Support accessibility review
Accessibility reviews often stop at the marketing site. Support is where problems
become urgent — and where teams hide behind "call us", CAPTCHA gates, and PDF-only
policy documents. This is a practical operations audit, not legal advice. It
answers: can someone with common access needs complete a support journey?
Scope the journeys
Test end-to-end paths, not individual pages:
| Journey |
Minimum path |
| Get help on billing error |
Help centre → contact → resolution |
| Account locked out |
Recovery → verify identity → support |
| Report accessibility barrier |
Feedback channel that does not require the barrier |
| Escalate unresolved issue |
Supervisor or complaint route |
| Receive critical reply |
Email/SMS/portal notification readable with AT |
Assign modality personas — do not require one person to represent all needs:
- Screen reader + keyboard only.
- No hearing on phone path (relay if offered).
- No speech — text-only contact.
- Low vision — zoom, contrast, no colour-only status.
- Cognitive load — plain language, consistent steps.
Channel checklist
| Channel |
Pass criteria |
Common failures |
| Help centre |
Headings, labels, focus order, alt text |
Search autocomplete unreachable |
| Web chat |
Keyboard open/close, readable transcript |
Widget trap focus |
| Email form |
Labels, error identification |
CAPTCHA without audio alternative |
| Phone |
Clear IVR, callback option, wait info |
Voice-only identity steps |
| Callback |
Request without holding live line |
Callback only after long hold |
| Social/DM |
Private handoff to accessible channel |
Support only via public reply |
| In-app |
Support entry same AT as app |
Hidden behind gesture-only menu |
Authentication and barriers
| Barrier |
Who it blocks |
Mitigation pattern |
| CAPTCHA on contact form |
Vision, cognitive |
Accessible CAPTCHA, honeypot, rate limit |
| SMS-only 2FA for login |
No mobile, hearing relay issues |
Alternate verification with fraud review |
| Voice-only identity |
Deaf, speech impaired |
Secure async verification path |
| Photo ID upload only |
Motor, vision |
Alternate verification policy |
| Time-limited magic links |
Cognitive, assistive tech delay |
Regenerate without penalty |
Document alternate paths agents can invoke — not "we'll figure it out."
Hours and staffing
- Is there any human reachable path within published hours for each tier?
- After hours: is bot/KB equally accessible, or a worse experience?
- Relay / text relay (where applicable): published number and agent training.
Alternate formats
Customers may request:
- Large print, plain language summary.
- Structured email instead of PDF attachment.
- Transcript of phone call.
| Check |
|
| Policy exists and is findable |
|
| Agents trained; not "we don't do that" |
|
| SLA for format provision |
|
| No charge for reasonable format |
|
Agent tooling accessibility
Agents with disabilities also need accessible workspaces. Inaccessible internal
tools produce inaccessible replies — template pickers, knowledge search, after-call
work forms. Include internal UI in scope when agent population includes AT users.
Scoring and severity
| Severity |
Example |
| Blocker |
Cannot submit contact without CAPTCHA alternative |
| Major |
Phone-only path for security issue |
| Minor |
Low contrast on non-critical help article |
| Process |
No documented alternate verification |
Do not average severities into one score. List blockers first with journey and
reproduction steps.
Traps
Overlay widgets. Third-party "accessibility" buttons do not fix support forms.
PDF-only legal or policy replies. Inaccessible attachment on ticket close.
Assuming chat is accessible. Many widgets fail focus and announcements.
Testing with automated scan only. Support flows need manual AT passes.
Conflating compliance badge with reachable support.
Present results to the user
- Journey results table — persona × journey × pass/fail/blocker.
- Blocker list — reproduction steps, affected channels, suggested fix type.
- Authentication alternatives — gaps and proposed operational paths.
- Hours and channel gaps — who is unreachable when.
- Agent-side findings — if internal tools block accessible service delivery.
- Prioritised remediation — blockers before polish; owner suggestions by team
(product, web, support ops, telephony).
1---2name: cx-accessibility-review3description: Use to audit whether customer support is reachable for people with access needs — channels, hours, authentication barriers, CAPTCHA, voice-only paths, and alternate formats. Trigger for "support accessibility audit", "can customers with disabilities reach us", CAPTCHA on contact form, voice-only support, alternate format requests, or accessibility checklist for CX.4metadata:5 author: rulebase6 version: "1.0.0"7 archetype: playbook8---910# Support accessibility review1112Accessibility reviews often stop at the marketing site. **Support is where problems13become urgent** — and where teams hide behind "call us", CAPTCHA gates, and PDF-only14policy documents. This is a practical operations audit, **not legal advice**. It15answers: can someone with common access needs complete a support journey?1617## Scope the journeys1819Test **end-to-end paths**, not individual pages:2021| Journey | Minimum path |22| --- | --- |23| Get help on billing error | Help centre → contact → resolution |24| Account locked out | Recovery → verify identity → support |25| Report accessibility barrier | Feedback channel that does not require the barrier |26| Escalate unresolved issue | Supervisor or complaint route |27| Receive critical reply | Email/SMS/portal notification readable with AT |2829Assign **modality personas** — do not require one person to represent all needs:3031- Screen reader + keyboard only.32- No hearing on phone path (relay if offered).33- No speech — text-only contact.34- Low vision — zoom, contrast, no colour-only status.35- Cognitive load — plain language, consistent steps.3637## Channel checklist3839| Channel | Pass criteria | Common failures |40| --- | --- | --- |41| **Help centre** | Headings, labels, focus order, alt text | Search autocomplete unreachable |42| **Web chat** | Keyboard open/close, readable transcript | Widget trap focus |43| **Email form** | Labels, error identification | CAPTCHA without audio alternative |44| **Phone** | Clear IVR, callback option, wait info | Voice-only identity steps |45| **Callback** | Request without holding live line | Callback only after long hold |46| **Social/DM** | Private handoff to accessible channel | Support only via public reply |47| **In-app** | Support entry same AT as app | Hidden behind gesture-only menu |4849## Authentication and barriers5051| Barrier | Who it blocks | Mitigation pattern |52| --- | --- | --- |53| CAPTCHA on contact form | Vision, cognitive | Accessible CAPTCHA, honeypot, rate limit |54| SMS-only 2FA for login | No mobile, hearing relay issues | Alternate verification with fraud review |55| Voice-only identity | Deaf, speech impaired | Secure async verification path |56| Photo ID upload only | Motor, vision | Alternate verification policy |57| Time-limited magic links | Cognitive, assistive tech delay | Regenerate without penalty |5859**Document alternate paths** agents can invoke — not "we'll figure it out."6061## Hours and staffing6263- Is there **any human reachable path** within published hours for each tier?64- After hours: is bot/KB **equally accessible**, or a worse experience?65- **Relay / text relay** (where applicable): published number and agent training.6667## Alternate formats6869Customers may request:7071- Large print, plain language summary.72- Structured email instead of PDF attachment.73- Transcript of phone call.7475| Check | |76| --- | --- |77| Policy exists and is findable | |78| Agents trained; not "we don't do that" | |79| SLA for format provision | |80| No charge for reasonable format | |8182## Agent tooling accessibility8384Agents with disabilities also need accessible workspaces. **Inaccessible internal85tools produce inaccessible replies** — template pickers, knowledge search, after-call86work forms. Include internal UI in scope when agent population includes AT users.8788## Scoring and severity8990| Severity | Example |91| --- | --- |92| **Blocker** | Cannot submit contact without CAPTCHA alternative |93| **Major** | Phone-only path for security issue |94| **Minor** | Low contrast on non-critical help article |95| **Process** | No documented alternate verification |9697Do not average severities into one score. **List blockers first** with journey and98 reproduction steps.99100## Traps101102**Overlay widgets.** Third-party "accessibility" buttons do not fix support forms.103104**PDF-only legal or policy replies.** Inaccessible attachment on ticket close.105106**Assuming chat is accessible.** Many widgets fail focus and announcements.107108**Testing with automated scan only.** Support flows need manual AT passes.109110**Conflating compliance badge with reachable support.**111112## Present results to the user1131141. **Journey results table** — persona × journey × pass/fail/blocker.1152. **Blocker list** — reproduction steps, affected channels, suggested fix type.1163. **Authentication alternatives** — gaps and proposed operational paths.1174. **Hours and channel gaps** — who is unreachable when.1185. **Agent-side findings** — if internal tools block accessible service delivery.1196. **Prioritised remediation** — blockers before polish; owner suggestions by team120 (product, web, support ops, telephony).
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