How to Tell in 60 Seconds Whether a Company Values Disabled Customers

You can tell in 60 seconds how much a company values disabled customers.

Let me show you. We'll do this by checking its app.

We'll use iOS and its built-in accessibility feature called Voice Control.

Voice Control lets anyone use their iPhone hands-free, by speaking commands. It's often used by disabled people who can't (easily) use a touch screen.

The steps to check an app are simple.

1. On an iPhone, open the app you want to check.
2. Tell Siri "Turn on Voice Control." Siri will turn on this accessibility feature,
3. Say "Show names." Voice Control will visually show the names of interactive things (which we call controls) in the app.
4. Notice whether embarrassing internal-only names appear. Notice if things you can tap don't have a name associated with them.
5. Optionally, check other screens within the app.

Let's look at an example: the Home Depot app.

This screenshot from the Home Depot app shows several controls with internal names that the app developers clearly didn't intend for users to see:

• The back button is named Arrow back white. This should be simply Back.
• Several search controls have internal names: THD Search Icon, THD Mic Icon, and THD Barcode Icon. These names should instead be based on what the control does, e.g. Search, Voice Search, and Scan Barcode.

This type of issue is confusing to users because it makes the function of controls unclear.

It's also frustrating, because Voice Control users may need to speak the full internal name of the control -- for example, "Tap THD Mic Icon" -- to activate it.

The app also has controls without any names:

• Washers and Dryers
• Dishwashers
• Washing Machines
• Top Load Washers
• etc.

These are controls that navigate to particular categories of appliances.

Because they don't have names, Voice Control users can't easily use them. (There are still hard ways to use them with Voice Control, but those ways are frustrating).

These issues are all easy to both find and fix.

When a company hasn't fixed them, it tells you a lot about how much they value customers with disabilities.

How does your company's app fare in this test?

P.S.: When you're finished testing, you can tell Siri "Turn off Voice Control' to stop your phone from listening for commands.

Disclaimer: all information above is opinion. Issues mentioned are based on testing the app at the time this article was published.