New Countdown self-service kiosks make life difficult for those in wheelchairs
Red August 16th, 2010 4 Comments
Halfway through my weekly pilgrimage to my local supermarket, I noticed they’d installed these fancy new self-service checkouts. Wonderful, I thought, this will save me some time!
Wrong.
Unbelievably, despite them installing four new DIY checkouts, not one was accessible for a wheelchair user. The screens were all positioned quite high up, and the EFTPOS terminals even higher, way out of reach for anyone sitting down! Of course, this also excludes children and some elderly folk who might also want to use them.
I find this kinda bewildering, really! It seems like every time we take a step forward in terms of access, someone jumps in and sends us flying 8 steps backward. Good one, Countdown.
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Read your story re countdown DIY checkouts, You have to wonder what they where thinking when they designed these! A little consultation with a cross section of the general public would surely have brought their attention to the fact that people come in all different shapes and sizes and different abilities! All I can do is shske my head at the ignorance that still exists around accessibility. Keep up the good work your comments must surely make a positive difference.
Janet
[...] writing that wee rant last week about Countdown’s wonderful new inaccessible self-service checkout kiosks , it got me thinking about better alternatives. I struggled at first to think of any company, either [...]
This is the offical Countdown company policy. The customer comes last, profits rule !!! I refuse to shop at Countdown as they do not know customer service.
Today, 2 of my family members – one in a wheelchair – tried to do their grocery shopping at their nearest countdown supermarket but had to give up because there was no way to provided to push a wheelchair and a trolley.
Marie