Do shops need to accommodate?

elizabeth01

I had a very scary experience a few days ago, the shop lift wasn't large enough for me to navigate with my power chair, the doors did not have a sensor and shut whilst I was trying to leave causing me to get stuck with my chair and in the process injury myself. I have contacted the store's customer service, was given £5 off that expires next month and told they would pass it on. I'm not sure that I want to return to the store ever again, but if I did I could access half of it. 

I'm not sure whether I just have to accept that some stores won't have appropriate accommodation that makes me feel safe? Any thoughts on this are most welcome thank you. 

To add this is not a small store this is a large company with multiple stores countrywide. 

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

I'm not sure of the answer  but I come across shops all the time that don't even have a lift and these are all big stores and multi venue companies eg sports direct , scs sofa store a few I've come across 

I think it is something to do with age of building as yo if they have to be accessible 

A good question some you can't even get in the doorway 

vikingqueen

         It does depend on the building. I worked in a retailers where the door was on a corner and due to the gradient of the step we were unable to allow disabled access. The council agreed that we couldn't make any alterations. It was a very old building certainly not build with access in mind.

Alex_Alumni

I'm sorry to hear about your negative experience @elizabeth01 that must've been very distressing. 

Have you recovered from your injury now?

As others have mentioned, frustratingly, some older building are designed without access in mind, but even in some newer buildings, access is certainly lacking, and often an afterthought!

elizabeth01

Alex_Scope said:

I'm sorry to hear about your negative experience @elizabeth01 that must've been very distressing. 

Have you recovered from your injury now?

As others have mentioned, frustratingly, some older building are designed without access in mind, but even in some newer buildings, access is certainly lacking, and often an afterthought!

Thank you I am okay now thankfully. Yes this is as far as I can tell a new build just an outdated lift, the shop assistant without empathy even acknowledged they knew it was an issue. 

Biblioklept

A £5 off voucher with a short expiry doesn't sound like they were too concerned about your complaint