When thinking of ways to use Be My Eyes, most people will say that they use it to find dropped items, match colors of clothing, or read labels or other text. But did you know that blind and low-vision users can also connect to partner companies and organizations through the Specialized Help feature? And that’s exactly how HR and management professional, Adam Craddock, first used and truly understood the value of Be My Eyes.
Adam has always thought about Be My Eyes as a great idea and valuable — but not for himself. “I was raised to be very independent, very self-sufficient. And the irony with that, I have been a very slow adopter of technology through my whole life”, Adam explains. But when Adam was experiencing technical difficulties with his computer, he gave Be My Eyes a try by calling Microsoft through Specialized Help. Adam was sceptical about how the Microsoft agent would look at his computer screen through the phone camera and figure out how to solve the problem — but he was pleasantly surprised of how efficiently the Microsoft agent was able to figure everything out. But solving his problems efficiently in cooperation with the knowledgeable support agents is not the only positive outcome of Adam’s Specialized Help calls. He also enjoyed interacting with the agents on the other end. “It's a lot more than just a pure transaction with these folks. It's actually pleasurable, if it can be, when you're having to pull the teeth on these technology aspects”, he says.
Realizing the potential of Be My Eyes and live visual assistance through your camera feed, Adam understands the limitless possibilities of what else can be done. From watching his son’s lacrosse game, to audio describing movies or plays that don’t already have a description for visually impaired people available. The possibilities are endless, and we have heard stories from other blind and low-vision users who have connected with Be My Eyes volunteers with their own creative queries.
Overall, I just am thoroughly enthusiastic about Be My Eyes as a product and service and humongous thanks and recognition to go out to the many thousands of volunteers globally that support this group.
As an experienced HR professional, Adam sees great potential in implementing Be My Eyes for Work in workplaces to support blind and low-vision employees. “Within an organization there very often is confidential or proprietary information, and you wouldn't necessarily want a third party [...] reading your payroll statements or reading the screen of your human resources information system with things like social security numbers or bank routing numbers”, Adam explains. “Be My Eyes is a product that actually enables [employers] to not discriminate and to actually provide accommodation, which is a compliance requirement”. But it’s not just about being compliant; it’s about ‘doing good by doing good’. A mantra that Adam firmly believes in and the reason why he’s a strong supporter of Be My Eyes. By doing the right thing, businesses can expand their client base resulting in a growth of business - while actively making a difference for their community.
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