Hey everyone, you know, sometimes I hear some things that either drive me mad with frustration or I simply cant get them straight in my head and end up pondering them until my brain is sore!
Yesterday, I heard two different stories of companies saying there are unable to offer assistance because of the GDP regulations!! What the actual Fudge?!!
It seems to me, some companies bothered to actually read the regulations and took the time to educate their staff while others, well, others simply couldn't be arsed, or maybe they are considered half arsed!!
Some folks, all with sight impairments go along to a very well known restaurant (now I know I need to use GDP as I am passing on information that isn't mine, and as I wasn't there I cannot say that the information is accurate so I cannot name the company...Principle number 4 (Data Accuracy)) LOL
Its my understanding that GDP is more to do with the way our private information is stored by other companies and assuring that it is not passed on with out our knowledge or agreement. I also understand that the fines for breaching this legislation are MASSIVE!
Anyhoo, These folks were having a get together, had a fairly average meal I would suspect and asked for the bill at the end. Out of this group of people not one of them had the ability to read the bill so asked for assistance but was refused on ….GDPR grounds!!
Again, I say ..What the actual Fudge!! So these BIND people sat around their table for another 45 minutes while they tried to sort out their bill!! It appears they were not asking the member of staff to do anything other than read out the items on the bill as none of them could see the print to read it. My first thought was..why didn't they just split the bill between them and then it wouldn't have mattered, but, I know what it is like when you have budgeted how much you can spend and then you end up paying towards three bottles of wine which you didn't drink any of.
What a bloody disgrace though!
HOWEVERRRRRR. After I worked through my anger and concern about how degrading it must have been for the people sitting around the table, I had a little think...I'm going to put the cat amongst the pigeons now...these companies...some of these companies I should say, have in place policies that prevent their staff from assisting people with these little personal activities like paying your bill or having help to access the ATM machine.
Barclays, have always assisted me with my banking, since they have replaced humans with machines I have real trouble accessing the machines for banking. The business banking counter is still manned by a human but there is always a long queue so I ask for help and they are always more than happy to do so, BUT, If I should go to a supermarket for example and ask if I could have assistance to use either the ATM of the self service machine, would I get the same support?... No probably not, and this is because the law gets murky and people become untrustworthy. If a supermarket could say hand on heart that every single one of their employees would help a blind or disabled person use a cash machine and not risk taking that persons private info, I'm afraid they would be a bit naïve. This works both ways too, if the employer ensures its employees stick to their policies then they are protected from accusations. Its such a crazy world we live in and sadly, even as individuals, we need to think about our actions and what the outcome could be.
Only last week I saw a elderly lady with her grandchildren, one in a pushchair and a little boy about 5 years old. She was carrying a ton of shopping and the little boy has picked up some sweets which hadn't been paid for, she was trying to get him to put them back but he was having none of it. it was turning messy, the little child in the push chair was getting grumpy, the shopping was going all over the floor and the little boy was screaming at his Nana that 'HE WAS GOING TO HAVE THE SWEEITES' the poor woman was in a right pickle...so what do I do? Ignore the situation? Do I offer help? Is this going to backfire on me if I ask the lady if she needs help. Do I slap the kids legs and tell him he is horrible to his Nana? (this would defo get me into trouble so I put this thought onto the back burner) in the end I asked her if I could help in anyway and she thanked me but said she felt the only way to move forward from the situation was to give in and buy him the sweeties...despite my brain screaming NOOOOOOOOOOO DONT DO IT!!! my mouth said, well would you like me to stand with the push chair while you pop back inside with your grandson?
Even though I was incredibly disappointed in this ladies grandparenting skills I was constantly conscious of how quickly the situation could change so although this is not a direct example of how GDP can effect how we work, it is an example of being aware of how to deal with a situation without ending up being accused of suggesting that the little boy needs to learn that if he doesn't do as he is told he is going to spend a lonely afternoon in his bed!
ATM's are a common place for fraud, a few years ago, a relative ended up having his bank account emptied just be being distracted for a second!
Some people carry a 'I cant wait card' which should allow them to use the toilet anywhere, because, they really cannot wait. I'm sure anyone with this card would rather they didn't have to use it, but the reason for this is that these conditions are unpredictable, but some companies say they cannot honour this because they are not insured! Some years ago when I had an infection in my Colon, I found myself in a clothes shop and needing to use the loo desperately, the shop assistant (even though I don't have a card) immediately showed me to the toilet and busied herself in the corridor until I was finished. On the way out I took more notice and realised that I was walking past the staff room where information was pinned up on a notice board (luckily for them I couldn't see it well enough to read it) but more importantly I was sauntering past a ton of brand new stock! Thousands of pounds worth of designer jeans Just hanging around! That has to be one of the reasons companies don't want you rumbling around in their back store.
The thing is technology is fab if you can use it, and if you cant it suddenly puts you in a uncomfortable position.
Lets take buying train tickets. I always use the human in the ticket booth, but occasionally the booth is shut, so then I have a dilemma. Years ago they used to have a little red machine called a permit to travel. You could put as little or as much in as you wanted, a little slip would be printed out and you could get on the train knowing you had brought some kind of a ticket and you also knew you would have to pay the rest of the ticket price at the other end of the journey. I am a little fickle and I always check the price of my tickets so when I used the permit to travel I would put in the correct price of the fare! Am I making sense? Since these red machines have been removed I'm a little stuffed. If I get on a train without a ticket I spend the whole journey sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to be confronted by the ticket inspector, I have the exact fare price clutched in my sweaty hand and I feel like I am a criminal! Then when I get to the other end, I have to explain why I didn't buy a ticket, causing more anxiety. The other option is to ask a stranger to help...here we encounter all sorts of problems, are they really buying the ticket I asked for, even though I know how much my ticket should be, I know that sometimes they seem to charge more. Nine times out of ten, they are card only machines, which is ok if you spend less than £30 and use contactless (assuming contactless actually works) otherwise I need to ask for help to know when to put my pin number in, I also sometimes have trouble getting the card in the reader the right way round. The stranger might be a genuine helpful person, or the person might see an whooping great opportunity to relieve me of my hard earned Wonga.
Anyway, I seem to have gone way off the subject, and I do understand why people would think twice about helping people with their personal stuff, but does any humanity for others come into this at all?
I think this is why I try to think ahead all the time, to avoid situations just like the whole train ticket thing, if I know I need to make a train journey I usually go and buy the ticket a week before, then I know I have it, and part of the stress of doing something on my own is relieved.
Doing stuff on our own is incredibly valuable, I find I am doing things independently less and less these days. Access to work pay for a taxi to and from my work place. Both my girls drive now so I have a personal lift on tap! And they get a little offended if I say I want to do something on my own. I miss my independence desperately, and life is difficult enough without all the complications of things being inaccessible!
All that said, today I brought my train ticket from a human behind the glass for my trip to Woodbridge on Thursday....ON MY OWN!! My youngest daughter is already stressing that I wont be able to manage without her constant herding, defending and protecting from the big wide world. When on earth did our roles swap? I'm the Mum and I'm supposed to do all the worrying and bossing!
I will let you know how I get on regaining a little independence.
Speak Soon xx
