Letter to the Shop with the Horrible Lift
May. 13th, 2010 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbheHi,
Today I and my children wanted to visit your shop in "Vestern Court Retail Park". I need crutches to move around and my children are aged 3 and 6 years and can walk independently. We went up to the first floor on the travelator, having checked that there was a lift to come down again (downhill using crutches is extremely difficult and painful, and can lead to falling over). However, when we came to use the lift to return to the ground floor, we encountered several problems.
First, to summon the lift the button needs to be continuously depressed. I cannot stand with only one crutch and balance like that while holding a button down and waiting for the lift to ascend an entire storey. Both of my children were able to take turns doing this, but the necessary pressure made their fingers tired; if only one of them had been there it would have been even more difficult and time-consuming. I assume that in a wheelchair one could approach this button sideways-on, or possibly lean extremely far forwards and push it, but even that is suboptimal, and I have no idea how someone in a wheelchair could get a shopping trolley into the lift at all.
Second, to open the safety-lock on the door it seemed to be necessary to press the button and pull the door open at the same time, which requires two free hands. That is completely impossible for me, so first we tried having the three-year-old child push the button and the six-year-old pull the door, but the door was too heavy, so I had to pull it open myself.
Third, the door needs to be manually opened enough to allow entry onto the lift platform, and swings closed automatically on a spring. I cannot hold a door and walk across its arc enough to open it with only one crutch even when the door is not as heavy as this safety-door is. My six-year-old pushed it further open from where I had managed to open it and I held it in place with my crutch while both children entered the lift. Then I had to use one static crutch which I could not move (or the door would have closed on me, possibly knocking me down or hurting me) and one mobile crutch to get myself far enough into the lift that I could safely allow the door to close.
Fourth, the lift only moved while the "down" button was actually being held down.
Fifth, the door at the bottom was just as heavy. Thankfully, it was easier for my six-year-old to push it open than to pull it, so she was able to open it and walk out, and lean against it to hold it open while my three-year-old and I left the lift.
And sixth, the lift with the heavy swing-closed door opens onto a sharp, short ramp, because it does not come down level with the floor, so one has to hold the door open while navigating a slope.
All of this means that it is impossible for me, depending as I do on my crutches, to spend money in your store without an able-bodied assistant.
Today I and my children wanted to visit your shop in "Vestern Court Retail Park". I need crutches to move around and my children are aged 3 and 6 years and can walk independently. We went up to the first floor on the travelator, having checked that there was a lift to come down again (downhill using crutches is extremely difficult and painful, and can lead to falling over). However, when we came to use the lift to return to the ground floor, we encountered several problems.
First, to summon the lift the button needs to be continuously depressed. I cannot stand with only one crutch and balance like that while holding a button down and waiting for the lift to ascend an entire storey. Both of my children were able to take turns doing this, but the necessary pressure made their fingers tired; if only one of them had been there it would have been even more difficult and time-consuming. I assume that in a wheelchair one could approach this button sideways-on, or possibly lean extremely far forwards and push it, but even that is suboptimal, and I have no idea how someone in a wheelchair could get a shopping trolley into the lift at all.
Second, to open the safety-lock on the door it seemed to be necessary to press the button and pull the door open at the same time, which requires two free hands. That is completely impossible for me, so first we tried having the three-year-old child push the button and the six-year-old pull the door, but the door was too heavy, so I had to pull it open myself.
Third, the door needs to be manually opened enough to allow entry onto the lift platform, and swings closed automatically on a spring. I cannot hold a door and walk across its arc enough to open it with only one crutch even when the door is not as heavy as this safety-door is. My six-year-old pushed it further open from where I had managed to open it and I held it in place with my crutch while both children entered the lift. Then I had to use one static crutch which I could not move (or the door would have closed on me, possibly knocking me down or hurting me) and one mobile crutch to get myself far enough into the lift that I could safely allow the door to close.
Fourth, the lift only moved while the "down" button was actually being held down.
Fifth, the door at the bottom was just as heavy. Thankfully, it was easier for my six-year-old to push it open than to pull it, so she was able to open it and walk out, and lean against it to hold it open while my three-year-old and I left the lift.
And sixth, the lift with the heavy swing-closed door opens onto a sharp, short ramp, because it does not come down level with the floor, so one has to hold the door open while navigating a slope.
All of this means that it is impossible for me, depending as I do on my crutches, to spend money in your store without an able-bodied assistant.