Family asks if a GrandPad could be customized before shipping

Dear Live Grand:

My mother resides in a retirement village 300 miles away. Though we’ll be moving to her city in a year, video calls will have to do for now. I’ve heard that GrandPads are great for these calls so we’d like to buy one for Mom except that we can’t be there to set it up. She avoids technology and dislikes asking others for help so we’re curious if this tablet can be customized ahead of shipping. The more useful the GrandPad is out-of-the-box, the better. – BG

Dear BG:

A GrandPad could be a terrific enhancement to your mom’s life. Though GrandPads are exceptionally easy to set up and everyone has access to live onboarding help, GrandPad’s staff can do even more. When you order the GrandPad simply tell the representative about your mom’s capabilities and challenges. Then you could discuss ways to fine-tune the tablet specifically for her needs. You’d also learn about uploading photos and adding contacts as well as other controls that you, as family admin, would have.

After receiving her GrandPad, your mom would turn it on, which is just a matter of holding down a button for a couple of seconds. Charging is accomplished by laying the tablet on the included cradle that is left plugged in.

Since GrandPads are designed for older adults like your mom, she’d navigate it easily. Text is large and easy to read, and the front-facing speakers make for great sound.

GrandPad’s extraordinary Member Experience agents are available anytime, day or night, 365 days a year. She’d receive a call early on to see how she’s getting along and if she has questions, she’d simply tap the large HELP button on her screen. These agents are super friendly and personal but deeply knowledgeable and will provide patient, ongoing assistance. 

Since you as the family admin would add your mom’s contacts, from the minute your first call came through she’d see your face (and smile), then click Answer. She could call you just as easily by tapping her Contacts icon where she’d see your image. There is no risk of spam or junk calls because the only people who can contact her are those who have been intentionally added.

Your mom could have a lot of fun within the Games app where she could work crosswords or word search, or play card games like hearts, bridge, or bingo. There’s also a memory game where she could choose her level of difficulty.

When she wants music, she could enjoy show tunes, country, rock from different eras, or classical. Using her Radio app, she could listen to music and talk on GrandPad Radio, or a current favorite station could be added. 

Once you’ve added the link for her preferred online worship service to her Internet app, she could stream it by clicking that option.

Video calls might be your focus right now, BG, but it won’t take long for all of you to wonder how she ever got along without her GrandPad!

Live Grand is a weekly column brought to you by GrandPad — the simplest, safest tablet-based solution that helps reconnect families.