Is your Visitor Economy Business missing out on engaging with disabled customers?
21 May 2024
Being a truly accessible visitor economy business is more than just giving your visitors the ability to access your services.
It’s about creating a positive experience for anyone regardless of their disability or difference. And guess what? The changes you implement can be quick, inexpensive and easy.
The five suggested below are by no means extensive but are designed to give you some food for thought on what you might change in your business.
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Website accessibility
In the same way you would remove obstacles and create a clear pathway at your premises for visually impaired visitors, give thought too to doing the same on your website. Have you included alt tags on your images to tell your audience what the image depicts? Have you chosen a text colour that complements the colour of the background? (As boring as it is, black on white is best.) Is content laid out clearly with appropriate headings and an appropriately large font size? -
Engaging with autistic customers
If you’re dealing with adults on the autism spectrum, bear in mind that they may wish to avoid eye contact or a handshake. It’s really important that your staff are trained to spot the signs and to adapt their own behaviour accordingly, for example by taking extra care to be clear in their communications and inn waiting for a response. -
Understanding how a person with dementia sees the world
For a person with dementia, navigating your premises or venue can be a real challenge. You can help ease some of the anxiety by ensuring your signage is clear, avoiding patterns or shiny surfaces that can be disorientating, and turning down background music.
Allowing additional time when it comes to paying may also be appreciated in situations where your customer has difficulty remembering their PIN, recognising their money or generally feeling rushed. -
Customers who are deaf or who have hearing loss
To aid lip reading, make sure you are facing your customer and that you speak clearly and not too quickly. If what you have said has been misunderstood, repeat it or consider re-phrasing it and use plain language and short sentences.
If communication is still an issue, try writing down what you want to say. -
Appropriate tables for wheelchair users
Are your tables high, low and wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair? You should aim for a table of no more than 34 inches wide and no less than 28 inches in height, with at least 27 inches of knee clearance between the floor and underside of the table.
Might you consider round tables too so there are no table legs getting in the way?
*Workshops on this topic will be coming soon. Ensure you have signed up to the newsletter for details.
