I am hiring you (for five minutes)
No CV required
You can listen to the newsletter here:
Hello everyone,
I’ve been writing The Accessible Link for nearly three years; Over 700 people have subscribed, and ca 1000 are reading it every month. You know that my mission is to bridge the Customer Experience (CX) and Accessibility, based on the social model of disability. For too long, these two areas were treated separately, which meant a missed opportunity to improve both.
My goal has always been to prove that they are, in fact, the same thing. Good accessibility is good customer experience. For disabled people, inclusion and accessibility aren’t a ‘nice-to-have’ or an add-on; they are mandatory for a functioning service.
Customer-focused and efficient
I write this as a consultant who loves a customer-focused and efficient approach, but also as a journalist who loves a good topic. And, of course, I write it from the perspective of a wheelchair user who simply wants to get from A to B without having to file a formal complaint after being overcarried to C.
I thoroughly enjoy dissecting the social model of disability, challenging the railway industry to do better, and championing the innovations that actually make life easier. But here is the thing about writing a newsletter: it can sometimes feel a bit like broadcasting over a tannoy system in an empty terminal. I send these thoughts out into the ether, and while I can see the open rates (thank you for reading!), I don’t always know what is going on inside your heads.
Do you enjoy what you’re reading?
I am not psychic. If I were, I would have predicted every failed assist I’ve ever encountered. Because I cannot read minds, I need to ask you directly. I want The Accessible Link to be as useful, thought-provoking and actionable as possible for you. Whether you are an industry leader, a fellow accessibility professional, a disabled person, or someone simply interested in the topics of this newsletter, your view matters.
I am conscious that “can you spare 5 minutes for a survey” is usually the most dreaded sentence in the English language. However, I promise this isn’t a corporate tick-box exercise.
I am asking because I want to know:
Do you enjoy what you are reading? Should I change anything?
Is the balance right?
What keeps you up at night? What are the burning accessibility issues in your sector that I haven’t covered yet?
Essentially, I am hiring you, my readers, as my consultants for five minutes.
So, I have put together a short questionnaire. It is painless and in parts a bit funny, I promise.
Please click here to tell me what you think.
Thank you for sticking with me, for reading, and for caring about making the world a more accessible place.
All the best,
Christiane Link
Some interesting links
The Leashed Advocate vs. The Unleashed Advocate, an interesting text about power dynamics in advocating.
Oh mon dieu! The metro in Montreal in Canada has only 30 accessible stations. That’s not even 50% of stations. So disabled people went to the Supreme Court. And lost.
TfL did it again. They branded their wayfinding for money. This time for Heineken. And create barriers.
Something to watch
BBC London on floating bus stops and the issues blind people face when travelling by bus.
Some final words
The Accessible Link is a reader-supported publication.
Who is writing this newsletter?
I’m Christiane Link, and I improve the customer experience in aviation, transport, and travel. I worked as a journalist for over two decades and travelled extensively for business and leisure. I’m a wheelchair user.
Work with me
Whether you're a Customer Service Director, a Head of Customer Experience, a corporate Accessibility Manager, a DEI leader, a transport planner, or a member of a disabled employee resource group, I can help you make your organisation more inclusive. You can book me for speaking engagements or hire me as a consultant for your accessibility or DEI strategy, communications advice and other related matters. I have worked for airlines, airports, train operators, public transport providers, and companies in other sectors.
If you want to read more from me, follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Bluesky or Mastodon. You can also reply to this email if you want to contact me.
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