Accessible Customer Service Standard

Imagine being treated disrespectfully in a store by a clerk. Or not getting served at a coffee shop because staff didn’t take the time to understand you. For a customer with disability, these situations can be difficult to avoid.

Ontario has a new law to change this.

It’s called the Accessible Customer Service Standard and it is now in force for Ontario’s public sector organizations.

As of January 1, 2010, Ontario’s hospitals, schools, municipalities and other public organizations are now required to provide service that is accessible to everyone. The private sector and non-profit organizations will follow in 2012.

The Accessible Customer Service Standard requires that all businesses and organizations in Ontario:

-train staff about meeting the needs of customers with a variety of disabilities

-communicate with a person in a manner that takes into account their disability

-permit customers to bring their service animals, such as guide dogs, onto their premises.

“Accessible customer service is about learning how to communicate with someone who has a disability and, most importantly, it is about being willing to help,” says Community and Social Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur.

Simply put, accessible service is good customer service. And with the number of people with disabilities on the rise as our baby boomer population ages, accessibility is quickly becoming a necessity.

By being more welcoming to the 1.85 million Ontarians with disabilities, businesses and organizations can:

-increase their customer base

-improve customer satisfaction

-tap into an annual spending power of $25 billion.

The Accessible Customer Service Standard is part of the province’s plan to make Ontario accessible by 2025. More accessibility standards will soon be finalized to tackle barriers in other key areas of every day life. For more information, visit www.Ontario.ca/AccessON.

Here are some ways you make your services accessible for people with disabilities:

-Treat people with disabilities with the same respect and consideration you have for everyone else.

-Smile, relax, and keep in mind that people with disabilities are just people.

-Don’t make assumptions about what type of disability or disabilities a person has.

-Some disabilities are not visible. Take the time to get to know your customers’ needs.

-Be patient. People with some kinds of disabilities may take a little longer to understand and respond.

-If you're not sure what to do, ask your customer, "May I help you?"

Charlotte Wilkinson

Senior Coordinator - Media and Issues

Issues and Media Management and Evaluation

Ministry of Community and Social Services

7th Floor, Hepburn Block

80 Grosvenor Street

Toronto, ON M7A 1E9

Tel:

Email: charlotte.wilkinson@ontario.ca