Benefits of Compliance
Imagine that you are disabled, elderly or infirm and there is a newsagent at one end of the road and a newsagent at the other end. You know that one of the newsagents is very disabled friendly, it has a has a ramp, a counter induction loop for hearing aid users, has a door that’s easy to open, has good lighting with it’s products and prices clearly marked, and a sign offering assistance, the other newsagent has none of these and has made no changes, which one would you go to and recommend to friends. In most case disabled people will travel further to go to a shop that has better access, making it good business sense to anyone wishing to invest in making some changes.
Bob Niven, Chief Executive of the DRC commented: “A recent DRC/NOP survey found that over two thirds (67%) of disabled would tell their family and friends to use an alternative service if they can’t get access. This is bad news for any businesses. Yet 92% said they would return or recommend the business or service if they found it easy to gain access”.
This means that a business who is willing to make small improvements can reap the benefits of the £40 billion annual spending power of disabled people.
Better access for the disabled also provides better access to;
Customers with young children - Mothers with prams
- The elderly
- Children
- Customers with shopping trolleys
- People who are long or short sighted
It is proven that good Access does not just assist disabled people, a ramp will help a person with a pram or shopping trolley, a hearing induction loop will help an elderly person with a hearing aid, everyone benefits from better lighting and signs that are in large print and clear, customers with a lot of shopping benefit from wider doorways or from doors that are easier to open and lower sections of a counter will assist the younger shopper.
In short the benefits of becoming more accessible are vast, as well as the obvious legal reasons, it shows that your company or service is both concerned and compassionate to the needs of all customers.