There must be enough disabled people around for big companies to think about our needs. I have stopped shopping at John Lewis and Apple – why? Because they are too arrogant to think what we might need. Peter Jones (part of John Lewis) has removed all the chairs it used to dot around the store, so we could rest whilst shopping; telling us it was for Elf n Safety reasons, but we could ask staff to fetch a chair. Not a popular request in front of a queue of people. In place of the chairs there are stacks of wheeled baskets – careful you don’t fall over them. And instead of insisting that we struggle right across the floor to pay, why not copy restaurants and offer card readers?
I had to book a week in advance to get an appointment with an Apple ‘Genius’ to fix my laptop. Lovely lift when I arrived, but stepping out there was nothing to say where I was to meet the Genius (would have thought they should be waiting for me?) All counters are a long way away when you can’t walk far, and no signs to send you to right one. Finally a passing Genius tells me I should join a queue. Looks like it will be waiting for at least 20 minutes, and by then I would have collapsed. Genius takes pity on me, takes me to booked desk, which turns out to be a bar stool at a counter – totally impossible for me to climb on to. Don’t their designers know what we need?