“Hi, I’m deaf. How can I help you?”
I just had the most interesting technology experience. When a new human computer interaction moment hits you, you pause for a moment, go “woohoo, I’m blogging this”, and then attend to the situation at hand.
So this afternoon, I went to the Village to grab some food and I realised that I needed $1 coins and .25 coins for laundry. I figured it would be easiest just to get a roll of coins in each denomination, so I went into the Bank of Montreal. I waited in line and when a teller spot opened up ( in this case, the low table usually used by the elderly or disabled), I sat down as he motioned me over.
I said “I would like a roll of one dollar coins” before he pointed to a sign that said “Hi, I’m deaf, how can I help you?” before motioning to the small computer that was in front of me. I hadn’t even noticed it or the sign. The computer felt different to use than the keyboard I use daily but I found that I was able to get my request fulfilled easily without difficulty. It was also fun and provided a different type of banking experience than I was used to.
Relevance: This was the first time I had ever interacted with a deaf person in the service sector and I had tons of questions going through my head. I wondered about the elderly, people that are technophobes, those that don’t speak English very well are able to handle the situation. I am hoping the next time I go to the bank that he is there so I can further explore the ease with which others are able to be assisted by him.