To think it is appalling Asda are using disabled spaces?

[NightSpot]

For their click and collect orders?

Our Asda has a hut in the middle of the carpark. During lockdown understandably this became busy and was blocking the flow of traffic so they moved click and collect to the side of the store. All fine.

Went to get my order for the first time ina few weeks and realise they have now moved it to the other side of the carpark.. using the disabled bays as the collection point.

Yes, they have other disabled bays, but as I understood it they needed a certain amount or they wouldnt have been originally installed? When questioned, they said it was because they are only using one of the entrances, "hardly anyone " was using them. Surely that is not the point? They are there for a reason! And the queues to the entrance they are using are quite often up to these ones anyway so the person would have to walk further to reach the end of the queue!

@smallaxe

Presumably those disabled bays are where they are in order to make it easier for disabled people to use the nearby entrance - the one that's now closed. Would anybody be wanting to use bays near a closed entrance when there are enough bays near the open entrance?

It’s not just the proximity to the entrance, it’s the extra space around the bay that allows you to get out of the car with the doors wide open etc.

@PassingByAndThoughtIdDropIn

If blue badge holders ever find themselves unable to access a disabled space under the new arrangements then YANBU. If they don’t (eg because some disabled people are less likely to go to the supermarket in person at the moment so there’s less need for spaces) then YABU.

You need to factor into that thought the number of BB holders that don't bother going out anymore, after repeated experiences of not being able to park. Which artificially depresses the apparent demand.

@QuestionableMouse

No it pisses me off too. My local morrisons have installed a garden centre thing on six or seven of their disabled bays. It means that sometimes it's impossible to find one which means my mum may not be able to get out of the car.

This is unacceptable but using them for click and collect is fine, many of those people will be those shielding.

@Gilead

For the hard of thinking: Asda using bb spaces. People who don’t have a bb using the spaces because we are all apparently shielding (one big group and all poorly as fuck), so where do those of us with a bb go? I know, we go without. In reality that’s what happens, so perhaps those of you whe feel the op is bored or whatever, I suggest you try an empathy infusion.

I love this idea that all BB holders are poorly little weaklings who are made of rice paper and must never go outside.

Lots of shops are doing this it’s really annoying. Just because you can’t walk very far or not at all does not make you more likely to need to shield and therefore be out of the way for everyone else. Lung and immune conditions can effect anyone mobile or not.

With shielding official stopping next week everyone need to get back to normal if half places where Disabled people could park are not useable we go to being stuck at home. Please if you feel able make a point of commenting to shop about it.

Phone and ask for a call back from the manager to explain their rationale and reason for doing so. A lot of supermarkets are actually pretty good at responding at store level.

It’s not just the proximity to the entrance, it’s the extra space around the bay that allows you to get out of the car with the doors wide open etc.

Yes, I realise that. But from the description those bays are intended to serve the entrance that's closed. There are apparently sufficient disabled bays elsewhere, and there are still far fewer shoppers than there were, so I don't really understand the issue in this case.

If it's inconveniencing anyone then I can obviously see the issue but from the sound of it it isn't.

YABU; you’re being ridiculous. The spaces aren’t being used so it just makes sense.

At our local morrisons I have had to send OH to shop instead of doing my own shopping, because the use of disabled bays for other purposes now means there is rarely ever a bay where I can safely get my powerchair out.

The parent and child bays are never used for any other purpose.

The reason for this is obvious, despite parent and child bays being a courtesy and not legally required, parent and child space users spend more money than disabledz do. So they must be kept appeased and happy.

My DM is 96. BB holder due to age. No problems with parking in a disabled slot. She still drives herself to the supermarket. The idea that people cannot park is not borne out by what I’ve seen or DM has experienced. She’s happy to go out. She’s more concerned she cannot get to her favourite picnic spot because HS2 have closed off the wood! She doesn’t live her life as a poor old thing!

I think it very much depends on the store. Ds is a blue badge holder and our local Asda has recently lost a few disabled spaces but still has more than enough that they never seem to be more than 75% full at most. Bigger issue is still the people who think nipping into disabled spaces is fine because they are just running to the cash point!

Why do you set yourself up against people with children who may also be struggling right now. If DH can do your shopping, be pleased. You don’t need to go.

@Alabamawhirly1

I haven’t ventured to shops. Not well enough atm. Do you know shops are allowing bb holders to skip queues?

Depends on the shop. Ikea let us skip the queue, waitross wouldnt let us. Another mum of a disabled child I know has been allowed to skip in Asda I think.

It probably depends on the disability Tbh. My ds is in a wheelchair. So no mobility issue for me, but it's awkward to queue outside if it's bad weather or very hot. If you're walking with reduced mobility and/or struggle to stand you'll probably be allowed to skip the queue.

Other customers do let people cut in too. I saw this at poundland and I was offered a cut in when I spent so long getting ds out the car and into the trolley that about 30 people has joined the queue.

Thanks for the info.

@NightSpot
No need to apologise I can totally understand why you thought you were being attacked especially after the nasty comments, one of which is posted just above mine...

Oh not anymore - was referring to heartsonacake... forgot to refresh the screen

In my experience disabled bays are over provided anyway- whenever a carpark is busy, the disabled bays are always the ones empty.

YABU.
Realistically the location of the click and collect area has to be as close as possible to where such orders are stored in order to minimise the level of resources needed to operate such a service. It simply isn't practical to store such orders at the back of the car park as there won't be an electricity connection to keep the stuff cool enough to be safe to eat so the click and collect area has to be next to the entrance for logistical reasons.

There always seem to be several unused disable spaces while everyone drives around for ages looking for a standard space, so I can't imagine it would cause a problem.

These threads always seem to descend into parents Vs disabled. Predictable, but boring.

@FreakStar

In my experience disabled bays are over provided anyway- whenever a carpark is busy, the disabled bays are always the ones empty.

That is a sweeping statement and as a BB holder, untrue. Both Tesco and Sainsburys have terrible provision in all the supermarkets I’ve been to. They even have the cheek to put P&C closer to the doors. Asda is better. But they put them in loooong blocks, which defeats the object.

Our local Waitrose has closed ALL the disabled parking spaces. Every single one.

@My0My
For some bb holders going for the shopping is actually their only time out.... so I wouldn’t be grateful that dh could do it ( of course in grateful I have family to help etc , but that’s not the emphatic point here) I’d be peed off that I couldn’t get out that week. Also , I have personally witnessed staff in supermarket parking in disabled bay without a badge, and loudly tongue-in-cheek commenting to colleague ‘oh I left my blue badge in the house’ snigger snigger,, because it was raining and she could park closer. I’ve seen many cars in bb bays without a badge and it’s a sad state of affairs that In this day and age People think it’s ok to think of us as unimportant insignificant members of society. Because that’s what they’re doing. But they would be outraged if someone decided to bring their massive lorry to the local Asda and take up 12 spaces, cos then where would they park? It’s not the number of spaces available, it’s the ATTITUDE that needs addressing.

@My0My

Why do you set yourself up against people with children who may also be struggling right now. If DH can do your shopping, be pleased. You don’t need to go.

maybe she would like to go. people with children do not need special spaces. BB bays are essential.

@Staplemaple

Phone and ask for a call back from the manager to explain their rationale and reason for doing so. A lot of supermarkets are actually pretty good at responding at store level.

The problem with that is nothing gets recorded.

A request to see what assessment was taken under the 2010 EA is far more effective, as it requires they either say "What's that ?" which isn't a great look for their compliance team, or they send you their workings, so to speak.

In my experience (before I gave up) it was 50/50 as to whether they had heard of the 2010 act, and when they had, very few had actually complied.

To be fair, much as local authorities get a lot of stick, they are very good at making and supplying impact assessments.

But even if you go through all that, and get to the end, unless you have a pot of money you never want to see again (it could happen, I guess) you won't actually achieve any change.

Eventually, disabled people will get the message, and just stay in and solve everyones problems. After all, aren't we supposed to be going back to the glory days of the 70s or 60s ?

@Staffy1

There always seem to be several unused disable spaces while everyone drives around for ages looking for a standard space, so I can't imagine it would cause a problem.

That depends so much on the location. I don’t think it’s even company dependant.

Some places are awful with either a massive shortage of spaces or no thought put into the location of them. Local Tesco is awful because they have the P and C spaces near the door but the disabled spaces across a road working away from the store. So I use P and C spaces.

True @DGRossetti, but at least if they cannot provide an actual explanation you can esculate it. If something goes directly to head office, it's often deflected back to store level who then just say we don't know; if you speak to them first and explain then when contacting HO, they're more likely to actually do something. Although it's a sad state of affairs when this needs to be done anyway, it should just be standard.