I was shopping yesterday and a certain department store in a mall was completely inaccessible to me in my wheelchair. There were no automatic doors, the elevator (and staff) was nowhere to be found, the aisles were impassable, etc. Other stores were difficult because of the holiday rush, and I understand that, but this was impossible and not because of the extra shoppers.
Is there any way to file a complaint? I’m not sure how to word that. I have zero interest in a lawsuit or anything like that. I just want them to be accessible which can be done with pretty minor fixes. Or at the very least, I want them to be inspected to see if they’re complying with accessibility requirements.
I have reached out to both this specific store and the parent corporation. My response from the parent company was that they’d forward my complaint along but I don’t believe for a second it’ll go anywhere.
Also, I have googled to try and find things but most of the sites I’ve found have been related to employment and housing.
There was an elevator. The first employee ignored me and the 2nd one was really rude but eventually answered. It was in a very hidden part of the store and I had to go through the inaccessible aisles to get there. Luckily, I can walk (it’s just painful) so I was able to get out of the store but had I been completely confined, it would not have been possible… at all.
It’s in a fairly upscale mall that is constantly undergoing expansions. I just looked it up and it was built in 1977 but it was extensively remodeled in 2007.
If nothing else, there’s no excuse for the lack of electronic doors All the other doors that I saw in the mall/stores were automatic. These were the main doors for the store (to the outside) and faced the handicapped parking spots so it’s not like I was trying to enter a random side door.
You could try the smarmy approach. Call the mall owner, and say something like “I assume this is being fixed, can you tell me when I’ll be able to shop there?”
To the best of my knowledge, ADA accessibility laws cover public and publicly-funded buildings, not private properties. When public-access buildings are renovated, they need to comply with accessibility laws.
That said, I think a business owner would want to know about rude employees and customers being unable to access their stores.
Doh. Contacting the mall itself is the obvious route I didn’t try.
If this was a small store or something, I wouldn’t be that upset and I wouldn’t say a peep. It’s the fact that it’s a national chain store within a nice (and relatively expensive) mall that makes me angry. They have the resources- they just chose not to be accessible for whatever reason.
I will try contacting the mall first and see what they say. From there, I’m keeping these other links in case I don’t get anywhere.
@romanigypsyeyes sorry for you awful experience and good for you for speaking up so that changes can be implemented. Are you on Twitter? I’d think about sending a tweet to the chain and to the mall management company - that may get a reply quickly.
ETA: Here is a link to a group that may be a good starting point - perhaps they could point you in the right direction?
"The Great Lakes ADA Center provides information, problem solving assistance and referrals for implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other related laws and can be reached at 800-949-4232 between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM (EST). The Center is one of ten regional centers funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).
“Call the Great Lakes ADA Center at 1-800-949-4232 with questions about your obligations and rights under the ADA.”
@greenwitch being trapped during a fire is one of my biggest fears.
I have become an advocate out of necessity. I have already had to fight several times with my U over inaccessibility issues this semester.
I am spoiled in that most of my life has been spent post-ADA. Accessibility has more or less always been the “norm” for me but most of my accessibility needs have been in needing captions and sitting close to the front of classrooms due to poor hearing. Needing wheelchair accommodations is a whole new kettle of fish.
@GnocchiB That’s a good idea. I left them a public review on facebook (though you can’t leave posts on their corporate site). I don’t really use twitter but I do have one and have no problem publicly shaming this place.
Another thing happened to me once. I went to the library with my twins in my huge twin stroller. I hadn’t even attempted to go for months and I had forgotten that this branch of the library was closed on Friday. It was Friday. I went to a lower level door in the back of the building because that was the ADA entrance that let you into the elevator.
The door was locked and so I knocked on it and a construction worker let me in. I wedged the twin stroller in the elevator and went up to the main level. Now, this elevator would not go back down to the lower level exit because people could then go directly from the top floor to the exit and bypass the main floor, and steal books. You needed a library staff person to use a key to let you back down (this library was in an old mansion). It seems strangely dark and quiet but it took me a while to notice as I unbuckled my twins and they took off like Thing 1 and Thing 2.
Eventually, I realize the library is closed and we’re locked in! The phones are off too, since no one is there. This is years before cell phones. The construction worker has gone. There are heavy metal mesh doors covering the main doors, all locked and needing a key. I think about sleeping there, on the funny little cushions in the children’s area and don’t want to do it! I go to explore the offices and luckily, very luckily, someone with an office in the back has their door not quite closed because there’s an extension cord going in there. There’s a staircase beyond, with a simple lock that I can open. We go out - me dragging the stroller down the stairs and getting the girls in at the bottom. I can’t lock the door behind me and I have no idea what to do about that so I call the police and tell them when I get home.
A person in a wheelchair couldn’t have gone down that staircase. This was the 90’s so there really should have been a fire exit with “panic hardware” that opens out easily. Even if you have a cell phone, it might not always work so there really has to be a way out that is accessible. And you don’t want to rely on elevators, especially elevators that need a key to operate.
The mall management will defer to the store. Find out the name, phone # and email of the President or VP of the store at their corporate headquarters. Most retail stores handle a complaint directly to the President of VP promptly and with kidd gloves. PS I am always annoyed that there are not automatic doors EVERYWHERE.
All the other doors that I saw in the mall/stores were automatic. These were the main doors for the store (to the outside) and faced the handicapped parking spots so it’s not like I was trying to enter a random side door.