Non Friendly Ice Cream Cafe

Thursday January 31, 2013

Provide venues accessible to disabled and elderly

WHEEL POWER
By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

Businesses should provide venues that are accessible to the disabled and elderly.

I AM never one to complain about things, unless I feel I really have to. Recently, I found myself in one of those “have to” predicaments when I visited The Gardens next to Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur.

It was one of those days when I badly needed a break from my routine at work and at home. And going to a wheelchair-friendly mall was the most sensible thing, I thought, especially when I was going there all by myself.

For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, wheeling around the large shopping complex for several hours.

All that activity needed to be rewarded with a high dose of sugar to replenish my energy level.

But what was supposed to be a “sugar ‘n spice makes everything nice” experience, turned out to be quite the opposite for me as a customer in a wheelchair. Whilst the colour of the flavour of the day was pink, I only saw red all the way.

First, there was a mother at the counter with a shopping cart and a young child in it. She parked her cart in such an inconsiderate way that it blocked my wheelchair from getting nearer to the different flavoured ice-creams on display. The usual route provided by the café for customers was much too narrow to manoeuvre a wheelchair.

When she started feeding her child the ice-cream she had bought right there and then at the counter, I could almost feel smoke streaming out of my ears and nose.

One look at my face and she got the message. Within seconds, she and her cart were gone.
After paying almost RM20 for two scoops of ice-cream, I realised I had no place to sit and enjoy it.
The only place provided for customers was a separate section of the café with a raised platform of about six inches.

The only other choice I had was to squeeze myself awkwardly at the side of the platform where a few high small tables with equally high chairs were placed.

I was tempted to use one of the high chairs as a “table” for my cup of ice-cream. But the nauseating thought of eating from a platform where people normally placed their “behinds” is enough to make anyone’s stomach churn.

The staff who were all women, however, were apologetic. They offered to carry my wheelchair up the platform. But wheelchairs are not designed to be carried. And certainly, not by people who have not been trained to handle wheelchairs. The wheelchair could unwittingly be angled in a wrong position and result in a nasty accident for the user and helper.

The simplest thing to do (even if the management insists on a raised level for whatever reason) is to provide a wheelchair ramp to access it. It would show that the company had the interest of all customers at heart. A ramp would be useful for customers who are elderly, people with poor vision or walking problems, and those with shopping carts.

Besides, I’m sure the staff would like to be able to focus on their job instead of helping to carry wheelchairs every time a customer turns up in one.

People with disabilities enjoy the independence of wheeling in and out, without having to call someone for help. It gives them dignity, too. They need not feel helpless each time they want to enjoy some ice-cream from a particular outlet.

When one pays for an ice-cream, it is not just for the ice-cream but also for a decent place to enjoy it.
I hope the authorities in The Gardens and Mid Valley Megamall and other outlets will make it compulsory for businesses which rent their shoplots to ensure that wheelchair accessible features are not compromised in any way by those who lack foresight in their business plans, especially when they call themselves a disabled-friendly shopping centre.

Local authorities like City Hall also have a big say in this when they give out licences.

They should conduct spot checks from time to time to ensure disabled-friendly features are provided everywhere.

It should never be a matter or “charity” or “kindness” but a right of the disabled to equal access.

 

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