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Screamed at while Shopping.

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CharlotteN27
CharlotteN27 Community member Posts: 16 Connected
in Disability rights and campaigning
So I had a very odd and scary experience when out shopping with my Guide Dog Layla Yesterday. I was in Sainsbrie's on Trinity Street In Coventry. We were working on Layla's fear of the area after her attack there a few weeks ago. I also needed to do my food shopping because disabled people need to eat to. We were calmly walking around the store and I was picking up items to buy. Normal shopping stuff. Layla knows this store really well so I can name items or products and she will guide me right to them. We were in the frozen section and I was trying to read the price of Pizzas with my magnifier. When someone started screaming. NO DOGS! NO DOGS IN SHOPS! NO DOGS IN SHOPS! Now I can not see this person and jump about a foot in the air in shock and drop the pizza I am holding. I pick up another pizza and go to pay shaking as I do not know where the person yelling is. 
Most shocking is that for a store who has Guide Dogs as their charity of the year the staff did not do anything. 

Why do people have to shout. It should not shock the that as someone with a disability I;
a) do my own shopping.
b) use a mobility aid. 
its just my mobility aid that keeps me independent has 4 legs and a tail.

People if you see a person with a Guide Dog do not yell at us. It is scary. If you see others yelling at us please come to our aid as we may not know where the person is.

I do not know what happened to the Pizza box I dropped I never found it. 
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  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
    edited September 2016
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    @CharlotteN27 I'm really sorry to hear about that. I think most people on here have experience the same sort of thing. I know I have. A manager at a grocery store kicked me out of the store because I had a complaint and issued it to her. I informed her that I had MS and she jumped back and said stay away from me I don't want to catch what you have. I told her she was extremely ignorant. She told me if I said it again she would kick me out so, I looked her in the face and I said you're still extremely ignorant and and if you are afraid of catching something from a customer you're in the wrong job. She told me to get out of the store or she would call the police. I went home and I called their corporate offices and I never saw that manager there again. If something like that happens to you again you should really wait to get home and call their corporate offices. Tell them you're legally blind and you need a guide dog and 

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  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
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     I'm sorry I tried to delete my last message but it got saved. I feel stupid now
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  • CharlotteN27
    CharlotteN27 Community member Posts: 16 Connected
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    Why do you feel stupid? I am sorry that the person was so rude to you. I have had the people acting like you can catch your condition routine before. Never new people thought you could catch blindness but they do.
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  • Blue Frog
    Blue Frog Community member Posts: 358 Pioneering
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    Hi Charlotte, I can understand that would have been really scary. I completely agree that the staff handled it badly and someone should have tactfully intervened.  There was a stand with dogs for hearing impaired people in our sainsburys a few weeks ago, it was very interesting learning about their work. 

    I may be completely and utterly wrong here, but is there a chance it is was someone with autism or a learning disability that shouted at you?  Some people with autism tend have very 'black and white' views and that is exactly the sort of thing my brother would do!! Just an idea and I am not for one minute trying to discount what happened to you. 
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  • CharlotteN27
    CharlotteN27 Community member Posts: 16 Connected
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    I do not know if they may have had learning problems or not... I thought at first I was going to be attacked again... I was so scared I just paid for my shopping and left. 
    Which is really silly and embarrassing 
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  • Blue Frog
    Blue Frog Community member Posts: 358 Pioneering
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    It's not silly and embarrassing, it is something that really shouldn't be happening and hopefully it is a one off event that will never happen again. It has made me think a bit though about how situations could be genuinely scary for people who have less vision - so something good has come of it at least! My little girl very often screams and shouts and I would imagine that would be very disconcerting if someone was around who couldn't work out what is occurring. 

    On a practical level, may I please ask are there any things members of the public can do to make things easier for people with less vision? I never want to patronise people but just wondered what you think? 
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  • CharlotteN27
    CharlotteN27 Community member Posts: 16 Connected
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    Blue Frog said:
    It's not silly and embarrassing, it is something that really shouldn't be happening and hopefully it is a one off event that will never happen again. It has made me think a bit though about how situations could be genuinely scary for people who have less vision - so something good has come of it at least! My little girl very often screams and shouts and I would imagine that would be very disconcerting if someone was around who couldn't work out what is occurring. 

    On a practical level, may I please ask are there any things members of the public can do to make things easier for people with less vision? I never want to patronise people but just wondered what you think? 
    Mostly if you want to help VIs trying to live normal independent lives. Don't yell and if someone is yelling at us or other wise as we can not see them come over and explain what is going on or try to calm the yelling person down. We do not know if there might be a fire or some other problem. Don't get upset if we walk in to things (or people) or knock things open. Also remember we can not see you so its your job to not walk in to us not the other way round. 
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