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Including Accessible Retail Features in Your Stores

Under the Customer Service Standards of the AODA, service providers must make their goods, services, and facilities accessible to customers with disabilities. Since providers offer different kinds of services, this requirement applies differently to each kind of provider. This article will outline accessible customer service for retail stores. Accessible retail features help shoppers of all abilities buy what they need and want.

Read or Watch What the AODA Alliance Said to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Social Affairs on April 11, 2019 About the Need to Strengthen the Weak Bill C-81, the Proposed Accessible Canada Act

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Society for All People with Disabilities http://www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance

April 15, 2019

SUMMARY

Here’s a chance to read or watch exactly what AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky said in our April 11, 2019 evidence presented to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Social Affairs on the need to strengthen the weak Bill C-81, the proposed Accessible Canada Act. See the text below (about 14 pages).

Customers with Invisible Disabilities

Under the Customer Service Standards of the AODA, service providers must make their goods, services, and facilities accessible to customers with disabilities. The term “disability” often brings to mind visible disabilities. In other words, providers can tell that a customer has a disability if they use an assistive device or a service animal. However, many people with disabilities do not use assistive devices or service animals. Instead, their disabilities are invisible. Nonetheless, providers must offer accessible service to customers with invisible disabilities. In this article, we describe some invisible disabilities and outline how providers must serve customers who have them.

Breaking Barriers: Accessibility at Home a Costly Process

Blair Crawford
Updated: March 30, 2019

Its just a few centimetres high, but the sill of the sliding glass door that leads to the back deck of her Barrhaven home is a mountain to Jennifer Glanz.

Its little, but I cant get over it, said Glanz, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. Glanz and her husband, Eli, have already installed a $4,000 electric lift in their garage so that Jennifer can get out of the house, and recently completed a renovation to make their bathroom barrier free.

Providing Accessible Remote Customer Service

The Customer Service Standard of the AODA gives service providers guidelines on how to start making their goods, services, and facilities accessible to customers with disabilities. Some of these guidelines focus on service in-person. For instance, organizations must serve customers who visit with their service animals or support persons. However, organizations also provide accessible remote customer service. For instance, providers may serve customers by phone, by email, or through contact forms on their websites. Many guidelines in the Customer Service Standard apply to both in-person and remote service. For example, whether service providers deal with customers on-site or at a distance, they must: