[Blindtlk] letter from a blind Comcast customer; feedback wanted
Alan Wheeler
awheeler at neb.rr.com
Thu Feb 14 14:16:01 CST 2008
Here here! I agree. To me, directory assistance *IS* my phone book.
Alan D Wheeler
<awheeler at neb.rr.com>
Messenger: awheeler1965 at sbcglobal.net
Skype: redwheel1
http://alan-wheeler.blogspot.com/
http://reporter-guy.livejournal.com/
-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Graves, Diane
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 10:39 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] letter from a blind Comcast customer; feedback
wanted
Hi Mike And All,
I admit that I don't have comcast, so I haven't been following this thread
real closely, and I don't even know what the origin of the "paying for
services we don't use" track was about for sure.
But I did have to chime in on the Directory Assistance thing. A sighted
individual receives a complimentary and accessible printed telephone
directory. Oh, I'm sure that maybe those are funded by moneys which are
collected from all telephone subscribers for bill payments and so forth.
But the fact is, this is a service which is provided to them.
Having to pay extra for a service that the sighted do not have to pay extra
for because they have their yellow and/or white pages, does not afford us
equal treatment. I see no reason why we should have to pay extra either.
Diane Graves
Civil Rights Specialist
Indiana Civil Rights Commission
Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
317-232-2647
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."--Winston Churchill
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-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:18 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] letter from a blind Comcast customer; feedback
wanted
Now waaait a minute here. We are often charged for services we don't use
simply as part of living in the world as it is. I don't use libraries but I
pay taxes to support them, for example. If we start down that reasoning
road, it won't be long before we are, in truth, second-class citizens and it
will have been our own fault in that we will have signed
the second-class proclamations.
But then I was in the minority even within NFB in that I do not object to
paying Directory Assistance charges; it's part of the nuisance of blindness!
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: Milissa Garside
To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 8:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] letter from a blind Comcast customer; feedback
wanted
Hi Ray,
I really like your letter. I just may write one myself. I to think it
unacceptable that I have to pay for on demand TV when I can't use it.
I have
asked Comcast for discounts on my Comcast bill because I am not able to
use
the on demand features or the recording features on my cable box and the
answer is always a resounding "no." Not to mention, Comcast's horrible
customer service here in Massachusetts. I have seriously considered going
to
verizon for the customer service issue alone.
Milissa
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
matter."
Martin Luther King Jr.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Foret jr" <rforetjr at comcast.net>
To: "BlintTalk" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; "Electronics Talk"
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>; "NFB Talk" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:46 AM
Subject: [Blindtlk] letter from a blind Comcast customer; feedback wanted
> Hi,
>
> I would like y'all's input on the following which is a draft of the
letter
> I'm intending to send to Rick Germano, the Vice President of Customer
> service at Comcast.
>
>
> Dear Mr. Germano:
>
> I have been a customer of Comcast ever since January
24th,
> 2008.
> I am a totally blind customer. I use a screen reader to access my
> computer.
>
> For the most part, I have very much enjoyed your service. The courteous
> attitude of nearly all of your customer service representatives speaks
> well
> of their love of working for Comcast and of their strong commitment to
try
> to help their customers as much as it is in their power to do so.
And
> yet,
> Mr. Germano, I do have some serious problems with certain aspects of
the
> service which Comcast provides to its customers; and, particularly, the
> lack
> of knowledge of the special accommodations which are sometimes needed by
> blind customers. This is the case regarding especially two key areas of
> service; the totally inaccessible barrier put up by the use of the
visual
> captcha found when a customer signs up for the online bill payment
service
> and for Fancast, and the other is the lack of a convenient way to access
> the
> menu structure of the cable set top boxes and DVR units you provide.
>
> Let me give you specific examples of exactly what I mean.
I
> went to:
>
> www.comcast.com
>
> to try to set up my online bill payment account. I was able to fill
out
> the
> form for the most part, until I got to the bottom of the form. At the
> point
> in the form just before the "submit" button, there was the instruction,
> "please type in the numbers you see in the image.". It is not possible
> for
> screen reader programs such as the one I use to access and read the
> numbers
> or special characters indicated; moreover, neither was there an audio
> alternative which I could have used. I called and requested a special
pin
> to try to resolve this issue. I got the pin in the mail but it didn't
> work.
> I then called customer service. The lady who answered the phone was
very
> nice and she too tried to fill out the form using the information I'd
> given
> her; but, she couldn't make it work either. Upon consulting her
> supervisor,
> she was informed (and she thus informed me) that customer service
> representatives are NOT supposed to fill out those web forms because
it
> opens up liability issues which could potentially compromise security.
I
> then asked about paying my bill via telephone. I was informed there
is a
> $4.00 (Four dollar) charge for this service. Mr. Germano, this is
> unacceptable! This practice and policy on the part of Comcast
> eeffectively
> shuts out the blind customer from being able to independently pay bills
> and
> otherwise transact business with your company!!! Why should the blind
> customer be charged a fee and thus be penalized merely due to blindness
> and
> inexcusable oversight on the part of Comcast policy makers who most
likely
> haven't taken us blind customers in to account? It is not just this
> matter
> which I wish to communicate to you. There is another.
>
> I have the Hi Definition DVR. When I first got it, I was
> unable
> to get any customer service representative to assist me with the
> properoperation of the DVR. To his credit, the representative scheduled
> an
> installer to come to my home for the purpose of helping me learn the
menu
> structure of the box. This memorize and press routine is, however,
very
> much a hit and miss solution. IF a wrong key is pressed, how does a
blind
> customer know where he is and thus how to navigate to where he needs
to be
> to find the menu item in which he is interested? For a second time,
I
> needed help. For a second time, I was offered the solution of an
> installer
> to come to my home to help. Mr. Germano, I do not think it is an
> acceptable
> solution that an installer should have to come to the home of a
blind
> customer to get him or her out of a jam with a cable box menu
structure;
> especially when he may have much more important calls to make;
whether
> they
> are installation or trouble shooting calls.
>
> Finally, Mr. Germano, I asked for my Comcast bill to be
sent to
> me in Braille. The customer service representative indicated that
he
> didn't
> even know if this was possible or not. He told me this after I
waited
> nearly two hours on the phone. I am informed this is in fact
possible.
>
> Mr. Germano, I would like to remind you, or make you aware in case
you
> hadn't
> heard, that the National Federation of the blind:
>
> www.nfb.org
>
> passed two resolutions at our 2007 national convention which deal
very
> directly with the issues I have raised. If you have any questions,
please
> feel free to contact me at my home number:
>
> (985)360-3375
>
> or my e-mail:
>
> rforetjr at comcast.net
>
> or Dr. Maurer, President of the National federation of the blind:
>
> (410)659-9314
>
> or by e-mail:
>
> officeofthepresident at nfb.org
>
> Here are the text of the relrelevant resolutions we passed regarding
the
> issues I raised:
>
> RESOLUTION 2007-07
>
> Regarding Elimination of Barriers Created by Online Security
Measures
>
> WHEREAS, an ever-increasing number of financial transactions are
taking
> place online, including bill paying, stock trading, account
management,
> and
> the
>
> purchase of almost every imaginable kind of merchandise; and
>
> WHEREAS, the vast sums of money now moving over the Internet tempt
the
> unscrupulous to develop schemes and scams to steal this money as
Internet
> users are
>
> painfully aware from the all too familiar emails pretending to be
from
> various banks and institutions, which are not actually sent by them;
and
>
> WHEREAS, online merchants, financial institutions, and others
recognize
> the
> growth potential of the Web, but also realize that this growth will
be
> thwarted
>
> if individuals are concerned about the security of their
transactions; and
>
> WHEREAS, for security reasons banks are rapidly adopting systems
using the
> method known as "visual CAPTCHA" because so far it cannot be
circumvented
> by
>
> computerized means, but requires a human to enter numbers displayed
on a
> screen; and
>
> WHEREAS, visual CAPTCHA is impossible for blind people to use, and
online
> entities are developing yet other systems, also impossible for blind
> people
> to
>
> use, such as credit and debit cards whose security numbers change
visibly
> in
> accordance with a particular pattern; and
>
> WHEREAS, all these security systems to eliminate fraud may also
eliminate
> blind people from engaging in financial transactions online; and
>
> WHEREAS, security systems that prevent fraud and do not prevent
blind
> users
> are achievable and should be mandated by our country's laws
requiring
> access
>
> for the disabled: Now, therefore,
>
> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
> assembled this sixth day of July, 2007, in the city of Atlanta,
Georgia,
> that this
>
> organization call upon online merchants to find solutions that
enhance
> security but do not block the access of blind users to these
extremely
> important
>
> online services; and
>
> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization seek congressional or
> regulatory solutions to this access barrier if online merchants
choose to
> protect security
>
> only by closing out blind Americans.
>
> RESOLUTION 2007-16
>
> Regarding the Inaccessibility of Digital Cable Services
>
> WHEREAS, cable television companies such as Comcast, Time Warner,
> Mediacom,
> and others are offering a growing number of digitally based and
> interactive
>
> services through their networks such as video on demand; digital
video
> recording and playback; and on-screen, interactive program guides;
and
>
> WHEREAS, none of these services can be used without the ability
visually
> to
> read menus and prompts that are displayed on the television screen,
thus
> rendering
>
> them inaccessible to the blind; and
>
> WHEREAS, given that technologies now exist to make computers, cell
phones,
> and other electronic devices fully accessible to the blind, and
given that
> synthesized
>
> speech is now available for hand-held devices, this regrettable lack
of
> nonvisual access is difficult to understand, let alone accept; and
>
> WHEREAS, blind cable customers pay as much as everybody else for the
cable
> services they receive, even though some of these services are not
fully
> available
>
> to them: Now, therefore,
>
> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
> assembled this sixth day of July, 2007, in the city of Atlanta,
Georgia,
> that this
>
> organization call upon cable companies such as Comcast, Time Warner,
> Mediacom, and others to take immediate steps to remove the nonvisual
> access
> barriers
>
> they have created for their blind customers through the adoption of
> digitally based, interactive services; and
>
> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge these same
companies to
> work with the blind themselves, through the National Federation of
the
> Blind,
>
> to design, develop, and implement specific solutions that will allow
their
> blind customers to use the same digitally based, interactive
services as
> their
>
> sighted peers.
>
> Mr. Germano, I strongly urge you to take my letter with the utmost
> seriousness and to work with me and your other blind customers and
the NFB
> to find resolutions to these issues. Thank you very much.
>
> That is the end of the letter. Thoughts?
>
> Note, my e-mail signature will not appear in the text of the letter.
>
>
> Sincerely yours,
> The Constantly Barefooted,
> Ray
> Home phone and fax:
> (985)360-3375
> E-mail:
> rforetjratcomcastdotnet
> Skype Name:
> barefootedray
>
> God bless President George W. Bush!
> God bless our troops!
> and God bless America
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindtlk mailing list
> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk
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