Mystery shoppers FAKE disability #DisabilityNews

Hello. I hope you are good today. What do you think of these stories?

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

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'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.

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.

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?

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".

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...

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 👍

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❤😊

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Lovely Gem thanks for disability news. Love the bloopers! 😅xx

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.

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!