Pioneering mobile phone service a lifeline for the partially sighted

Three years ago, when one of Talk Direct’s employees found that he was losing his eyesight due to a condition called diabetic retinopathy, managing director Zak Patel stepped in to create a unique role for him.

When he realised his sight was going in 2012, Mark Skelton was fearful about losing his job at the O2 franchise, having just bought a house and got married.

“I’d only just got married and I’d just bought a new house so I was really concerned about work because without work there would be no house,” he said.

Instead of laying him off, Mr Patel sat down with his cousin and HR director Idris Patel and came up with Project iCare.

Mr Patel told The Yorkshire Post: “From a humane perspective you just can’t vacate somebody’s job, especially when you have the background that we come from.

“My own grandma suffered from the same condition because of diabetes so we knew as a family what people go through and the challenges it brings. “Hence, why me and Idris got together and said let’s create a role for Mark.”

Designed to help people with sight issues use technology to communicate and make their lives easier, it was launched in 2014. Mr Skelton, who prior to losing his sight was an assistant store leader in Rotherham, became project ambassador for iCare.

The project works with visually impaired charities such as Action for the Blind, Partially Sighted Society, Royal Society for the Blind and Guide Dogs.

Experts, dubbed O2 Gurus, often visit charities to show how technology can benefit those with eyesight problems.

Project iCare also ensures all the experts within the Talk Direct O2 franchise are fully up to date with how to help blind customers access the latest apps to make life easier for them.

The fundamentals of the training have been extended to all Talk Direct staff.

“Every member of staff within our stores now will be able to help any visually impaired person with the basics and obviously the Gurus can go that extra mile,” says Mr Skelton.

However, it’s not a one size fits all approach, as Mr Skelton says there are many different types of visual impairment.

He pulls out a box of glasses called Sim Specs. The varying eyewear is designed to give staff an idea of the level and type of visual impairment that they would be dealing with, depending on the customer’s condition.

“We always ask people what they can actually see because we can then tailor specifically to that customer,” Mr Skelton says.

He added that mobile phones are “getting better all the time” at aiding visually impaired users.

While Project iCare has been successfully rolled out across Talk Direct, Mr Patel also wants other retailers to adopt it.

“Ideally, I’d like to see it in every single store that sells a mobile phone,” he said. “It’s nothing hard. We’ve done it in our stores.”

The initiative, though, has gained the attention of O2. Mr Skelton says they have been doing some work with the telecommunications giant’s flagship stores in London and Manchester.

“They are that impressed that O2 are wanting to build it out into other areas now,” added Mr Skelton. Project iCare was recently recognised with a special judges award from the British Franchise Association. Talk Direct has launched a website featuring tips on getting the most out of mobile phones for the visually impaired http://www.talk-direct.com/project-icare.html

Losing his eyesight has changed his perspective on life, says Mr Skelton. “Luckily for me Zak took a big chance on me at the beginning. I don’t know if many employers would have done what Zak did,” he added.