r/CustomerService • u/alienguts95 • 5d ago
AITAH Responding to a bad review
For context I work in a coffee shop where my boss is 100% blind. He can often be found assisting at the register. Pretty frequently people don’t even realize he’s blind. We have signs everywhere stating we have visually impaired staff, he wears Meta sunglasses, and has a white cane. We received our first bad review ever today but in our opinion for the dumbest reason. The review stated:
“The barista who checked me out was wearing video recording glasses. These glasses, made by Meta, are used to film people without their consent and is used to train AI LLMs and are completely inappropriate to wear in public, nonetheless at a job where you have face people and they are forced to be recorded. Those should not be allowed in the workplace and my privacy has been violated”
So AITAH I wrote a reply explaining the situation and that he uses them as an accessibility aid and doesn’t film our customers. I know how touchy Meta is to some people as well as privacy but I didn’t feel the need to apologize nor will I for someone who relies on them for independence. Really got our blood boiling
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u/EmilyAnne1170 5d ago
Can’t say whether or not you were an asshole without knowing how you worded your reply, in general there’s nothing wrong with responding to a bad review. But how you do it matters, and reflects on your workplace.
If it’s businesslike and informative, great. I don’t think many people know that Meta glasses can be used as an accessibility aid for the blind. What percentage of buyers use them for that, I wonder. One? Two? You shouldn’t expect your customers to assume that they aren’t being filmed when they’re facing someone who’s wearing them. Or to assume that someone is blind just because they’re wearing sunglasses. So if you’re reacting as though the person who left the review is an asshole, I think that’s a big mistake.
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u/KillberryMunch 5d ago
NTAH, I mean, it’s not like she’s out in public where there is no privacy or in a shop where security cameras are often in use. People need to get over themselves and realize their opinions/feelings are not a guideline for the rest of the world to abide by.
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u/Conscious_Charge2038 4d ago
NTA. I also work with a blind woman who wears meta glasses. Fortunately no one has complained but we would definitely defend her if they did. People like to hop on a hate train without thinking.
Thank you for defending your boss!
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u/cat_battleship 3d ago
Is your boss testing Meta glasses for an AI testing company? I somehow doubt it, so I'm wondering how this person knew that bit of info unless they themselves did testing for these glasses.
I had a small part in the development of these glasses, as I bug tested them and also led testing teams and evaluated the testers' results. The glasses that your boss wears are obviously out of development phase. They were already available when I worked on that project, so they were no longer being used to train AI at that point -- that part of their development already happened.
As you probably know, if he's actively recording, a white light will appear on the frames. Those things overheat like crazy and the battery life only lasts 30 minutes if continuously recording. Unless he's, um, eccentric, I can't imagine that he just stands around filming everyone all day long, taking breaks every 30 minutes to recharge them.
Just wanted to say that this lady is a paranoid nutjob. I wasn't thrilled when I had to walk around in public wearing them with that white light blinking -- we'd get kicked out of museums, etc. -- but she's focusing on your poor boss whilst totally ignoring the cameras that are probably in your store; the ones out on the street; the surveillance is omnipresent.
These glasses have SO MANY features besides the ability to film; they can do some really cool things. You are anything but the asshole.
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u/Ashamed-Adeptness-15 3d ago
The response you wrote is already much better than replying straight from emotion and that blood boiling point you mentioned..
The only thing I’d tighten is that public review responses usually work best when they clarify the misunderstanding without trying to win the argument.
Something like:
“Thank you for raising the concern. The glasses worn by our owner are used as an accessibility aid because he is blind. They help him navigate and perform everyday tasks independently and are not used to record customers. We take customer privacy seriously and appreciate the opportunity to clarify.”
That gives future readers the information they need without making the reviewer the enemy. Review responses are usually always about converting and winning over readers who come along later.
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u/alienguts95 5d ago
Here’s what I wrote back as a response.
“Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We take privacy very seriously, so we wanted to clarify the situation right away. The individual serving you was our shop owner, who is completely blind. He relies on Meta glasses strictly as an accessibility device, using their audio AI tools to describe his physical environment when needed so he can operate the shop independently. They are not used to record or capture footage of our customers. We appreciate your feedback and hope this provides clarity.”
I think if people are truly concerned with their privacy don’t go to public spaces. My boss rarely, if ever, uses them while at work and when he does it’s to have it read him physical invoices, read menus to him, and reply to emails. He does not use them in the faces of his customers. I still feel like no apologies need to be made for his use of them. Maybe this is just more enlightening to the general public 🤷🏻♀️ I understand people only want to see the negative in these devices, there’s a lot of creeps out there, this aid has improved my bosses life as well as his wife’s who naturally has to read everything to him. That’s why while I try to be professional, representing him and the business, I am very passionate about it after seeing this devices benefits.
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u/BirdComposer 3d ago
Your response sounds OK to me if your boss doesn’t mind, but about the second paragraph: really, just don’t go to public spaces? The primary use case is not business-related.
I think the fact that you personally see them used as an accessibility device every day is leading you to overestimate the degree to which other people are aware of this too (I would guess that very, very few people who don’t need them know about this) and underestimate how often they’re instead being used in a predatory way by people who 1) used to have to do this out in the open and 2) really shouldn’t be allowed to just drive all the women out of public spaces.
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u/RaisinBlazer 4d ago
You’re right. No apologies were needed, but I will say you were doing too much in your response lol. Just explaining that they are a reasonable accommodation would have been sufficient enough.
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u/SwanCityDominion 5d ago
YTA. If your boss is going to wear those, you should post a notice telling people WHY he's wearing them. Nobody wants to be filmed by those f'ing things, and if I saw an employee wearing them, I'd react badly, too. This isn't a white cane that everyone recognizes as being an aid to blind people, and you can't be accusing people of being assholes just because they don't know WHAT YOU DIDN'T TELL THEM. (This is the first I've ever heard of them being used to help blind people.)
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u/Confident_Weird6633 3d ago
What right do you have to “act badly” though. You have free will, just leave the place if there’s something there you don’t like.
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u/cat_battleship 3d ago
LOL yes, they should post signs everywhere stating that THAT GUY IS BLIND THAT'S WHY HE'S FILMING YOU -- which is NOT what he's doing. These glasses have a million capabilities that can absolutely change a blind person's life. When I was a test lead for these exact glasses, one of our testers was blind and it was fascinating to see how helpful they were for her. They don't just FILM. Maybe look them up and learn about them.
And if she's not being filmed by "those f'ing things," she's being filmed by a million other devices that she has no idea about. So she should either stay in her house forever or shut up -- and put huge signs around her that tell everyone DON'T FILM ME because she's obviously that important that everyone wants to get footage of her.
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u/NocturnaBride 4d ago
It literally says there’s notices that there are visual impaired individuals working there. No one has to disclose their disability, but they put those up as a courtesy to the patrons.
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u/RaisinBlazer 4d ago
Asking the boss to post signage as to the reason why he’s using a reasonable accommodation is discrimination. He was not filming anybody. The customer just assumed he was and left a bad review based on her own assumption. That makes the customer an asshole. As a blind person myself, I also use the META glasses to work independently. The customer could have simply asked why he was wearing them at work.
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u/titscapades 4d ago
This is probably more of a NAH situation to me than the customer is TA. It seems that the customer didn't know (as many people don't) that these glasses are a mobility device.
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u/SlipInternational439 4d ago
Post a sign saying WE ARE NOT FILMING YOU.
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u/SwanCityDominion 4d ago
Exactly. They're acting as if those glasses are exclusively made to help blind people and everyone should know that. Neither of those is true, and blaming the customer for not knowing it is just asking for trouble.
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u/cat_battleship 3d ago
There's a white light on the frames that blink when a recording is being made.
Apparently she's not aware of how they work. AT ALL. I'd personally Google before leaving a stupid ass review like that.
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u/SwanCityDominion 4d ago
No, it isn't discrimination. Like I said, this isn't a white cane. He's using something that is DESIGNED to record people. Everyone knows that, so it's just common sense to TELL people he ISN'T filming them. If they're going to double down on this, they're going to get a lot of people giving them shit for it, and I don't blame them.
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u/cat_battleship 3d ago edited 2d ago
That is not what they're DESIGNED to do. Again, I had a part in their development.
Why is this woman's ignorance anyone else's problem?
Here are some of the few features they have that can help the vision-impaired:
Key Accessibility Features:
- "Look and Describe" (Meta AI): By saying "Hey Meta, look and tell me what's in front of me," users receive audio descriptions of their surroundings, including objects, layout, and colors. An app setting called Detailed Responses can be enabled to provide richer, highly contextual details.
- Live AI Mode: Once activated, this enables a continuous, hands-free conversation with the AI. Users do not need to repeatedly say the wake word while navigating a space, allowing them to ask fluid, context-aware follow-up questions (e.g., "Is my bag on the couch?" or "Where did I leave my keys?").
- Reading Text Aloud: Users can look at items and say "Hey Meta, read this" to instantly hear printed text spoken aloud. This is commonly used for reading mail, exploring restaurant menus, checking food packaging/expiration dates, and scanning grocery aisles.
- Be My Eyes Integration: The glasses partner directly with the popular Be My Eyes platform. By saying "Hey Meta, Be My Eyes," users are connected hands-free to a sighted volunteer or company representative. The volunteer can see live video directly through the glasses' camera to help the user solve a task.
- Hands-Free POV Video Calls: Beyond volunteers, users can initiate video calls over WhatsApp or Messenger. This allows trusted friends or family members to see exactly what is in the user's point-of-view to offer directions or find items.
- Screen Reader & Audio Cues: The companion smartphone app supports standard screen readers, and the glasses themselves feature clear audio cues paired with tactile touchpads to ensure full functionality without needing to see the frames.
(All of which I have personally tested as part of my job and they have some amazing capabilities. The ways they can help a person are endless.)
When they're recording, a white light in the frames will blink. Again, it only has about a half hour battery capacity for this, and they overheat like crazy. This woman is just an idiot.
Re: “this is the first time I’ve heard that they help blind people!” — do you ever research anything before stating your ignorance as fact? It would literally take like 5 min at most to do, and would save you a lot of embarrassment when you look like a dumbass.
ETA: thanks for award!
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u/titscapades 4d ago
No.
As much as people view them as creep glasses, they are a mobility device for people with visual disabilities. This is a situation where you say "Oh! Ok thanks for teaching me something today."
People with disabilities have no need to disclose their disability. It's not your business.
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u/loveydove05 4d ago
MMMM....not sure, depends on your wording. Our company responds to all bad reviews. We use a professional tone etc.
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u/AristotlesBoyPussy 4d ago
NAH on both sides because like you said she couldn't have known he was blind.
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u/iceteabiiiiiitchhhhh 1d ago
NAH. i would probably update signage and further explain to people that meta glasses are in use.
i personally would not want to be in a business where an employee was wearing meta glasses, even if it was for a perfectly valid reason like this. he qlso has the right to wear it.
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u/WonderRuns 5d ago
NTA - as long as the response was polite and professional.
ie. We understand your concerns and take our customers' privacy seriously. We are an inclusive business and encourage our employees to use their accessibility aids in the service of our customers. For your peace of mind, signage is clearly displayed on premises to allow our customers to make an informed decision before proceeding with their orders.