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ttglive.com
disability awareness knowledge
Improve accessibility
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PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
■ Ask disabled visitors to your agency
whether they need assistance – do not
assume they do
■ Do not leave a person with a visual impair-
ment standing alone – ask if they wish to
be guided to a wall or piece of furniture
■ If you are asked to guide a person, offer
your arm for them to hold just above the
elbow – don’t grab theirs
■ Do not lean on a person’s wheelchair, and
push it only when asked
PUBLICATIONS
■ Ideally use a sans serif font – eg Helvetica,
Verdana or Tahoma – in 14 point size (18
point for titles)
■ Avoid lots of italics, underlining or capitals
■ Use a dark coloured text on a pastel
background, with a matt finish. Black on
yellow is best
■ Use boxes to highlight important details,
and bullet points rather than chunky text
■ Websites should not include too many
moving images, and a text-only version
should be available
USE OF LANGUAGE
■ Avoid using words such as handicapped,
crippled or invalid, and words with negative
requirements for all staff dealing with the some companies prefer this if they don’t connotations, such as wheelchair-bound
travelling public. want to release a large number of employees ■ Be aware that some people prefer
Takman warns: “Some travel companies at one time. Prices average £25-£30 per “disabled”, while others prefer “with
are leaving themselves open to potential person but, unlike the face-to-face training, disabilities” – ask them if you’re unsure
prosecution and fines through discrimina- it is not tailored to the company. ■ Avoid referring to people by the condition
tory conduct. The disabled traveller is legally While Thompson believes training is they have. For example, use “with
entitled to the same quality service as others.” essential, he also believes that for any signifi- diabetes” rather than “diabetic”
However, an afternoon of basic training cant shake-up in the way the industry values
can go a long way to avoiding such faux-pas disabled clients, there needs to be a commit- COMMUNICATION
– and penalties – she says. ment from board level downwards, to include ■ When talking to someone who is visually
this market segment within core strategies. impaired, always introduce yourself and
Training and advice say when you are leaving
Good Access Guide trainers can travel to Accessibility is a right ■ Use the same eye contact, tone of voice
most locations in the UK to deliver tailored Agents must not take “no” for an answer, and volume as you would with any other
interactive seminars to agents. One session he says. “People with disabilities are still person. If possible, speak to someone in a
lasts three hours and takes a maximum of human beings. They want to go scuba diving wheelchair at eye level
20 candidates. Up to two sessions can be held and on safari like everyone else and there’s ■ Talk directly to the person with the
in one day, costing about £800 in total. no reason why they can’t. I don’t accept it disability – not their companion
The training involves acting out scenarios, when a hotel says it can’t guarantee an ■ Do not interrupt or finish sentences for
learning how to talk and react to a client with accessible room for my client,” he says. someone with a speech impairment,
disabilities and how to source information. But whether you’ve had training or not, if unless they look for assistance
The rest of the session is geared towards the you’re unsure about their needs, Thompson ■ Do not pretend you understand what
company’s specific training needs. Delegates advises being upfront and asking the client. someone has said if you don’t. Ask them
are also given a fact file, which includes “Most people are embarrassed and panic. to repeat or write down the sentence
checklists to refer to when handling bookings. They forget that the customer has been there ■ Summarise holiday requirements to check
A more flexible alternative is an a million times before. They’ll want to help you have understood what has been said
e-learning training package. Takman says you to help them. Just ask,” he urges.
13.03.2009 43
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