Disabled clients and visitors

Disabled clients and visitors

If clients or visitors make appointments to see you at your premises, there is a good chance that some of them will have a disability since 14.1 million people in the UK are disabled.

The following tips will help you to welcome disabled clients and visitors.

Planning and booking appointments

1. Check your online information. Most people will check you out online before making an appointment or dropping in. If there is level access or a lift, say so on your website or Facebook page and show pictures. Show and describe the spaces in which you see clients or visitors. Mentioning parking and public transport options and any notable features such as a steep hill or cobbles is also a good idea.
2. Give visitor the opportunity to tell you about any particular requirements they have for the meeting – whether they book online, over the telephone or another way. Ask all clients this as you may not necessarily know if someone has a disability. This gives clients the opportunity to let you know what they need.
3. Explain in advance what will happen during the meeting including who else will be there and why. Tell clients how long the appointment will last, anything they need to do in advance – for example, bring paperwork or a friend/family member or what to wear/not wear. Remember to say whether there will be access to toilets or changing areas. If you have an accessible toilet, remember to mention this on your website or when an appointment is booked.
4. If you are going to be discussing complex information – for example, medical, financial or legal – your client might need to bring or contact someone to help them understand the meeting. This could be a sign language interpreter or lip speaker for someone who is deaf or a support worker or family member or friend for someone who has a learning disability or mental health condition.
5. Face-to-face interpreters are often in demand and will require advanced booking. Online video interpreting can be booked at short notice, and provide remote real-time interpretation via a PC, mobile device or smart phone.
6. Ask before the appointment if the customer would like information emailed in advance. Some people will not be able to read printed information provided at the meeting – for example, because they use electronic screen readers or have other access needs. Offer to follow up with accessible information if it is not available on the day

See our Inclusive Communication Toolkit for more advice on inclusive and accessible communication.

On the day

1. Be on time. If you are running late or have to move an appointment, give the client as much notice as possible. Clients may have had to plan their trip or organise assistance such as a paid-for carer who is only available for a limited amount of time to get to the appointment, so rearranging at short notice may be difficult for them.
2. Don’t make assumptions about the client’s needs or abilities. Give them plenty of opportunity to tell you how they would like a service delivered or the item which they think is best for them. They are the expert and are probably used to coming up with different ways to achieve the same result.
3. The client may need longer to read through forms and information. Be ready to explain the information.
4. Provide different payment options if you can and say in advance what they are – for example, if you only accept cash. Some disabled people can find it difficult to obtain cash, others may find it hard to remember a PIN, and others may find writing or signing a signature difficult, or the signature may be inconsistent.