbury by Bill Holton
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