Two Of the Hottest Things This Week
What else is hot this week? Karen had a hard time ordering a shake at a local Steak n' Shake. All she did was drive up to the drive-in window and try to order there because there was no other way (short of walking inside) to order. Instead of being treated with courtesy by the manager, she was refused service and even threatened with having the police called. (The police threat did frighten her child) Her blog post got picked up by several other bloggers, and local ABC News and Fox stations interviewed her.
I have never used a drive-through window myself because I know that I can't use a drive-through speaker that is not accessible (no push buttons for instance). What do you do when you can't use a drive-through speaker? Do you just drive past the speaker and order at the window, or do you forget about using the drive-through and just park the car and walk inside?
A similar topic was addressed previously on the About Deafness blog, "How Do You Order Fast Food." Plus, another earlier post, "Common Sense Solution to Drive-Ins" looked at a possible technological solution.
Comments
ah, i just walk in and take my time looking at the beautiful pictures.
i’m intrigued about the idea of a simple push button. that’d be cool.
do you think its possible to create a whole new program or major in colleges that focus on politcally correct methods and equality access? like, how the pepsico used “enable” which seems pretty close to what i’m trying to say; an outside source or a 3rd party that takes over the accessibility responsibilities (captions for their web content, wheelchair ramps, deaf access, braille in the right places, advice on color adjustments for the colorblind, etc) since the rest of the world is clueless as to how to go about doing it.
Who to say we can’t get pass the speaker to the window? Especially for deaf community and elderly people. I am a young deaf mom with twins. My twins are not even walking yet. I thank god that fast-food chain has window to take and go. But I am a supporter of my dearest friend, Karen.
There’s a device I’ve heard of that a restaurant can use at their drive-thru and even for making orders inside the restaurant. It’s call Order Assist. More information is on the Inclusion Solutions, Inc. website. Their website is www.inclusionsolutions.com.
As a case manager for the deaf, I had sent a professional letter to a restaurant’s headquarters to ask if they would be able to assist me in getting the device set at a local restaurant for our clients who go there (and myself). I only got acknowledgement that my request was received. I tried to follow-up with the headquarters about my request but haven’t gotten a response.
I hope in the future that there would be an easier way to ask for things like this to support the needs of the community of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
We are the developers of OrderAssist = please go to www.DeafDriveThru.com to see where we have systems installed.
please share this with people/friends that live near these locations to support these businesses that have made their businesses more accessible - thank you.
I always use the drive thru at any fast foods. All I do is drive passing the speaker, and write the paper what I want to order, give it out and tell them I’m deaf. That is it. No problem for me.