Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everybody
I apologise that my first post is a bit of a vent, but I'm so shocked.
Short version: Hamleys Toy store told me not to bring an autistic child during December.
So, although I am the parent of ND children, I am also supporting a child whose needs are much higher than my own children's. I wanted to plan a special day for him and take him to see one of the major toy stores in London, see the lights and window displays etc I wanted to plan in case he became over stimulated, so contacted Hamleys, Harrods and Selfridges to ask about their disability policies and to ask if they had quiet areas, quiet times or suggestions for bringing an autistic child to visit.
Selfridges were amazing. They were kind, welcoming and said they have a quiet hour for customers with sensory needs. Really quick to respond too.
https://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/features/info/quiet-hour
Harrods said they do not have designated quiet areas, but customers are welcome to step into changing rooms to rest. They warned there were no quiet times during December. Replied within a few hours.
Hamleys.... shocked is an understatement.
I said specifically I had a query about their disabled access policy and asked (as an example) if they had a quiet area. The reply was "don't bring him". They prettied it up some. But i QUOTE "We're sorry we could not accommodate you on this occasion".Isn't this against the Equality Act? Is it common to come across discrimination as blatant as this?I have replied to the message and also emailed customer service asking them to investigate and train their staff in inclusion. Has anybody got similar experiences to share? How did you deal with this?
no, its just a busy store and they cant just close the door to everyone to make it quiet for your kids. thats just the way it is.its not discrimination, you can still take your kids but you will find it is loud and bright and busy or whatever, thats the thing they cannot change for you. by all means take your kids, just dont expect them to shut the door to all their customers for you and lose millions for you to have a quiet shut off time in there for your kids, thats what they are saying. they cant accommodate that.its just how busy their store is and how they have no control over what customer comes when.do you know in quiet times for store openings that places promise, thats a false promise too? .... because it tesco tells me i can come in late at night because its quiet then and so will be autism friendly... how can they honestly guaruntee that millions of customers wont just come in at night one time and then make it busy? ... they cant guaruntee that, its out of their control you see? ... therefore its more admirable for a store to admit they cant promise any quiet time as they cant predict when customers come in... they can however point out times they are often quietest, but in some limited opening times stores they might not have a slack quiet time, all their opening times might be optimised for peak busy periods.
Caelus said:no, its just a busy store and they cant just close the door to everyone to make it quiet for your kids. thats just the way it is.
There is a difrence between saying 'no we can't make the store quiet' and saying 'don't bring your autistic son here.'
Following your analogy I tried to ask about the safety features around the fire - is there a fire guard, are there signs. The response was rather than explaining the safety precautions, they said we can't accommodate the child. Which with clumsy wording is discriminatory. The management has followed up to rectify the original response. They are even changing the phone systems to make it easier to get through to the call centre. They also confirmed what the access policy for children with sensory needs are. Which is before the store opens ot hte public, by prior arrangement.
Thank you! This was the point I was trying to make.I am pleased to report, the member of staff who misinformed me has been refreshed and the phone system has been updated so the option to get through to a human is clearer. The fact they are changing the phone system has really impressed me! Will try and edit the post
yeah but it depends whether they said that or how they said that.
and if they said that then why they said that, perhaps they said it not to mean badly but rather as a protective thing like we cant make it quiet or less busy, they then dont know how damaging or dangerous or harmful it is so they assume its very harmful and dangerous and due to that assumption saying dont bring your child here is protective in nature... like saying dont stick your hand in a fire. but if they did say that then yeah its rather clumsy of them anyway and they could have put it better.