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Hello.
So, today, we're going to be talking about being deaf and shopping alone
or my personal experience with being a deaf woman and shopping by myself.
If you want to check out any other deaf awareness videos that I have,
I do have a playlist dedicated to every single one of those videos
so I'll have it linked up here and you can check those out
after you finish watching this video.
So, I am someone who prefers to shop alone
just because then I can go at my own pace.
I don't always like to stand around forever
when somebody else has their eye on something.
Like, if they're just walking around with me
but then they see something and then they want to go
and they want to go look at it and they take forever to look at it.
I don't want to be involved in that,
even though I am that person that does the exact same thing
but you know how it is.
You hate it when other people do the thing that you do.
It's OK when you do it but it's terrible when somebody else does it.
So, I do like shopping alone
because then I can go as fast or as slow as I would like.
I don't feel bad when I take forever to try something on
and, like, just stare at it in the dressing room mirror for a while.
But, at the same time, I hate it
because I've come across some very awkward moments
while shopping by myself
and sometimes I just wish there was someone with me
to kind of prevent that from happening.
Now, I like to think that I have a good idea
of how things are gonna go when I walk into the store.
They're gonna say, "Hello."
They're gonna say, "How are you and are you looking for anything?"
That is what I think they're always going to say
because that seems to be what is always said in the movies
and that's what I have the most experience with
but sometimes it does not work quite that way.
So, I'll walk in and, the second someone looks at me, I'm just like,
"Hi. How are you? I'm just browsing."
I know a lot of people, a lot of retail people, hate it when that happens.
I even do it by accident sometimes.
I think that they're asking me, "Are you looking for anything?"
instead of, "How are you?"
and I actually just say, "Oh, I'm just browsing."
And then they look at me like, "What are you doing?"
And then they'll explain the sales and stuff like that
and I just look at them like, "OK."
And then I walk away awkwardly.
And there are moments when I, like...
For example, I had this happen at Plato's Closet.
I was looking around, I was just trying to find something
and it was kind of crowded.
And I'm just minding my own business, right?
And, as it turns out, there was this girl that was working there
that was following me around the store trying to get my attention
just to ask me how I was and if I was looking for anything.
I don't know how long this was going on but, when I turned around,
because I just kind of felt like there was something behind me or someone.
I just... I turned around and she looked at me
like she was so frustrated and she's like, "Are you looking for anything?"
And I was like, "Oh, no, I'm just browsing. You know?"
She just kind of looks at me like, "Yeah, OK."
And then I walked off.
Now, when I am trying to actually find something,
I've gone on the route of being oral about it
and then eventually it gets to a point
where I'm like, I can't keep doing this because I try to, like, ignore...
I try to, like...
Because I grew up mainstream,
it has always been easier for me to do everything out loud, right?
It has always been...
I have been so used to going up to someone and asking,
"Hey, I need help with this,"
rather than, like, gesturing it or writing it down.
So, I'm just always used to doing it the mainstream way.
And that comes back to bite me in the ass
because then they'll start trying to explain all these things to me
and ask me questions and I'm just like, "What?"
Because then I feel like it's so awkward for me personally
to try to change communication in the middle of it
and be like, "Oh, yeah, sorry I'm deaf, I'm gonna need to write that down,"
because then I feel like almost they don't believe me
because, in the beginning,
I was just like, "Yeah, blah, blah, blah, blah," like a hearing person.
Now I try my best to always just write it down and be like, from the get-go,
like, full-time deaf person for lack of a better way to explain it.
I'll just write down...
Like, for example, I went to Best Buy
because I needed stuff for my computer and I was gonna write down,
"Yeah, I'm looking for a power outlet thing and an extension cord."
And, if somebody came up to me,
I was just gonna show it to them and that would be it.
For the most part now, I also try to and have gotten pretty good at
just dodging salespeople.
This is easier to do at, like, Walmart and Target,
not so easy when it's at places like GameStop, for example,
where the store is significantly smaller or any of those small businesses
like local clothing boutiques or something or comic book stores.
It is much smaller
and typically the front desk is, like, right at the entrance
so I always just end up feeling a little bit awkward,
like, coming in and going and that part of it is not even a deaf thing,
it's just me feeling awkward if I don't actually buy something and walk out.
But I'm sure that there have been salespeople, employees
that look at me like I am a huge jerk
because I'll probably walk in and not know that they're talking to me
and they're probably asking me how I am
and then, if I'm walking out, they're probably like, "Have a good day,"
and then I have no idea that they are talking to me
and I'm just, like, walking right out.
Sometimes, I feel like I might come off as a jerk because I just don't hear them
but they have no idea that I literally cannot hear them.
And we all know that the first thing
that probably usually comes to a hearing employee's mind
when somebody doesn't pay attention
is that they're just being a jerk and ignoring them.
When it comes to checking out, that is awkward as hell for me.
I feel like that is the most awkward thing,
especially when they're, like, pushing, they're trying to ask questions.
Like, they're trying to ask if you have a rewards card
or if you want to sign up for their credit card and sometimes I feel like,
if they're asking a yes or no question, then I'm kinda like, "No..."
But then they look at me like, "What are you talking about?"
I had this happen at Old Navy. I was trying to buy something.
I was trying to buy something and this woman kept talking
and she was just, like, really...
Her voice was very soft. I could not hear a thing at all.
And she was actually getting a little rude about it
in my personal opinion because then I was, like, full-time deaf person, right?
And I was like, "Yeah, I'm deaf. I have no idea what you're saying."
And she would just keep repeating herself and I'm just like...
"I'm deaf."
"What did you say?"
"I don't know what you said."
Like, I was just doing that.
And then, when the...
And then, sometimes, you have those people
that make a little bit of conversation
and I'm just over here doing the bluffing and trying to nod
and then, if they look like they're laughing,
it looks like they're making a joke, I try to, like, do a half laugh with them.
And another example was I was making a return
and I had no idea what this person was asking.
I was like, "I want to make a return."
And then she kept saying something and I was like,
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
And, eventually, I was like, "Yeah, I can't hear you.
"Like, I'm deaf. I can't hear you."
And, eventually, I understood her
because, for the third time, she's like, "Return or exchange?"
And I was like, "Just said return.
"And I told you I can't hear you. What are you doing?"
Like, you couldn't pull out a receipt paper
and write that down because it would've gone a lot faster?"
'Cause she also looked annoyed with me
just like the Old Navy employee looked incredibly annoyed with me
and I'm just like, "I told you I can't hear you.
"It's not like I'm doing this on purpose.
"Like, believe me when I say that I don't understand you."
Those are some of my experiences with shopping alone
and not being able to hear most of what's going on.
If you have any personal experiences, feel free to leave them in the comments.
I'm sure there are some great stories out there.
But, after you make a comment and before you go,
if you haven't, I do have my Patreon link down below
in case you want to support my content and you have not pledged yet.
Or, if you are not interested in being a pledge
but you want to support somehow, I do have a Ko-fi link down below.
It's like a tip jar kind of thing. You know, make a one-time donation.
You don't have to do any of that
but, if you would just like to, I just want to mention that.
I will see you later. Bye.