Had to share this complaint I've made because of the stupidity of it all! I am not one for asking for special treatment or taking advantage but I can't see why my request was treated with such hostility! All I wanted was a bit of compassion as a fellow human being...!
Dear
Sir/Madam
On
Saturday 7th September at approximately 11pm I went to
Revolution (Electric Press) in Leeds. I don't go out in to town very
often as I have Cystic Fibrosis and am often too unwell to venture
out. As a result of my lack of knowledge, I was unfortunately dropped
off by the wrong entrance to Revolution and was informed I had to use
the other entrance by a doorman.
Cystic
Fibrosis is a genetic condition that affects mainly the lungs and
digestive system by blocking them with thick, sticky mucus. This
causes constant chronic chest infections, lung damage, inflammation,
malnutrition and diabetes amongst other complications. My lung
function is 40% of a healthy persons. Walking, especially in colder
weather causes me to cough violently, become wheezy and short of
breath. Imagine breathing through a straw with a really bad cold and
chest infection and that might give you a small insight in to what I
have to cope with every single day.
As
you can imagine, I therefore try to walk as little as possible as it
is distressing, causes headaches, back and neck pain and is very
embarrassing. In fact on a night out I have to plan in advance where
to go in order to try avoid walking long distances. Therefore I
explained to the doorman that walking around to the other entrance
would cause me to cough and become breathless as I have Cystic
Fibrosis and could he let me use this entrance? He informed me I
could not. I explained again how serious my condition is and please
could he let me through just this time, I wasn't trying to get in for
free, I would just struggle to walk around. Again he told me no,
everyone is treated the same and has to use the other entrance. He
then added 'you are out partying aren't you? So....', I believe he
was implying I could not be disabled as I was on a night out. Does
your business believe that people with disabilities are not entitled
to socialise and go out in public? This is pure discrimination and
not acceptable at all.
I
asked him his name which he refused to give me, I then asked to speak
to the manager and he told me if I wanted to speak to the manager to
go use the other entrance and get him myself. All I was asking for
was some compassion and this man was extremely rude to me. I sent my
friend around to the front entrance to fetch the manager and started
to explain to the doorman about the Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA) (1995). This
legislation requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity
for people with disabilities
by making reasonable adjustments. Here is a link for your
information
(http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070905115609/http://direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Everydaylifeandaccess/DG_4018353)
The
doorman claimed making me use the front entrance meant he was
treating me equally, illustrating he has absolutely no idea what the
law is or how to interpret it. He also turned to talk to some other
men whilst I was still explaining the law to him and then turned
around and shouted at me like I was a child for 'interrupting' him.
Whilst
I was speaking to the doorman I even had a coughing episode and he
asked me if I was OK, making the whole situation even more ludicrous!
Another
doorman came over to find out
the problem. I again explained my situation and that all I wanted to
do was avoid having to walk due to my condition and I wasn't trying
to get in for free. The other doorman at this point yelled he was not
not a 'cashier!'. This new doorman told me he couldn't let me in this
way as other people would complain, I told him I'm sure he explained
I was disabled they wouldn't mind but he didn't seem to care.
At
this point I didn't want to go in to the bar any more, however my
friends had already paid to go in as they had come in a separate taxi
and didn't know what was happening. Apparently the manager was
refusing to come see me and I was upset by how unhelpful all the
staff were and my inability to do anything about it.
The
new doorman offered to walk around to the front entrance with me and
get me in for free. I explained to him that this wouldn't help me.
However he insisted and I had little choice. So I walked around and
to my dismay realised it was uphill which made the situation even
worse. I coughed all the way, people were staring at me and I
couldn't breathe properly. All because your staff are stubborn and
did not believe I was disabled because I have an unseen disability.
The doorman asked me if I was OK, clearly I was not and told him so
and this is exactly why I didn't want to have to walk around! He
offered to get me a glass of water which does not help me in the
slightest, what would have helped me they were not willing to do.
When
you have a condition like mine, you know that you have to walk to
places, sometimes it is unavoidable. However whenever possible you
try to avoid walking to save the embarrassment, distress and to
preserve energy for the times you have no choice but to walk. My
condition is complex, you can't see it but it is serious and
therefore I expect to be treated with the same compassion as any
other person with a disability such as a wheelchair user, I have a
blue badge just like others with disabilities. I was discriminated
against because you can not see my disability. I was spoken to rudely
and made to feel invaluable as a customer. Your establishment failed
to meet the requirements of the DDA and it could so easily have been
avoided as my request was simple.
Yours
sincerely
Gemma
.JPG)