Wearing a face mask

louise1985

A little bit of a rant tbh I’ve been exempt rom wearing a mask due to current health conditions normally when I go places I sometimes get asked have u got your mask etc which doesn’t annoy me in the slightest as with everything going on and government guidelines and normally when I reply I exempt nothing else gets said 
well yesterday I visited my local McDonald’s to be greeted by a staff member who was quite upherslf to tell me straight away I had come through the wrong entrance to which I apologised...then the next words out her mouth was do you have a face mask!!!
my response was no I’m exempt...
the lovely reply I got was can u prove your exempt...
To which I lifted the side of my shirt up showed her I have Nephrostomy drain as I have only one kidney and struggle with breathing difficulties and all I got was well that’s good enough for me 
 
I left feeling quite sad ☹️ that I should have to prove my illness to someone I have seen for all of 2 seconds 

Cher_Inactive

Hi @louise1985

I am so sorry you experienced this.  The government's webpage on facemask exemptions states:

People are not required to prove they are exempt and it is for individuals to choose how they would want to communicate this to others.

This means you are well within your rights to complain to the management at McDonalds about what happened, if you felt comfortable doing so.  

How are you now?  

janer1967

Hi i am sorry to hear about your experience and you should make a complaint if you feel upset by it.

 Sometimes the employees have not been given the correct advice from their employers oj how to deal with this sort of situation and remember it is all new to them too.

 But that doesnt excuse rudeness and lack of empathy

Maybe wear one of the lanyards that show your exemption then you may not get asked

louise1985

I’m ok Thankyou yes I appreciate this is all new them but it was the way the lady made the flippant comment can you prove it!!!

normally when asked if I have a mask I’ll reply I’m exempt I don’t expect to be questioned like I’m a liar 
? 

Tori_Scope

You're absolutely right @louise1985, it's not pleasant to feel as though you're being accused of lying! As @Cher_Scope said, you can make a complaint if you'd like to. 

I hope that you have more positive experiences in the future

Chloe_Scope

Hi @louise1985, really sorry you experienced this! How are you feeling today?

roberttaylor570

@louise1985 So sorry you had a bad experience.

Have you tried getting hold of a sunflower Lanyard which indicates you need extra help and may indicate you do not need a Face covering?

The Bus Company Arriva have been issuing cards which can be downloaded and printed to show you cannot wear one on Public Transport.  Here are the links where you can download the cards for both Assistance and Exemption from wearing a Face Mask.

https://cdn1-originals.webdamdb.com/13953_108179404?cache=1594043422&response-content-disposition=inline;filename%3DJourney Assistance Cards A4 - UPDATE2020.pdf&response-content-type=application/pdf&Policy=eyJTdGF0ZW1lbnQiOlt7IlJlc291cmNlIjoiaHR0cCo6Ly9jZG4xLW9yaWdpbmFscy53ZWJkYW1kYi5jb20vMTM5NTNfMTA4MTc5NDA0P2NhY2hlPTE1OTQwNDM0MjImcmVzcG9uc2UtY29udGVudC1kaXNwb3NpdGlvbj1pbmxpbmU7ZmlsZW5hbWUlMjUzREpvdXJuZXklMjBBc3Npc3RhbmNlJTIwQ2FyZHMlMjBBNCUyMC0lMjBVUERBVEUyMDIwLnBkZiZyZXNwb25zZS1jb250ZW50LXR5cGU9YXBwbGljYXRpb24vcGRmIiwiQ29uZGl0aW9uIjp7IkRhdGVMZXNzVGhhbiI6eyJBV1M6RXBvY2hUaW1lIjoyMTQ3NDE0NDAwfX19XX0_&Signature=icnx8yxKOe5fwbrhyjcM14XlJLCGz0Nd671nVE1v9iS~c4hiNNTiQprR0eh3xCkas6421QvH4N1z5bhp7KC36SYycqouFbjp04KlRWYj~RlzhgK~kn9khnWdE8FVwBXamjOb3arbxiCwN-zPZyY9kdKV-0hs2-RDkpxnpZHV4TjeD1slc4jXeHvl74ewJ9SRJ4lNUBq64MeQvFzaqrdC1O5RjD2FSckBENRBADHwSAvi67gFCdjUQpzwDjL-UAMS~Ty~oRUtI2rQ6xo~-dq4b1gWwciHvxZnCIcLMPKkvaapz0XBwM55ZwG1vxFxMn5jOPtgQiOEZqjV5LSiqP5IPw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAI2ASI2IOLRFF2RHA
Good luck.

#Covid-19 #Facemasks

cupcake88

Hi there I did a post similar to this its really stressful walking into some where where you feel you have to go threw confrontation . I my self have had this problem I wear like a laynard round my neck if I do go any where and I carry my blue badge around with me and pic of my pip letter I also have a doctors note. Unfortunately I think this is some thing thats going to happen alot which just makes me really anxious its wrong you was treated in that way xx 

Cher_Inactive

@roberttaylor570 Great idea, thank you for the link.

@cupcake88 I'm sorry to hear you've been through a similar experience   

deb74

Hi @louise1985 I have got a heart condition and me/cfs  which affect my breathing. I have got a sunflower lanyard and exemption card thanks to Chloe_Scope putting a link on here. If you have an exemption card no-one can challenge you for not wearing a mask 

louise1985

Thankyou for all your kind words 
I have no problem with being asked if I have to wear a mask as I get anybody could just turn round and say they are exempt it was more annoying when I was asked to prove this as if I was standing there lieing about my condition 
I did write a complaint to McDonald’s as I felt I had been unfairly treated and just got a generic response saying there staff are still training 

I suppose because they see a yonng lady who doesn’t like there is anything wrong with her they are going to question it that’s what upset me more I suppose as people look at you and think there is nothing wrong with you I had the same disapproving looks when I was looking at mobility cars as to say she carnt be entitled to the higher rate ?