Welcome to Can You Top This? from Be My Eyes. Each month we share the most unusual and inspiring stories from our community. Volunteer calls, Be My AI sessions, company support, and even calls through Meta AI Glasses. Do you think your story can top the rest? Tune in, get inspired, and discover how you can win amazing prizes.
Welcome to Can You Top This? from Be My Eyes. I'm Danielle. I'm community manager with Be My Eyes. I'm also blind myself. And you are Rob. And where are you from?
I live in Vancouver, actually in a municipality just outside Vancouver called Richmond, British Columbia.
Okay. Okay. Oh, wow. It's early for you then. Thanks for accommodating us at silly hours.
No worries. I'm up early anyhow.
So, can you tell me a little bit about the story that you submitted to Can You Top This?
Well, to start with, I am completely blind. I lost my vision back in 1992 over a very short period, and I have no residual vision whatsoever.
And this whole story began when I was visiting a neighbor in the townhouse complex I live in.
And it didn't really dawn on me at the time, but I noticed that he started a fan in his kitchen with voice control.
And I didn't think much of it until I went home. And the next day I called him and I said, Ken, how did you do that?
And he didn't give me a lot of information, at least nothing that I really understood.
So, I started looking into voice control and how it works with smart speakers and so on and so forth.
And I got hooked. I suddenly thought, you know what? I want to turn my townhouse into as automated a home as I possibly could.
Because, as you probably know, when you have a total sight loss, the more you can do through automation and technology, the easier it makes life for you.
At least that's what I find.
Plus, I am a little bit of a technology geek and I like to explore different technologies that have come available to us and make our lives a little bit easier.
So, I started off with looking into how voice control works with Google Home and with Alexa.
And when I discovered that actually there were smart switches out there, I thought, I want one of these.
So, I phoned an electrician and I asked him, you know, I can go down and I can purchase these smart switches.
How much would it cost me to have you install them?
And I said, if you could come out and give me an estimate, I would appreciate that.
And he said, well, that's not necessary.
He said, these are fairly easy to install.
And he quoted me a per light switch figure.
And I needed, I think in the end, I needed 13 throughout my townhouse.
At least I wanted 13.
And when I added it all up, I thought, oh my gosh, to have the electrician come in here, this is going to cost me over $700.
So, I thought, well, I've got a little bit of a background before I lost my vision in construction.
And I was particularly drawn to the electricians when they came in and were doing work, building houses and things.
And I watched them very closely.
And that's where I got a lot of my knowledge and interest in how home wiring worked.
And I thought, well, this isn't that difficult.
So, I thought to myself, I could probably install these smart switches myself.
The only problem was, with no usable vision, I'm going to end up electrocuting myself.
So, I thought, well, we can turn the power off.
That should be fairly simple.
Well, now what I need is some help identifying which wire is which.
And as most people know, electrical wiring in your home is fairly rigid.
It's not stranded wiring.
So, you can actually bend it and it'll stay in a certain shape or position.
I thought, wait a minute.
I can use Be My Eyes and get a volunteer to help me.
And this is where it became quite interesting because what I did is I would remove the light switch from the utility box in whatever room I was working in.
And I would expose the wires and then I would engage Be My Eyes and I would engage Be My Eyes and I'd get a volunteer on the line.
And I always like to have fun with the volunteers because I really appreciate what they do for us.
So, I would thank them for taking my call.
My first question was, do you know anything about house wiring and electricity?
And as you can well imagine, the standard response that I got is, oh, I'm sorry.
You know, you're my first call or you're my second call, but I'm not going to be able to help you.
And I said, well, hang on.
Hang on.
Don't go away.
Just a minute.
All I need you to do is I've got some wires in front of me.
Can you see these?
And they would say, oh, yes, yes, I can.
And I said, well, all I need you to do is help me identify which is the white wire, which is the black wire, which is red, et cetera, et cetera.
And of course, when they told me which one was which, I could bend it off to the left side or off to the right side, and it would stay in that position until I was ready to put the phone down and do some more work.
I have to tell you, one of the most interesting calls, I think I was working on my second or third light switch, and I got this young lady on the phone.
And I asked her, I said, you know, again, thank you for taking the call.
What do you know about house wiring?
Or a standard answer, I'm sorry, I'm not going to be able to help you.
And I said, well, just a minute.
Just help me with the color of the wires.
And she said, I'm so sorry, I can't.
I'm colorblind.
And I thought, oh, my gosh, this isn't going to work.
So I thanked her very much.
And I said, OK, I'll move on.
And so the next call I got, and this one was kind of funny as well.
I get this young lady on the phone from Edmonton, Alberta.
And we're chatting away as I'm working on what I'm doing.
And we finished up the call quite successfully and identified the wires as I needed them.
And I said to her, by the way, I said, I've got a cousin that lives in Edmonton.
I said, I think your main newspaper there is the Edmonton Journal, is it not?
And she said, yeah, that's correct.
And I said, OK, well, if the headlines in tomorrow's paper say, blind man burns townhouse to the ground, it's not your fault.
Don't worry about it.
So anyhow, I managed to install all 13 of these smart switches successfully, I might add, without electrocuting myself.
And much of that is to the credit of the volunteers and the technology behind Be My Eyes.
I could not have done it without.
So that's my story.
I went on to install some additional voice control devices to my television, to my ceiling fans.
What else did I do?
An air purifier.
The one I did have difficulty with was my Nest thermostat.
Yes.
That one was difficult.
Yeah, yeah.
But short of that, everything else worked very well.
And again, I say that was all credit to the volunteers and the technology behind Be My Eyes.
That's really cool.
There are a few things that I heard in there that were really interesting to me.
So one, when you figured out the color of the wire, you just put it into a certain position, right?
Like the first, you knew that the first color was on the left, then you'd have one in the middle, then one on the right, for example.
Like you're just going to bend them out of place, yeah?
Yeah, I did it sort of like the clock.
So I put the white wire over to nine o'clock, the black over to three o'clock.
So they were separated quite a distance in between the two.
If there was a third wire, a red one, it would go to 12 o'clock.
Nice.
You know, just use the clock face.
That's really cool.
My husband has done similarly big things with setting up anything.
Well, he set up a bunch of things with wires.
He's done all kinds of drilling and all that are ridiculous things around the house.
And I've been afraid many times that he's going to blow up our bathroom and not in the way that an air freshener can take care of.
A lot of people are, you know, a lot of people are scared to work around electricity.
But, you know, it's pretty basic, to be honest with you.
But I guess I just I'm drawn to work and I enjoy working with that.
So that's what I say about using using LLMs to make code to make images, too.
But then the response that I get in return is, what?
Which is the response I also have to people when they say that electricity is easy.
I'm like, you could have that all by yourself.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So did you?
Oh, sorry.
Go ahead.
Oh, sorry.
I was just wondering.
So I'm assuming that you used your glasses for this.
Do you have a pair of meta ray bands?
I do.
I used when I was doing the light switches, I was using my iPhone because I didn't have I didn't have the smart glasses at the time.
I picked up my smart glasses about six months ago and I'm just having a wonderful time with them.
I'm having some difficulties with them because I do use them when I'm using other apps as well.
But for the most part, they work very, very well.
And what I really like about it is all of a sudden now you're hands free, so to speak.
Yeah.
I remember being told a long time ago when I was doing volunteer work for CNIB, the president of CNIB looked at me one day and he said, Rob, you're never totally blind until both your hands are full.
And I was newly blinded at the time and I didn't quite understand what he meant until one day I'm carrying a box upstairs and I suddenly thought, oh, I see what he means.
You really need that extra hand to, you know, to navigate.
Truly.
Yeah.
And with a cane or a guide dog, that's one hand gone, isn't it?
So if your other hand's booked up, then well.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, I've used both and you're absolutely right.
Yeah.
Guide dog or cane doesn't matter.
No, exactly.
So I found it really interesting.
And obviously this is kind of a thing that we're used to, right, as blind folks who might have a bunch of different tech at our disposal.
But I thought it was really interesting that you kind of, you kind of learned, okay, like, I can't just, because obviously you knew that the people you were calling weren't going to necessarily be the experts in wiring things for a house or in anything, looking at a circuit box or anything like that.
They just wouldn't know, probably.
And you knew that.
And so you kind of, I kind of want to highlight it both for folks who are new to blindness, who get a lot of listening to our podcasts or our story story, and folks who just are sighted, who are listening, who know blind folks.
That it's really interesting, isn't it, that we kind of build this skill of knowing what question to ask which resource, right?
Like, we kind of learned, oh, maybe we just ask about the colors, because honestly, they don't really know about house wiring, but they can tell me what the white and black wires are.
And that's easy enough.
Yeah, until that one gal I met was colorblind, but that's okay.
That's amazing.
It just made me think, like, oh, man, she could call Be My Eyes and use Be My Eyes for colors.
Yeah, that one stopped me in my tracks, I have to be honest with you.
I wasn't quite sure what to do there.
But one thing I've learned in all the time that I've, you know, I lost my sight is, you know, to be extremely positive.
And when you interact with the public, you know, try to develop a rapport with the volunteers when I call them.
And I always try to put them at ease, not that they're, you know, anxious or tense for any reason.
But you know what, if we work together, we're going to be able to accomplish what it is I need here.
And very often, for example, I may call somebody to help me.
You know, I just moved into a new condo about six or eight months ago.
And I still cannot figure out this dryer.
And I can use it, but it's challenging.
So again, with Be My Eyes, I'll get a volunteer on the phone.
And it's fun with the mails, because I'll ask them, you guys know anything about laundry?
And no, no, my wife always says that.
I said, well, hang on, just a minute, just a minute.
All I need you to do is help me turn the dryer on here.
I mean, all we have to do is find the start button.
And so we're successful in doing that.
And I'll usually finish the call by saying, now listen, do me a favor.
When my wife gets home tonight, and I tell her I did the laundry all by myself, it'll be our secret, right?
You won't tell her?
And oh, yeah, no, no, it's our secret.
And then it can be their secret that they started laundry by proxy for the first time in 10 years.
Exactly.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, I've really learned through this electrical experience that the volunteers on Be My Eyes are so willing to help you.
Some of them, it's a lot of fun when you get somebody on the phone and it's their first call.
Because, you know, they have told me, oh, the phone rang before, but I didn't get to it in time.
Somebody else picked it up.
But you're my first call.
And what I try to do is put a really positive image forward and create some awareness that people who are blind or have low vision, we are very capable of doing a lot of things.
We just need a little bit of extra assistance now and then.
And I want to leave them with a really positive experience and image of people who are living with sight loss.
Because, you know, over my last, the past 30 years, I've done a lot of advocacy work for people in the Vancouver and British Columbia area.
And it's been very interesting.
And it's been very interesting, the reaction when you're talking to decision makers about how something needs to be changed to make it more accessible.
You know, the reaction in some cases, I remember when I was advocating, for example, to get descriptive narration into the movie theaters.
And I remember the first reaction when I phoned, it was back then, it was Famous Players Theaters that ran most of the big theater outlets in Canada.
And they said, well, people who are blind don't go to the movies, do they?
And I said, well, we do, but it's difficult because there's no descriptive narration.
And it just went from there.
We, you know, we got into some discussions and eventually we were successful in getting the equipment installed so that movies with descriptive narration could be played.
But it's really interesting, the perception that a lot of people in the sighted society have of people who are blind or have low vision.
And that's why when I get somebody on the phone with Be My Eyes, it's nice because they're there because they want to be there.
They've volunteered, signed up to be a help to people who are blind or have low vision.
But in many cases, I really enjoy the ones where I'm their first call or their second call because they're so excited to help you.
It's great. I love it.
Absolutely.
And I feel like one of my favorite things about Be My Eyes, and you really encapsulate it well when you were saying it, was that I just, I love that in the world that's becoming more and more isolated, that there are still ways to connect to strangers and just have little moments of humanity where folks are just excited to help out because they're excited to help out.
And I think even if it's like, because it kind of teaches folks who maybe haven't had to ask for too much assistance with anything, that we do live in an interdependent society, don't we?
Like everybody can get help, right?
Like those dudes learned from you how to start the dryer.
They probably didn't even look at it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, you know, I always try to finish the call by telling people where I'm calling from.
Because if I give you that information first, you're maybe going to answer my next question.
And I always ask the volunteer, do you mind if I ask where you're located?
And in most cases, people will tell me that they're in Toronto or they're in Ottawa or wherever.
I was speaking to this one gal about three weeks ago, and I was really having a difficulty with a PDF document.
And my camera lens was a little blurred at the time, and we didn't have a great connection.
I don't think that was anything to do with Be My Eyes or anything.
It was just I realized afterwards my camera lens wasn't all that clear.
Anyhow, she was so helpful.
And I said, well, listen, I've kept you long enough, and it's a dinner hour.
And she said, no, no, no, I'm happy to help you.
She said, listen, if you want to call me, I'll give you my number.
And I thought, oh, gee, no, I don't need to do that.
And she said, no, she says, I have a disability myself.
It's not sight loss, but I understand how helpful it is to have somebody available to help you.
And she says, I've really enjoyed working with you, and I'm sorry we haven't been able to get this particular problem solved for you.
But if you want to call me later on, I'll be happy to help you.
And I thought, oh, my goodness, that was nice.
On the other hand, I got this young lady on the phone one day, and I said, well, I'm calling from Vancouver.
I said, do you mind me asking where you are?
And I could hear the nervousness in her voice, and I completely understand.
I don't blame her.
She just said, well, I'm in Canada.
Oh, Western Canada, Eastern Canada?
She didn't want to go any further.
And I get it.
I totally get it.
It's really important that the volunteers understand we have no idea where you are.
Absolutely none.
And it was only to make conversation, you know, and to thank the individual for helping me and that sort of thing.
But I always like to ask where the volunteers are and, you know, strike up a bit of a conversation with them.
Absolutely, because, like, I mean, we get one piece of negative feedback at Be My Eyes.
It's pretty much the only one we get ever.
And it goes exactly like this.
I've had my Be My Eyes account for about four years, and I haven't been able to answer a single call.
Can I please have more calls?
Well, when you look at the ratio, if I understand correctly, it's about 10 to 1.
Correct.
But, you know, there are times when I want to pull out Be My Eyes and call somebody, but I just have such a quick question.
And I've talked to friends of mine who are sighted and have put the Be My Eyes app on their phone because they know me.
And they said, wouldn't that be something, Rob, if one day you call and we connect through Be My Eyes?
And I said, well, the chances of that are probably pretty slim unless I put you in my, you know, my preferred caller's list.
But I have had a number of people say just that very thing is, yeah, I've had it on my app for a long time and around my phone for a long time.
And I've only received one call in three years or whatever.
But, you know, the volunteers, they're there because they want to help you.
And even if it's just a very quick question, they're happy to help you.
That's what I have found.
I think this Be My Eyes app is just an absolute godsend to the blind community.
It's wonderful.
It's really something that I've had to get used to as well, knowing that I can just call somebody for, even if it's just for 10 or 15 seconds, that they won't mind that it's that short, that they won't mind having had picked up the phone for just nothing.
But I know, like, even in hearing you say it, I go, man, I really should have called earlier when I had a quick question that I figured out myself easily enough, but, like, could have called Be My Eyes for and could have connected outside of myself for.
So it's really interesting that you say that because it's something that makes me think, like, man, how many of us just decide that we're not going to bother someone, even though we know that they want to be there?
Or how many of us just go, eh, it's only 10 seconds, they're not going to, whatever, whatever the thing is that we tell ourselves.
So it's really interesting to me.
I find that a little bit of a challenge myself, so it's cool to hear you say it.
Well, and we have to remind ourselves, too, they have Be My Eyes on their phone because they want to help.
They want to receive a phone call.
And I have yet to connect with somebody who said, you know, I wish you didn't call me.
Yeah.
Same.
That's just never going to happen.
And it's so nice when somebody phones and they are so cheery to answer your phone because they're pleased to get a call.
And how often does that happen anymore, where you make a call and someone's actually excited to hear from you who you don't know?
Yeah.
Well, exactly.
And that's why I always try and turn it into more than a, I need your help for 15 seconds here.
I like to have a little bit of a conversation.
Where are you located?
If I know something about their location.
And, you know, maybe you only needed 15 seconds of help, but you end up having a five or six minute telephone conversation.
And sometimes you hang up and you say, geez, I kind of wish I could get to know that person a little bit better or whatever.
But like I say, that one very, very unique call about three weeks ago from that young gal who had a disability was just amazing.
And that's rare.
And I'm not necessarily suggesting to the volunteers you do that.
This was just a unique circumstance where one person with a physical disability was just so grateful to help somebody with a sensory disability.
And we chatted a bit about her disability as well and mine and went from there.
So, you know, hearing you talk, it makes me think like sometimes as we get more and more isolated and we can work at home and get stuff delivered to our houses and all these things.
Sometimes it's like, especially in the winter, right?
Like you kind of have to kind of make yourself go outside and get some sunlight, just get out of the house.
I feel like this is the social way of doing that, that maybe you haven't talked to anyone you don't know in a long time because you haven't had to.
But maybe you should.
Maybe you should call somebody and have a little discomfort exercise for a few minutes because it will actually be really nice.
You know, it's just so you would say that.
I've never, ever done this, but I wondered if I picked up the phone one day and called Be My Eyes, get a volunteer on the phone and said, you know what?
I'm just sitting here by myself and I just want to take a few minutes and reach out and meet somebody new in a different part of the world, the country, whatever.
And here's my story.
My name's Rob and I lost my vision and yada, yada.
And, you know, go down the list and just share a little bit about myself and just maybe have a social interaction with one of the volunteers.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I don't know if anybody's done that or.
Oh, I'm sure they have.
Yeah.
And if they don't, we should.
Because.
Yeah.
That's.
I don't know.
It's just nice.
And God, if you really want to make it a technical call, just go get a bag of chips or something.
Figure out what flavor is.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Well, it's been really, really lovely speaking with you.
And your story is really interesting and even challenged me.
And I'm sure we'll challenge some others in thinking about how maybe we can use it, be my eyes, the call part of it more to connect more with people.
Well, it worked for me because I had a basic knowledge of what it was I wanted to.
I just didn't have the, you know, the century ability to identify the color of those wires.
And with a little bit of help from the volunteer, we managed to get it done very successfully.
Thanks for listening to Can You Top This from Be My Eyes?
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