Shops and disabled people

[Anna B]

Well, I'm one of the ones who can no longer make it around a large shop, even if I park right outside the doors, so I haven't been in a supermarket or other large shop for months because I know that trying will result in frustration, pain and a feeling of defeat (and I will still not have whatever I went in for).

 

If they don't deliver to me then they lose my business purely because I can't stand at checkouts or do ever longer aisles looking for items.

 

---------- Post added 27-12-2016 at 21:45 ----------

 

 

Actually no, you're talking about a group who can manage little aisles and COULD manage longer if they had somewhere to rest before starting it, but who don't feel able to start taking on the whole length of the shop repeatedly to pick up a few items.

 

---------- Post added 27-12-2016 at 21:49 ----------

 

 

The biggest issue I can see is that if you have one chair, what happens when you have one person already sitting down and an elderly person who is struggling comes up. Who decides who is actually the right person to be allowed the chair? Does that mean that one chair becomes 2, becomes a seating area, becomes a lost area for sales?

 

I'm not arguing one way or the other BTW, I can see both sides of why it currently doesn't happen. In my opinion it's shortsighted of retailers to exclude those with disabilities and those who lack stamina due to age or injury, but it's their own bottom line that they answer for and I'm not going to try to argue that there should be changes in the law to force retailers to provide seating areas every few aisles.

 

Maybe small areas with chairs/seating could also have a secondary purpose? As sampling areas for instance, giving feedback on new products. Or watching adverts and giving comments about their effectiveness etc. They could even sell back and shoulder massages, this could be done by those massage chairs you sometimes see in airports. A lot of shopping malls in Australia have them too.

[Olive]

I agree that people need to keep as active as possible for as long as possible, but the thing is, if a supermarket allowed me a little rest half way round, I would then be able to tackle the other half, whereas with no rest at all, I am more likely to go with internet shopping and get even less exercise.

 

Yes, that's exactly the point I'm making. It would be relatively easy to make simple changes to make it less difficult for people when they're out and about.

[Obelix]

Funnily enough I was thinking about this - B&M at drakehouses feels just like a maze they make for mice. Horrible place.

 

I often wondered just how safe somewhere like that would be for fire evacuations. IKEA is another one but they do tend to have cut throughs that are obvious that go directly to fire exit doors. B&M seemed to be much worse.

 

---------- Post added 28-12-2016 at 12:53 ----------

 

Not disagreeing, but I'll point out that if more of us avoided stores whose layout was profit orientated at the expense of genuine customer service focus, and, instead, took our money to stores whose layout is customer focused, then the customer focused stores would see their profits grow.

 

But you would be buying less because your goods would cost a lot more. Retail space is expensive (one reason why Amazon is so large now). So if you went to a store that sold the same range of goods and made if much larger to accommodate the extras then the costs inevitably are going to rise.

 

---------- Post added 28-12-2016 at 12:55 ----------

 

Maybe small areas with chairs/seating could also have a secondary purpose? As sampling areas for instance, giving feedback on new products. Or watching adverts and giving comments about their effectiveness etc. They could even sell back and shoulder massages, this could be done by those massage chairs you sometimes see in airports. A lot of shopping malls in Australia have them too.

 

Oh please no - it's bad enough with those damn JML talky screens that start shouting at you as soon as you get close in the supermarket. Stuff more places where they can shout at you!

 

---------- Post added 28-12-2016 at 12:59 ----------

 

There's an increasing need to make our neighbourhoods more accessable to not only the disabled, but for the older, frailer population, the numbers of which are rising every year. If we want people to be as independant as possible for as long as possible, we need to make going out a less daunting prospect.

 

There's actually a sizeable population of people who aren't classed as disabled, but struggle over longer distances. Its these people that need encouragement to keep active rather than give up the ghost and slide down that 'slippery slope of inactivity' (technical terminology, honestly!).

 

Its a no-brainer, the benefits of keeping active and socially engaged are well known, and its hardly rocket science to have a bit more seating in public areas, if it makes getting out of the house seem like less like tackling a triathlon.

 

My mother has a portable seat she calls the bus....

 

Local community bus - she calls up and says she wants to go to X. They say they will pick her up at a time - and they are never more than five minutes out. Small 24 seater bus, or sometimes a minibus comes, drops her off wherever. She does her sitting down on the way there. Bus is usually more than half full of folks going shopping, bingo, swimming baths etc...

 

It's not perfect for everyone, but perhaps looking at the journey for the more senior citizens is worth it rather than add on seating etc for the existing provision?

[Anna B]

The last thing any shop wants is people sitting down for a while.

 

If you are on the shop floor they want you wandering around looking at the goods and buying.

 

From the larger stores they will argue that they have instore restaurants and coffee shops which allow customers an opporunity to sit down and have a break (....providing you are spending more money on their catering of course...).

 

As I have said before, the unfortunate fact is we are not in 1950 any more. The days of sitting down whilst a sales assistant gives you personal attention and fetches and carries your goods are long gone (with the execption of the rare and extremely expensive boutique stores). Those who still want that, can pay the price.

 

We also have advances in technology now, with the advent of internet shopping, home deliveries and click and collect which are all available to those who struggle getting around big stores or have limited mobility.

 

With respect to those unfortunate enough to have any sort of mobility issue, the clear fact is that the majority of shoppers (particuarly in any sort of store that has an aisle layout) want to be in, grab their stuff and out.

 

Any business with an 'Aisle layout' = high volume, high footfall, high turnover and very self service. It is not conducive to offering seating areas mid store nor to having groups of people sitting around. Clusters of people sitting around reduce retail floor space, reduce the amount of goods on offer and would get in the way of those customers wanting to get on with their business.

 

Unless the DDA changes and provides more mandatory rules, shops will do absolutely no more than they have to. Footfall, sales and the needs of the majority will always outweigh the needs of a few.

 

I agree with you that this is the current way of thinking, and is certainly how it is at present, but surely shops are constantly searching for ways to entice shoppers into their shops and away from internet shopping which will be the death of them. They are full of gimmicks to keep people in their stores, I just think that providing something for the 'grey pound' who may actually prefer 'real' shopping to the internet, would actually be in the supermarket's interest.

 

Cafes are all very well but usually situated a long way away at the back of the store and require you to stand in line for some time - if I could get to them and do that I wouldn't need a brief sit down in the first place.

 

We might not be in the 1950's any more, but people still get old and creaky just as they did back then, and there are more of them now. And there's a steady supply of them, as you too will one day be old and creaky, even though you probably don't believe it now any more than I once did.

 

Let's have a little bit of 'the customer is always right,' and give them what they need.

[Snowglobe]

looks a bit of a glass half empty situation sometimes.

It's not that long ago shopping centres were all like the Town centre, with lots of steps escalators out of & into the 'hole in the road', etc etc.

 

In the last 25 or so years city centre shopping has changed with less steps and more ramps, more pedestrian areas, green spaces etc, out of town centers like meadowhall were designed with lots of ramps and lifts in them.

 

Look how far we have come before knocking the accessibility we have.

[gomgeg]

I agree with you that this is the current way of thinking, and is certainly how it is at present, but surely shops are constantly searching for ways to entice shoppers into their shops and away from internet shopping which will be the death of them. They are full of gimmicks to keep people in their stores, I just think that providing something for the 'grey pound' who may actually prefer 'real' shopping to the internet, would actually be in the supermarket's interest.

 

Cafes are all very well but usually situated a long way away at the back of the store and require you to stand in line for some time - if I could get to them and do that I wouldn't need a brief sit down in the first place.

 

We might not be in the 1950's any more, but people still get old and creaky just as they did back then, and there are more of them now. And there's a steady supply of them, as you too will one day be old and creaky, even though you probably don't believe it now any more than I once did.

 

Let's have a little bit of 'the customer is always right,' and give them what they need.

Shops are businesses who's aim is to make a profit. As has already been pointed out floor space is expensive and they make the most economical use of it that they can. If they thought something like providing chairs would result in increased profit they would do it.

It's easy to forget that businesses spend a fortune on investigating ways of maximising profit to stay competitive, and in the main if they are doing that they are providing what the customer wants.

[day-break]

Back to my op..

The aisles in the shops are too long. i cant walk all the way down one aisle, let alone a whole shop of them.when aisles had gaps half way where you could cut through to the next aisle, was just about managable for me.

Sadly now i cant walk around a whole shop. i used to love shopping but now i do it all online. its not just seats that are needed but, shorter aisles and yes may be more aisles, but at least i could manage 2 or more aisles and buy more. Whereas now theyre not getting my custom.

[Olive]

 

My mother has a portable seat she calls the bus....

 

Local community bus - she calls up and says she wants to go to X. They say they will pick her up at a time - and they are never more than five minutes out. Small 24 seater bus, or sometimes a minibus comes, drops her off wherever. She does her sitting down on the way there. Bus is usually more than half full of folks going shopping, bingo, swimming baths etc...

 

It's not perfect for everyone, but perhaps looking at the journey for the more senior citizens is worth it rather than add on seating etc for the existing provision?

 

That sounds fab! Sounds like a good scheme, but surely pretty expensive to run?

 

All I'm saying is that it wouldn't be beyond the capabilities of a society like ours to put a few seats at the tram stops? They've spent god knows how much on the digital displays (which are still "under testing" and not accurate half the time), so a few benches wouldn't have made much difference.

[Obelix]

She pays 50p a trip I think. Way cheaper than a taxi.

 

I'm not sure how it's funded - it's clearly done at cost as it's not commercial and the driver is in his 70's as well and does it for free. Not sure if it's subsidised by the local authorities or not.

[crookedspire]

Were I live Tesco shops have seating along the windows not in aisles the only shop I know of has seating between shelving is Windsor shoe shop. In some shops it not practical to place seating every so often due to units size. Shopping malls have seating in their public areas plus under cover like Meadowhall. Some shops do have scooters or wheelchairs to loan for store use .