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Who is Lesley Reidy, you ask? Well, she is the owner of online wine retailer winefairy.co.nz. She is also the author of a recent article posted up on stuff.co.nz entitled “How to be a good customer”. Lesley’s advice includes such gems as “arrive on time”, and “state what you need”; how we were ever successful customers before Lesley imparted her astute insight is utterly beyond me.
However, the pearls of wisdom she dropped which resonated most with me were her thoughts on wheelchair access at restaurants, and particularly her assertion that “If you need room for a wheelchair at the table … let staff know so they are in the loop”, and also that “Things such as wheelchair access … are best sorted when you book rather than turning up on the day and hoping for the best”.
Now, forgive my assumption here that Lesley is able-bodied, but when was the last time she called a restaurant to ‘warn’ them that she was on her way? Or even considered how that must be for someone in a wheelchair to feel like they are such an imposition that at least a few hours notice must be given of their impending arrival, in order to ease the burden they’re bound to cause upon the waiting staff?
Moreover, is Lesley’s insistence that wheelchair users warn restauranteurs of their arrival based on spatial arrangements? It is understandable that, perhaps, some restaurants’ tables are placed in close proximity to one another, however I’d wager that my wheelchair is no wider than the average morbidly obese person, and as such, should Lesley’s principle not apply here also? Would she expect fat people to ring and warn restaurant staff of potential spatial conflicts, too? And if that sounds preposterous, why is it so ‘expected’ that disabled people should endure such humiliation?
It may sound like I’m making a big deal about a situation which does not warrant it, but I really am sick and tired of feeling like I’m a huge imposition whenever I go out for dinner. To be honest, if the tables and chairs are packed so tightly together that a wheelchair is unable to fit in between, then goodness knows why any able-bodied individual would want to eat out at a place where the person at the table opposite is that close anyway! And on that note, I’m not a huge fan of claustrophobic eating environments anyway, so the simple fact is, that establishment will not be receiving my patronage.
However, the principle remains: restaurants should, in the first place, simply be set up in such a way that doesn’t require advance warning of a wheelchair user’s arrival. After all, you don’t see lifts being switched on only when a disabled person rings in advance, so the idea that disabled people should ring ahead and warn restaurants, as if we’re signalling an impending plague, is just a touch insulting.
Whew! Haha. Thoughts?
6 responses so far ↓
1 Rachel // Feb 1, 2008 at 9:07 am
I totally agree Red (infact I think we may have been twins in another life!) Its a sad fact that it is seen as ok for disabled people to do this. I would be taking anything this woman had to say with a grain of salt
2 Caz // Feb 1, 2008 at 11:21 am
This lady should go jump, how dare she imply that because we are disabled we should ‘get down and beg’ to society… Sorry this is how I see it
3 Caz // Feb 1, 2008 at 11:29 am
Just left her some nasty feedback telling her how I feel about basically being told I am a lesser member of society because of my needs.
Will let you know when I get their responce
4 Honor Kavanagh // Feb 1, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Hi, Red,
While not in a wheelchair myself, I walk on crutches, and I agree it does irritate when I arrive somewhere and people look helpless because they weren’t expecting someone disabled. My attitude, whether it is expressed like this or not, is, “Well, I’m here now, so you’ll just have to deal with me.” Well said.
5 Lesley // Feb 1, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Hi Red
Thanks for your email and invitation to respond to your blog.
I’m sorry my most recent article grated with you so much. It was definitely not my intention to offend anyone so I apologise to you and anyone else I have.
Under the heading ‘State what you need’ I wrote…
“If you need to be fed and watered within an hour, have food allergies, need room for a wheelchair at the table, or have another person joining your party later on - let staff know so they are in the loop and can best accommodate your needs.
“Things such as wheelchair access, accommodating large groups or time restrictions are best sorted when you book rather than turning up on the day and hoping for the best.”
I wasn’t singling people in wheelchairs out, merely listing some of the requests I have fielded through years of working in restaurants.
One request which cropped up a lot from customers making bookings and therefore worthy of mention, I thought, referred to wheelchairs. These were requests from customers in wheelchairs, not directives from restaurants.
Many restaurants have areas that a wheelchair can’t access, up stairs etc, and if they know they need to accommodate a wheelchair can have a table in an accessible area reserved and advise on best access points to the restaurant.
From personal experience, the member of my family who was in a wheelchair was much happier about going out for dinner if she knew her needs in relation to her wheelchair were known by the staff beforehand so she wouldn’t be forced to navigate her way through a maze of tightly packed tables or be carried up stairs.
I was merely advising some examples where letting the restaurant know beforehand can make a difference, perhaps not to everyone, every time, but in my experience on both sides of the customer/restaurateur relationship it has.
Once again, I apologise for causing offence to anyone and I hope the article and my response can be viewed with the sincerity in which it was written.
Cheers
Lesley Reidy
6 Red // Feb 1, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Hi Lesley,
Thanks for taking the time to comment, and I truly appreciate the sincerity of your words. I guess it’s one of those situations when taking a common sense approach would be best, and ringing ahead to see if a restaurant certainly is advisable. However from a personal standpoint (and to be honest it’s something which has irked me for quite some time, I guess your article just provided me with the impetus to write about it), the whole notion that myself as a wheelchair user need to warn people before I go somewhere is quite frustrating. Ultimately however, these sorts of things are two-way streets, and I do appreciate where you’re coming from.
Topics like this always tread quite a fine line, and once again I’d like to thank you for your sincere and rational approach to all this
Regards,
Red Nicholson
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