Five-Star Disability

Recently I did an article about Greg, DeafBlind with two kids and a wife and how he went shopping without an intervenor.  Now I will explain the how an intervenor can help improve the experience!

In the original article, I forgot a very important point: Being DeafBlind, Greg needed to use transit to  get to the store.  Which could add 15 to 30 minutes to trip; walking to bus stop, waiting for bus, on board, getting off at stop then walking to the store.  And reverse coming home.

So, with an intervenor -Raise your right hand if you know what an intervenor does, Excellent!- the whole shopping trip could take 30 minutes.

Most intervenors have vehicles for clients to use, through not drive!

Today’s intervenor is Marsha, who picks up Greg in her snazzy Ford Focus.

After a minute of greetings, Greg tells Marsha he needs to go food shopping.

She asks which store, and he replies.  She pulls out and drives to that particular store.  After parking, they walk to the store.

Marsha asks: “Do you want a shopping carts?”

“Yes!  Easier on my back.”  He pulls one out then, as a joke, he mimes putting her in the cart, like he used to do with both of his kids!  They have a good chuckle!

First on the list, which Greg is holding, is Fruits and Veggies.

Bananas, She leads him there, tells him the price and lets him pick them out.  She spots one on the bottom was black from bruising and lets him know.  Thank you!  He picks up different bunch and puts them in cart.  Price is 69 cents a pound for a total of… who cares!

Oranges; Marsha informs Greg there are several different kinds of oranges available: tangerines, navels, seedless, those awful tiny ones, she also tells him the  various prices.  She also informs him there is pre-bagged and pick-your-own.  He picks a bag of 10 seedless navels.  This price was $5.99.

Next, the dreaded bagged salad. Marsha informs Greg there is an army of salads, of a many varieties. Could he be specific?  Greg remembers the wife mentioning spinich a few times.  Great, there is a good deal for Baby Spinich salad, $1 off with coupon.  Excellent, thank you for spotting that.  She points out that is row for Baby Spinich, Greg picks one.  She says, it expires in three days.  She spots another that expires in 7 days.  Perfect, I’ll take that one!   Price was $5.99 minus a buck, for total of 5 bucks.

Cucumbers, again, she informs Greg of two different varieties and two different prices, plus selling single or in packages of 3. She informs him that cucumbers inside the packages do not look all that fresh.  Comparing prices, he grabs two cukes.  Cost is, 2 bucks each compared to 6 for three.  Same difference.

While Greg is still List-Master, Marsha spots Bread on the list and informs him that she saw bread listed, and points out that the bakery is at the end of the Veg area.  Alright!  Thank you, Lets  go there.

Now as you know there is a huge array of bread of all sorts available, I won’t bore you with part, as you can see so far that Marsha will inform Greg of price and visual quality.  He picks two loaves of brown bread at $2 each.

Lunch meat is next, Marsha leads him to that area, lets him know what is there, and prices. She spots a 50% off sticker on a few, and informs Greg. He takes one and she tells him it is Ham and it will expire in 2 days.  He decides to get that.  Price before reduction is $5.49.  With 50% off comes to… oh you do the math!

Okay, now tricky stuff, next on list is very specific gluten free rice crackers.  Greg informs Marsha he needs crackers.  So with Marsha, this is quite simple to find: we walk along the end of the aisles, while she reads the “Aisle Contains” markers at the ends of each. She spots Crackers in aisle 4.  When arrive in that area, he informs her the name of these darn crackers, and she looks, spotting them quickly.  She, again, informs him of variety -there is two brands, one generic and one national- favours, and prices. He picks the national brand at 4 bucks.

Again, Marsha spied the Soup on the list and informed Greg the soup is in previous aisle, we should go there first before getting the sour cream.  Okay he says.  She informs him of the phalanx of soups available, specifics?  Yes, he said, low sodium children noodle soup.  She bursts out laughing!  Haha!  Naturally, he quickly adds, I mean low sodium CHICKEN noodle soup!  Oh you funny man, she says as she points out Campbells and generic as well as their prices.  He picks two generic cans for $1.19 each.

As we recover from that moment of silliness, we start the hunt for Lactose free sour cream is just as simple as above. Marsha finds the area, and directs Greg to different kinds, sizes, and prices. He picks on and asks when expire, she says June 12, 2018. Cost is 4.50.

Finally, all things are checked off the list.  Greg grabs a chocolate bar, “My wage” he says to Marsha.  She, in turn, states: “I am a bit hungry myself, my next client is right after you, do you mind if I grab this container of potato salad?  I grabbed it on our way by the lunch meat.”  Greg, “Oh sure, not a problem!”

(I’ll tell you about an early intervenor episode where the intervenor did more than just buy one thing.)

At the till, Marsha goes first, then Greg. She informs him of all prices rolling up on the screen.  And the total comes to about 25 bucks!

They drive home, and Greg thanks Marsha.

At home, the wife unpacks the bag, thanks Greg for shopping, then mentions everything is excellent!  “Are you planning to make a dozen sandwiches? That ham is going to expire in two days!” Oh relax!

Greg can be found happily munching on his Oh Henry while watching the Vancouver Canucks annihilate the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 7-1!.  His mood remains happy!

Now, did you notice a few things?

• Marsha gave info on prices, variety, expiry dates, generic and national brands.  She also found a few coupons.
• Marsha provided visual information on the quality of the produce.
• Greg did not need to crawl around on the dirty floor looking for items.
• Greg is still not a Toronto Maple Leaf fan.
• The total amount of time shopping, including to and from, about 40 minutes.

Now, my question to you, my faithful reader: Which is better for a DeafBlind shopper?  With or without intervenors?  Which is better?

If you picked, I really hope you did, With Intervenors, then you got it right!

Now, help me get Intervenors for Vancouver!

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