♿️Mystery shoppers FAKE disability, BSL App for emergency services📲
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- In this episode of Disability News we will take a dive into,
A third Thumb
Ambulance services to adopt BSL video interpreters
Government to investigate "fake disabled" mystery shoppers rail claims
And more.
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Hello. I hope you are good today. What do you think of these stories?
It is crazy. Disabled people know what is best for disabilty
One of the most frustrating parts about nondisabled people role playing as disabled to test accessibility is that I would actually be falling out of my wheelchair with excitement to have that job! I love reviewing accessibility and it's so disappointing that companies would rather make nondisabled people play dress up than actually consulting people with disabilities. Also, even if a nondisabled person using a mobility aid could hypothetically get the same experience and knowledge as a disabled person that needs that mobility aid (they couldn't), it would still be worlds away from a proper accessibility check because of all the disabilities you can't simulate. What about accessibility for little people, or people with limited strength or dexterity? And sure you can get a hospital model manual wheelchair pretty easy, but what about accessibility for people who use very large and complex powerchairs? Nondisabled people continue to surprise me with how little they understand about disabilities.
I'd love to do it too. Especially something like mystery shopping when it can be done basically on your own timetable, so if I'm having a really bad day I could just... not.
Too many companies believe that because they've got a ramp and a loo with a grab rail, they're accessible. But they have no idea what is actually needed, and some don't even listen when actual disabled people tell them there is an issue... Proper market research done by several disabled people over time would really help ALL disabled people have a better experience of the world in general. Because if one company ups its game, its competitors will too. (If only the rail network worked like that)
@@CharityAngelSpectrum Exactly and then you're told you're doing it for attention or for views if you're a disabled youtuber or tiktoker highlighting the flaws. I've seen some vile comments under those sorts of videos. Disabled people just want to be able to live their lives like anyone else.
so true , i would love the job too , thx for sharing❤
I’m not a chair user but I do have episodic nuerapothy and I feel this comment in my soul. (😅Yes that was a pun…) But even if I could just get the opportunity to have my voice heard at a store on accessibility issues I’d be thrilled paid or not. Though the pay would be better.
I’m also not in a city with rail service or in the UK but I did visit the UK shortly before I was diagnosed and even then the “gap” kept tripping me. I was the youngest person in my traveling group as well and it was interesting experience. Near the end we found some key chains that said mind the gap and much to my regret now I didn’t get one... oh well lessons learned.
I am in America and still the lack of access (even with the ADA)
astounds me.
I get the suspicious feeling that the companies with fake disabled mystery shoppers are just going to stop doing mystery shoppers all together rather than hire actual disabled people
unfortunately that probably likely , but lets hope not 🙂
I'm in a mystery shopping group for Rail (I'm a wheelchair user). The idea that non disabled people are role playing to assess rail services is horrendous!
Unfortunately Jem as a disabled person myself I am very aware of the discrimination and fakery not only with false reporting but with housing, hospitality and many other day to day living, keep up the good work.
As someone who lives in the U.S. I'm impressed that they even care if the disabled are able to use public transport. I do wish they would use actual disabled people since it would obviously be better in so many ways, but here they just don't care. Many years ago I was in a discount store and my friend and I were stopped by an employee after I had checked out. She told me she was checking to see if I had stole anything because "all people in wheelchairs are thieves".
I think I’d just be leaving, over their toes.
And calling the police.
She said WHAT?! My jaw is on the floor having read your comment
OMG. To say something like that! Nasty! She could just ask to check bags.
Imagine saying that to a black person.
I’ve had the same happen multiple times. They grab the back of my chair and root around in the pouch on my seat back to see if there is anything they can claim I stole. Really pisses me off.
Regarding Mystery Shoppers, in addition to hiring the disabled to do the testing, the company should disclose how much was paid to the able-body testers and donate the same amount to services for the disabled.
This whole thing sounds like a perfect story for Amber Ruffin's segment "Say What???". Shown on American comedian's show Late Night with Stephen Colbert.
Amber Ruffin is on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’
@@Just_One_Tree I stand corrected. Thank you. Seth Myers it is.
From what I remember the third thumb started as a study examining how quickly people can assimilate technology into their sense of their body. There were questions about what is necessary for technology to start to feel like your body, which does have ramifications for prosthetics for people with disabilities
thx for sharing that 🙂
Je suis tellement choquée! Pourquoi utiliser ces acteurs? Pourquoi ne pas employer les personnes directement concernées par le/les handicaps pour juger des services de transports ferroviaires ou autres? Ne sommes-nous pas les plus aptes a déceler ce qui ne va pas ou est-ce que notre voix pourrait être remise en question par rapport à celle d'un acteur? Ça ouvre a tellement de questions terribles...
Depuis la France, un grand merci à toi Gem! ❤
PS: pardon d'écrire en français mais mon écris anglais est vraiment trop mauvais...
Merci pour le partage. je suis d'accord avec toi.
@@Wheelsnoheels Wow, that's a nice surprise! Merci beaucoup d'avoir la gentillesse de me répondre en français! 😍
Et merci pour l'immense travail que tu fais, la joie, le sourire que tu apporte et la force que tu donne.
Ps: I will to improve my writting in English, promise... Thank you for all Gem!
Merci - je peut pratiquer mon français par regarder son commentaire(? - je ne sais pas le bon mot français, désolé).
J'ai aussi étudié les handicapés pour mon examen oral(?) de français au A-level (comme le bac).
Your story on the “fake” mystery shoppers makes me think we’re they used years ago when designing disabled bathrooms in shops etc. some are too small to turn when in a wheelchair or the doors are too heavy (especially public conveniences) which open outwards, making it very difficult for a wheelchair user. What about dropped kerbs, there seems to be no standard that every dropped kerb should be. Where I live there are dropped kerbs I can go down on in my power chair but can’t get up them. Not tried trains yet, still on my bucket list but I was so frightened the first time I used a bus and the driver did not put the ramp down, when getting off any my front casters dropped through the gap. I nearly fell out of my chair. Any Gem, another good episode 👍
I have ALS. I struggle alot opening most bathroom doors due to weak arm strength while driving my wheelchair
ive definitely experienced the heavy doors, and lack of turning space 🤔
I was born with Spina Bifida (severe curvature in the spine. I became a mobility scooter user 3 years ago and started noticing accessibility issues almost immediately. The bus stops where I live have been built in such a way that I can't get my scooter in to line up with the door of the bus. Also, the dropped curbs where I live are horrendous in some places. Some are perfectly levelled with the road so I can cross easily. Others are at least 2 maybe 3 inches high, making it ok to go down. But not back up. I've also noticed that people are parking their cars in front of some of the dropped curbs. Even ones outside their own houses. I'm sure this is illegal. I would definitely love to be a disabled mystery shopper. My local Premier News shop has quite often left boxes of stock in the aisles on either side, making the path for my scooter narrowed significantly as I can't then reach what I'm after
Don't tell me I'm the only one thinking, yeah, the third thumb sounds great, but what if you have no control over, or lack big toes?
Hahaha no. I definitely forgot to mention that. It would be useless for me 🤩
As a para, I am left wondering the same thing. Outside of that, the third thumb sounds like a handy device.
I find that I'm always moving my toes as they can be rather painful, let alone the random phantom itch that appears when I'm finally comfy. I'd have a thumb doing the hand jive on its own. It should definitely go towards people missing a digit though instead of those who are fully able bodied. I think Hythe photos of it as a 2nd thumb were kinda creepy,
my thumbs can be very painful an extra would be useful but my sciatic pain in my feet may cause issues
on the ‘third thumb’ i immediately see it as so so helpful! i have a friend who lost all their fingers (but not their thumb) on one of their hands in an accident as a child. she cant grasp things with that hand obviously as she just has a thumb and a palm with partial movement. if she could use it i think her days would be revolutionised
Yes, I think it's a case of weird marketing for a genuinely useful product. My first thought was that it might be useful for people with limited hand mobility or grip strength.
For years of the fake disability, people assessed hotel rooms and other accessible places that became not accessible because these people don't understand. Thanks for your info gem❤😊
Lovely Gem thanks for disability news. Love the bloopers! 😅xx
Glad you enjoyed it
I agree that they should use truly disabled secret shoppers because you are right us truly disabled wheelchair users do notice more obstacles than an fully abled person. I can waddle around my house on a good day, but today my pain is so bad I cannot get around without my wheelchair, I also cannot pick up anything I have dropped on the floor either, my disability is different day by day. Because of my house set up I can usually toddle from room to room, but always need my wheelchair if I leave the house, I just can't walk much further than from my bed to the bathroom on good days, yet today I cannot .
Oh BTW Gem thanks for the info you have posted on wheelchairs and accessories, it helped me to get a chair that fit me well and was comfortable. I'm looking at a new wheelchair again and thanks to your tips and guidance I have an idea of what I want, and the fight with my Ins. Co. starts again, no one told me how expensive it is to be disabled, it's outrageous.
Have a wonderful day.
ahh glad my videos helped good luck and thx for sharing🙂
Why is the government relying on an outsourced company to give it feedback on disabled travelers experiences, whether it's fake disabled people or real disabled people.
Why don't charities give all the detailed information about the services on the trains and inform the government of all the problems?
I don't just mean someone complaining to the charity and then the charity passing that on to the government, I mean proper surveys conducted by disability charities of the service that rail firms provide, as well as any area of life where the government needs to be have feed back.
I think the benefit of using private companies is that they're more likely to be able to pay or even employ the disabled testers. I believe that they also use these companies anyway for general feedback on the service, so the accessibility testing is part of that rather than the core aim.
@@hannahk1306The company might also pay the cost of the train ticket - even with 1/3 off, they're not exactly cheap these days!
My first experience as a disabled person (pre-wheelchair) was an absolute disaster, and ended up in a debate between three separate rail companies as to who should shoulder the blame. (The correct answer is "all of them". They ALL messed up. The only people who didn't was TfL, and you don't even pre-book with them. The others all had heads-ups.)
Post-wheelchair has been better, on the whole, but I think some of that is because a lot changed in the industry during COVID - turn up and go happened, for a start (something I have yet to take advantage of). But there were still issues each time, including an instance where I only got on the train because a passenger asked the guard about me, still sat on the platform like a lemon - he hadn't been notified. And there's still a lot to do even where stations are deemed to be accessible - some of those ramps really aren't (hello all three of my local stations). And there was that one station where I was told to turn up at the ticket office. Which had burned down 6 months previously, and the Passenger Assistance service at ScotRail didn't seem to know that. Yeah, I don't know either... That was a fun phone call.
3rd thumb can definitely help ppl with grip issues n possibly even artists.
Whoa, the fake disabled mystery shoppers just blows my mind. I wonder how many other companies do similar things? Ick.
my honest assumption with the role playing disabled people is that they knew the areas they were sending them into were possibly not actually accessible and didn't want to trap actually disabled people in those areas. That said, maybe just don't do that in the first place, lads.
here in calgary canada the gap on the ctrain often catches the wheels of my walker that i use because i need places to sit and cant carry much. i have almost fallen so many times.
I applied to be on there list years ago and have never had any contact from them !
Granted I might be biased due to being both autistic and turned down for mystery shopper jobs.
It just seems off that people without disabilities are being used to play people with disabilities, after all if you're going to hire someone for the role why not hire someone who can provide fully accurate data for the relative demographic being tested for as you're paying someone anyway so its not like it would be cheaper.
I hope this makes sense, English is my second language so if I make confusing words I don't mind adding clarifications in the reply.
Your English is just fine. If you can use terms like "clarification" and "relative demographic" correctly, you've got no need AT ALL to apologise - you probably have a better grasp of the language than a tragically high percentage of native speakers.
@@CharityAngelSpectrum Thank you. I'd been told before that I come across as unusually formal and too technical, when studying poetry or novels and asked what language they used I'd answer "English".
School was kind enough to put me through extra classes on English Language, grammar, punctuation usw. so I didn't do English Literature.
Yoysh Ma Laid for the tragically high percentage, perhaps they are more skilled than I in the Cultural Linguistics of English.
it just make sense doesn't it , and disables people need jobs just like anybody else , perfectly understood english bye the way 🙂thanks for sharing
@@Wheelsnoheels Thank you for understanding. Hopefully one day they will be actually hiring disabled people for this work which by the demographic nature of the job they indeed are most qualified.
I wish all emergency personnel would learn relevant sign language for their country!!! Then also having something like this available would be awesome. We do have a video relay service available in NZ, but it is often very busy and booked out, so if an emergency call comes in, you can't guarantee your call is answered. And the hours are only 8am - 8pm, so you know, time your emergency well??
Honestly, if the resources were available, I don't see why we don't teach Sign to everyone able to learn it. It would make the world so much more accessible to so many people.
But, having been a teacher, it's the resources that are the problem. Teachers don't have the time or energy to learn themselves, and having an interpreter in every classroom just isn't feasible. I wish it was.
But I agree that some professions should learn as a matter of course. And healthcare is right at the top of that list.
Discrimination against people with a disability for a job that requires someone with a disability has got to be a whole new level. In Australia we have an Anti Discrimination law, maybe they need to be taken to court over this idiocy!
Those laws exist in more developed countries. The problem is enforcement. The laws are strict here in Germany but companies would prefer to take the massive fines than hire people with disabilities so it’s still extremely difficult to get a job if you have a disability.
we had the equality act but there's not much weight to it, thx for sharing from down under 🙂
another issue with the fake disabled mystery shoppers is that there are many disability symptoms that need to be considered for a service to be fully accessible that have nothing to do with mobility aids. just a few that I deal with are sensory overload, dizziness or feeling like I might faint if I stand too quickly/too long (while admittedly I would actually benefit from having some sort of portable seating, a lot of the options can be heavy and/or bulky and my city is not the most accessible for walkers or wheelchairs. also, more seating options benefits everyone, so if a company genuinely wants to know how they can be more accessible, how long I could make it without regretting I hadn't brought my own chair would be useful feedback), and chronic pain, but there are many more.
Haha, I just had the most traumatic train experience of my life and that disabled people arent actually being used to test platforms makes a lot of sense to me 😂
The third thumb has me perplexed. If you have control over your feet than this works, but how would a Para or Quad use this? It doesn't sound like that is their demographic targeted though.
I think, as you stated the able bodied secret shoppers just are not an accurate representation of the disability community. I love your example of the gap. That's a big one that an able bodied person doesn't think of.
I'm also obsessed with your outtakes. You are just the cutest my friend!
thx for sharing 🙂
when it comes to those mystery shoppers role-playing us to see what people to do the thing not only is a matter of if they're doing this in public transit where you are from what else are they doing and where you are from but also where else in the world are people having people to pretend to be disabled to do these things on public transit because I'm myself from the American Northeast it could easily be happening here in American Northeast as well so it's not automatic what are the industries is happening and it is also a matter of what other countries is this happening in my leg even though I can only stand stuff for limited amount of time I'm still able to walk my Promises. My eyeballs don't work. I'm legally blind. My eyes are gonna get worse because even though I have some vision left, it's not a lot and I'm gonna end up someday with no vision at all and causes the whole thing not everything is always the best for those of us on the spectrum. Also looking at also hiring people these faces to be blind people and tend to be autistic people and it just having where you are with the trains and public transit is it happening here in America with a public president? Is it happening in other industries either way you are or here America is it happening in these industries in other countries and it just uses people to be any type of person of any sort because this is the same in American East Coast is supposed to northeast I also I'm not able to work at typical 9 to 5. I can barely hold on. Was considered normal part-time job here because of my limitations, love to be able to be paid to see if pieces are accessible to other visually impaired persons or other persons on the spectrum like you would love to ask you to see if things are so around your area for those who happen to be wheelchair users affected the ones whether things are actually accessible to us or not, and get paid to do so not people fakingbecause we actually have and not being actually accurate about it because they don't, therefore back in any industry in any country on any level any form of access for any disability physical and otherwise
thx for sharing
I was a mystery shopper and then I got basically dumped cos they found I had a visible disability and that I didn’t blend or seem a genuine customer….
whoa that is terrible , sorry to here that ❤
I’m interested Gem on an update on the Primark accessible clothing that so many of us were struggling to get hold of
Yeahhhhh. Good idea, let me look into that. 💗
Thanks Gem!
I hope the sign language app has at least a few people who know multiple sign languages. It would be frustrating to have this tech and then not be able to use it because the person doesn't use BSL!
good point, thx for sharing👍
Id love to be a disabled mystery shopper. As i use a mobility scooter when I'm out of the house, I've noticed accessibility issues more now than when I was more mobile
Unless you have disabilities for years and have learned some of the tricks, you may have trouble with some things. When you are a newly disabled person, simple things seem impossible.
🙏🏼🙏🏼
I agree with you, they wouldn’t be able to notice things someone with a disability would. That could cause a hazard for someone. Also why are they having people fake a disability when so many disabled people could fill that job, with all different disabilities too.
i was born with 3 thumbs but my parents were forced to have it removed when i was 1. i wish they hadnt as there is a bump where it was that i keep bumping and it hurts so much
+Wheelsnoheels *"Faking disabled" ought to be a tort.*
I’ve had disabilities my entire life, so does my older sister. My older sister has a neurological disability called RSD in her hands and she has chronic fatigue. I have epilepsy seizure disorder and I have type two diabetes. I have arthritis in my lower back and tendinitis in my heels.
Sometimes if a not disabled person role plays being disabled they can forget that they can’t do things what they are doing.
Don’t know, see the details (like mirror placement, place of the bin, open/close mechanism).
For example:
Holding or pushing the door with their feet by lifting their leg up in the air.
Standing up in the middle of the transfer.
While playing blind traveling while they have seen the road and everything earlier.
Still look while they play that they can’t look.
There are always people who will do the role play as good as they can. Some maybe have close loved ones with disabilities.
But there are also people who role play who only want/need the money, who don’t know what to look for or who say they did the work but didn’t do anything.
Another amazing episode Gem
I think only fails from fakes should be included as footnotes. Like if blind Barbra found that the headphone jack on the ticket machines (I think there’s one) didn’t work or deaf dan found that the hearing loop system was busted maybe while wheels William found that they had to reverse Back down the footbridge as there was not enough room for wheelchairs to comfortably pass
But as I said foot notes to be addressed but not counted towards the disabled requirement
I think the BSL iPads are a great idea but real sign language training for providers is needed. I wish they would do this in the US as I am hearing but nonverbal and have been in that position many times, it is very frustrating and frightening.
yes i do think emergency services and the like should be taught sign language as a part of there training , to be honest i think basic sign language should be taught in schools at least ,thx for sharing 🙂
I was born with arthritis and therefore my thumbs didnt develop correctly so I have trouble Holding and gripping things, and pains because I overstretch my joint to compensate for the lacking lenght of my thumbs. So Im very interested in the third thumb personally
Gem I struggle controlling my fingers and thumb, any more would scramble my brain!👨🏻🦽❤️
I'm Deaf and think the BSL app is a great idea. While I agree with you that it would be great if ambulance crews knew some signs, I don't think it would be practical. They wouldn't have the time to be proficient in it. I do hope the app rolls out nationwide.
I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT AS HUMANS WE NEED AN EXTRA THUMB!!! now my dream can come true!!!
My partner works with Dani who did the 3rd thumb 😊
👍👍👍
I think I'd rather have a 3rd arm than a 3rd thumb, that would be way more useful
ahh well maybe that's the next step👍
Gem, I a m confused. What is MND? I tried to Google it and got no response. Please forgive me - I have MS - but I have never heard of MND. Is this an British acronym like BSL where we here in the states say ASL? Again please forgive my lack of knowledge.
I really enjoy Your videos and really appreciate the information that You give out.
Have a great time till next video, be safe and GOD BLESS.
Linda
its motor neurone disease, the same unfortunately took steven hawkings (edited for typo)
Hi fellow MSer! Are you in the US? You’ll know it as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Yes I am in the United States. Thank You for the information.
thx for all your replies guys 🙂
The 3rd thumb I just don’t get it
The fake disability testing for the trains baffles me that would be like me testing something for someone for a blind person when in not blind
I have very painful thumbs, a robotic one might be useful
❤
The extra thumb has really improved my giving myself a stranger technique
total load of bs
They shouldn't use disabled people
Why?
Here's a hug from me to you.
why?