Wheelchair access in shops

Parva

Soapn wrote: »

if you don't like the shop, for WHATEVER reason, don't shop there again, it's REALLY that simple. I couldn't get around numerous shops when the kids were in prams, so I didn't go back in them until the kids were walking.

What a narrow-minded view you have. It's not a case of "don't like a shop", it's about accessibility in a shop. I personally like Matalan but the mens department at my local branch is so cluttered that I cannot get around it in my wheelchair. I do like the shop but can no longer go there. Did I choose to be confined to this wheelchair? No I did not! Ultimately we have both lost, the store doesn't get my cash, I don't get their clothing.

Simply saying "don't shop there" does not help me as I now have to go much further afield for my clothing desires and at greater expense and inconvenience. I really do hope that you don't end up in a wheelchair one day as you're obviously not in one currently as you are totally clueless as to what people with disabilities are faced with in your average shopping centre or supermarket.

Lum

pinksk8 wrote: »

Earlier ignorant poster should spend a day in a wheelchair and see how frustrating it is!

Going a bit OT here, but funnily enough, my partner keeps suggesting I do this while out shopping with her, using the free wheelchairs that Tesco provide.

I'm really not sure how I feel about the idea, given I'll be taking a chair that I don't need, potentially depriving the use of a chair from someone who actually needs it.

Then again, from our brief experiences with a Tesco chair before she got her own, most of them seem to be poorly maintained death traps anyway. They're about as well maintained as those other 4 wheeled metal transportation devices you find in Tescos.

charleyzee

Re-edited to address the correct quote,with the correct name given to the quote at bottom - many apologies to Lum for the mix-up! Not sure how it happened but I will blame my dyslexia!

Not at all OTT actually. You may have just worded your original post poorly, as you do at least seem to want to understand things from our point of view - but to suggest we just don't go into shops that we aren't accessible is not only thoughtless but also impractical.


If I followed this guidance, I would have to ban myself from every shop on my local high street and confine myself purely to Homebase & Asda! Why should I do that when you & any other able-bodied person can go anywhere you like? Perhaps we should also ban ourselves from public transport too, for the same reason? Indeed, maybe we should not go out at all?!

IWhen I first became disabled, I used a walking stick. I struggled immensely with the attitudes of others – staring, walking into me – or walking miles around me as if I am a leper – slamming doors in my face, knocking my stick out of my hand... I became incredibly anxious about being knocked over & ended up with panic attacks, then agoraphobia.


In a pedestrianised shopping precinct, mall, or an accessible store such as Tescos, I can enjoy my shop – but, in places like Dunelm Mill, that same panic rises in me & I need to get out – immediately. I'm not suggesting this is the experience of every disabled person - but I am saying that being disabled is NOT the same as taking kids out in a pram! Believe me - I have done both!


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Soapn wrote: »

if you don't like the shop, for WHATEVER reason, don't shop there again, it's REALLY that simple. I couldn't get around numerous shops when the kids were in prams, so I didn't go back in them until the kids were walking.

JethroUK

babymoo wrote: »

...I was absolutely appalled.

The majority of the shops we went into were absolutely fine but I was really disgusted by New Look. Having thought about it more I took a trip to my local New Look this morning and found the same again, and I didn't bother going in because I was alone and wouldn't have got round the store.

.....

Under Disabilty Discrimination Act, New Look (all public companies)hare legally obligated to make "reasonable adjustments" to accommodate disabilities (including wheelchair access)

I would say widening isles and relocating rails (wheelchair friendly) is more than "reasonable" and you would have an excellent case for prosecution under the act - you should write to them reminding them about this law and their obligations to it - should do the trick

Anubis_2

Soapn wrote: »

if you don't like the shop, for WHATEVER reason, don't shop there again, it's REALLY that simple. I couldn't get around numerous shops when the kids were in prams, so I didn't go back in them until the kids were walking.

It's not as simple as that for someone who is alone in a wheelchair and needs to get certain items but cannot. A buggy is a lot easier to manoeuvre than a wheelchair, and the child can be taken out and carried if necessary if it's a bigger pram.

A wheelchair user has no option. When I used to go out more I hit a stack load of problems on my chair - one of the only shops to accommodate was Home and Bargain. They always helped too.

If anyone has a Jack Fultons near them, you have no chance if you are in a chair.

charleyzee

Oh I so agree about Homes & Bargains - they stand as proof that even a small shop can give everybody access. They're always very helpful at the checkout too.

Anubis_2

charleyzee wrote: »

Oh I so agree about Homes & Bargains - they stand as proof that even a small shop can give everybody access. They're always very helpful at the checkout too.

Yes, I agree, they do stand as proof that a small shop can accommodate. I have always found their staff helpful, one day a few years ago one of them even followed me around with a basket! I don't know if they would do that today but the staff knew me, and were great

OneYorkshireLass

charleyzee wrote: »

I struggled immensely with the attitudes of others – staring, walking into me –

I'm having a battle with people who don't look where they are going when they are walking because they are staring at their mobile and rapidly texting. I had a rare shopping outing last week and spent most of the time trying to avoid people who weren't looking where they were going before they ran me down.

It always saddens me when people stare when I'm walking with a stick. Mostly it's young children whose parents just ignore what they are doing, and those who are just plain ignorant and spent their waking hours looking people up and down to see what label they are/aren't wearing.

Lum

In my experience, young children are OK, they mean no harm or malice even if they do stare. At that age they're just curious about something they have not encountered before.

Many of them think my partner's chair is cool, most are curious and want to know more about it. This is reasonable for a young child. Some even say that they want one, to which my partner usually tells them to be careful what they wish for, and why she's in it. Pretty much all the time, if you explain why you're in a chair, or on crutches I guess, the little kids actually get it and are fine with it.

It's the parents that are the problem, often they're all "hush, don't stare at the cripple, pretend it isn't there", and hurriedly move them on... fantastic lesson for your kids, teaching them to ignore, avoid and marginalise those who are different to you. :mad:

That said, I totally agree that teenagers and adults should know better, and people walking around staring at their phones are just douchebags. Maybe the next 4 wheeled vehicle they step in front of will be a Range Rover.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Lum wrote: »

Going a bit OT here, but funnily enough, my partner keeps suggesting I do this while out shopping with her, using the free wheelchairs that Tesco provide.

I'm really not sure how I feel about the idea, given I'll be taking a chair that I don't need, potentially depriving the use of a chair from someone who actually needs it.

Then again, from our brief experiences with a Tesco chair before she got her own, most of them seem to be poorly maintained death traps anyway. They're about as well maintained as those other 4 wheeled metal transportation devices you find in Tescos.

I think yourself and many should try it, even though you would have a 1000% more understanding and empathetic than the general public even you would find it a revelation.

People should also try an arthritic suit [yes they exist] they give a good understanding not only of arthritis but of age related general joint immobility. The average public should also try a blackout blindfold or clinical quality ear plugs.

These things even in a safe assured classroom environment would go a very long way to help everyone's understanding not just the the doubters. I applaud you - go and try it. You could, having blindfolded your good lady, give her a bowl of jelly and singe cream in the familiar surroundings of your own home .. .. believe me the results are an amazingly instant individual understanding of what others face on a minute by minute basis.