Stores not made for wheelchair users

Hintza

I'm not disabled and the prospect of the inevitable scrum and jostling at this time of year just fills me with horror. I have a much better shopping experience online.

I will go to a shopping centre once or twice a year and even then I will have to be dragged there by the SWMBO.

ThumbRemote

bris wrote: »

Eh no, this has nothing to do with the disabled you refering it as is, is an insult.

This has to do with a customer who out shopping in the Xmas rush has no patience in a busy shop so blames the shop. The wheelchair clearly fits down the isles so access is there, God forbid other shoppers dared to get in their way and cause them some inconvieniance.

More rubbish. You've just made up facts, such as the wheelchair fitting down the aisles, OP clearly states the shelves were too close together.

I have no idea which shop it is, but one that does this all the time is Sports Direct. The shelves are crammed together, it's a pain to get around on two feet, it would be impossible to navigate in a wheelchair even if the store were empty. Do you think that's acceptable?

WTFH

ThumbRemote wrote: »

OP clearly states the shelves were too close together.

The OP clearly states the following:

marybee wrote: »

As the shop was busy, I could not get through with the wheelchair

duchy

It reads to me that the shop was crowded and a pushchair would have had equal difficulty getting through "the crowds". I tend to avoid shops when they are crowded -This does sound like a "Christmas shopping" rather than a "disability access" issue............. and before anyone accuses me of being anti the disabled I have a son with disabilities and will do battle when needed....but I pick my battles !

Money-Saving-King

ThumbRemote wrote: »

OP clearly states the shelves were too close together.

Where?

The op wrote as the shop was busy they could not do it. That sounds very much like if no one else was there they'd be fine!

ThumbRemote

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

Where?

The op wrote as the shop was busy they could not do it. That sounds very much like if no one else was there they'd be fine!

From posts 1, 5 and 6

We visited a shop and the corridors were very narrow, with the displays placed too close to each other. As the shop was busy, I could not get through with the wheelchair

Was the issue that you couldn't get a wheelchair through the gaps between the displays, or because it was busy you had difficulty moving around?

Thank you for getting back to me. The first, mostly.

ThumbRemote

WTFH wrote: »

The OP clearly states the following:

And the OP answered your subsequent question to clarify it was mainly because the shelves were too close together.

Money-Saving-King

ThumbRemote wrote: »

And the OP answered your subsequent question to clarify it was mainly because the shelves were too close together.

It reads to someone like me who doesn't have your anti-retailer bias that it was mainly because it was too busy!

WTFH

ThumbRemote wrote: »

And the OP answered your subsequent question to clarify it was mainly because the shelves were too close together.

Well, without knowing the shop or seeing the size of the gaps, we'll never know.
The careful wording of the first post and the reply to my question has made me think about what has and hasn't been said. That's why I don't cry "rubbish" to anyone who disagrees with me.

Emmylou_2

I had a similar experience (well, actually two on the same day) when shopping in central Bristol in a powerchair (standard size).

Experience 1: BHS:

The Christmas stock (which is generally fabulous and makes wonderful secret santa-type gifts) was crammed on stands so close together I kept getting the rear (drive) wheel of the chair stuck. At one point, I couldn't go forwards OR backwards because of the angle I was stuck at, and happened to catch the eye of a member of staff re-stocking a shelf opposite me (about 15 feet away). I asked her for help, moving the shelf (one of those square ones about 1.5 metres square with four levels) sideways so I could get free. She said that she couldn't, and that if I broke anything, I'd have to pay for it. :mad:

WHOOPS. BIG MISTAKE. HUGE.

I asked, again politely, if she would help me because I was caught on the fitting, and she just tutted, and said that if I broke anything I'd have to pay for it. At this point, I asked her to call me a manager. She ignored me.

So I turned the "speed" knob right up and pressed forward with the joystick. And the shelf wobbled and fell over, and the stock went everywhere with a giant crash. At this point, she came over and was radioing for a manager and security to come too. Great, thought I, not only am I free, I'm getting a manager

The manager came and told me that I had to pay for everything that was broken - which actually wasn't much, it was a display of shortbread and candy cane type products in boxes. I said that I wasn't going to pay for anything, that I'd asked the staff member for help because I was stuck in their too-narrow aisles and she had refused to help me. At this point, another customer confirmed my story. The manager said that I had to pay for everything I'd broken and I said that I didn't do it deliberately, and that it was only the fact that her store layout was not accessible that led to the items being on the floor, and would she like me to call the local paper to see if they had a reporter and photographer free? She didn't, and I left the store (and I haven't been back to this day).

EXPERIENCE 2: M&S

So after I leave BHS I go to Marks'. Whereas in BHS I was just browsing, I had a couple of specific things I wanted from M&S. I headed to the first area (jewellry) and just couldn't fit down the aisles. I used the lift and went to the next area (mens' hankies). I couldn't fit down the aisles, and I couldn't see any free members of staff around, so I went to Customer Services.

The staff member there listened to me and got me a manager, who agreed that it wasn't acceptable, and offered me a staff member to come and do my shopping with me, while he went and checked the various areas of the store for accessibility. I managed to get all the bits I wanted, and on the way out saw the Store Manager and three other members of staff measuring aisles with a meter stick and moving shelves around so that they were wide enough. :T

Oh, and a third one has come to mind, this was on a different day though (for the two above I was on my own). I was shopping (mainly window) with my best mate. We went into Accessorize and decided to buy a hat and glove set each. I told best mate that I would buy hers for her.

We go up to the checkout area, and I pass up the two sets to the cashier. She then tells Best Mate the total. Best Mate refers her to me. I pop my card into the chip & pin machine and the cashier asks Best Mate to put in her pin. Best Mate refers her to me :whistle:

If it hadn't been for the fact that these sets were GORGEOUS, I would've walked (well, wheeled) out of there at that point.

I put my pin in and start talking to Best Mate about where we're going next while waiting for the transaction to process...the cashier removes my card and gives it and the receipt to BEST MATE.

At this point, I did say "Excuse me, that's my card". The cashier looked at me as if I was from a different planet.

GOOD EXPERIENCE: Clare's Accessories.

Now, I honestly thought Clare's would be a nightmare. It really wasn't. I was going to wait outside while Best Mate went in with instructions on what to buy me, but the staff member giving out baskets was so friendly, and said that if I needed it, the central stands were all on wheels so just either move them out of the way ourselves or ask a staff member and they'd move them for me. They also asked if I could stand or whether I wanted someone to help me get the stock from the higher shelves. Absolutely wonderful disability awareness :A