[blindkid] question re shopping assistance

[Peter Donahue]

Hello Susan,

    They're correct. Any assistance given to disabled shoppers is done at 
the store's disgression. There are no laws that require them to provide 
assistance to disabled shoppers though many of them provide such service as 
a courtesy. This is especially true of grocery stores. The O&M should urge 
him to explore the store on his own to learn where the various departments 
are. He can then receive assistance from personnel in particular departments 
such as the appliances area in Sears. This same service is provided to all 
customers. Again there is no state or federal law that requires stores of 
any kind to provide one-on-one shopping assistance to blind and disabled 
customers.

    You as parents along with the O&M instructor should encourage him to 
negotiate stores and shopping malls independently to reduce his need for 
shopping assistance. When I began shopping on my own I took it on myself to 
learn the lay-out of various department stores and supermarkets to learn 
where departments and items are located. In the case of grocery stores Mary 
and I shop at supermarkets that provide assistance to disabled customers or 
we bring someone with us to help us find what we need. In some cases we like 
to shop online. It is far better to help him develop a variety of 
alternative techniques and strategies for shopping rather than teaching him 
to expect stores to provide him with store-wide shopping assistance 
something they are not obligated to do but often provide this service for 
the publicity they receive and the good will from the communities they 
serve. Here's hoping these suggestions answer your questions and help your 
son become more independent. All the best.

Peter Donahue


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "SUSAN POLANSKY" <sepolansky at verizon.net>
To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 7:58 AM
Subject: [blindkid] question re shopping assistance


This week my son's O&M lesson was at the mall where he was going to do his 
Christmas shopping. He has his list and his money and off he went with his 
O&M teacher. In each store he was to ask for assistance to look for the 
desired item. This went well in until they got to Sears. He went to customer 
service and requested someone to assist him to shop and was told that they 
did not have anyone to do that. When I asked what the O&M teacher said about 
that he stated he was told that there was nothing they could do about it as 
there is no law that says the store has to provide him with assistance. Now 
I am 99% sure that this is not correct. Can someone cite the law to me? 
Thanks.

Susan

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