Asda have removed their ‘disabled’ hour

[HeidiHoNeighbour]

I know this is the second thread I’ve had about Asda! But my carer came really early today so I thought I might actually get to go shopping.

Nope. They had mon, weds, fri 8-9 for disabled and vulnerable.

It’s no more.

After watching me get chair out of car and park in disabled bay, manager said end of queue.

I asked if I could wait by doors.
No, you’ll get in the way.

I’m not vulnerable by government standards just bog standard disabled, no breathing issues just mobility.

Do bear in mind that at the moment it is extremely hard for EVERYONE.

Surely this is something that can be sorted relatively easily by emailing (or calling) the store manager, explaining the problem and asking if next time you can wait in a safe place?

OP did this yesterday, before she went to the store today.

It was the manager.

All I asked was if I could wait in the flat bit by doors until my turn, queue was approx 40 mins.

There is no online delivery and I’m not regarded as vulnerable by the government.

Just a bog standard disabled person in a wheelchair.

I agree it sounds easy to fix on the face of it but I heard all sorts of reasons why couples or other people should avoid queuing when I was in the queue last week. Would you have been 2m away from everyone? How would the person on the door decided it was your turn?

Did you get your shopping in the end?

@kilisibird

I went back because I could make the disabled hour.
At 8am it was around the car park.

There are a lot of obstacles there as I don’t think they thought it would be used as a walkway.

It’s a new build so very accessible for disabled but only at the front of store.

The thing is, Helenshielding, what may be considered a "reasonable adjustment" when life was normal, could possibly be considered unreasonable these days.

That OP was told she'd "get in the way" if she waited where she wanted to wait, would imply that there were social distancing or other access issues of which OP may not have been aware.

I agree with PP that this was a tactless remark.

I'm sure that many supermarket workers are possibly not at their most charming right now😉

Nice to see good old disablism alive and well on mumsnet as usual!

I went back because I could make the disabled hour.

But you knew you would be expected to join the queue so I don't know what difference it made that you were ready early and able to make that hour. Either way you were expected to join the queue. Arguably 'disabled' hour is worse because more people qualify as not being able to queue.

You set out this morning, to ASDA, knowing that you would have to queue. That fact is not altered buy the implementation or removal of the special hour.

Under normal circumstances I'd be very supportive of the OPs need for full accessibility but these aren't normal circumstances, the supermarkets are doing the best they can and we ALL have to aceept that we aren't going to be able to live normally. At least the OP isn't in a vulnerable group, who cannot go to the supermarket at all.

@kilisibird
The disabled hour actually hasn’t been that busy around here.

Plus they queue on the pavement outside the store, not around the car park.

Today it’s changed. NHS hour first then all other public.
I have no problem with queuing, I just want to wait in a safe area.

they still have the vulnerable hour but i think he couldhave handled it better i dont know what he expected you to do

But you already knew you had to queue, in the line, with everyone else. I can't understand why you went there today. I'm sorry but you really sound like a martyr. It's not ok that they expect you to do that, but seriously, you had all the information yesterday but still went there today. I just don't get it.

Do bear in mind that at the moment it is extremely hard for EVERYONE.

Under normal circumstances I'd be very supportive of the OPs need for full accessibility but these aren't normal circumstances, the supermarkets are doing the best they can and we ALL have to aceept that we aren't going to be able to live normally. At least the OP isn't in a vulnerable group, who cannot go to the supermarket at all.

It is even harder for someone who cannot queue up to get food, I really don't see what harm it would have caused, or what excessive additional work it would have been for the manager to either suggest somewhere safe, or let OP in. I hate this competitive someone else has it worse so everyone should just deal with crap. The truth is, some people have it harder than others, and simple actions by others would make it easier, we can still support eachother surely whilst struggling ourselves.

So you don't agree that we should be competitive about who had it worse but then say some people have it harder than others?

At the moment the people confined to their homes in case they die have it worse.

That's awful OP. Alternative queuing arrangements are a common reasonable adjustment that I have used myself at a first come first served system to get into a studio audience. Emailed in advance to say I can't queue standing up for several hours due to my disability and could I queue sitting down. They gave me a priority pass and I queued in a special area with seating which enabled me to attend. They had a list so that people could only do it once per series.

I would ring ASDA today and ask how they can enable you to queue safely in your chair so that you can do your shopping. If they can't offer you that request access to click and collect or a delivery as a reasonable adjustment. As you say, you're happy to queue but need an adjustment to ensure that you can queue safely - you're not asking to skip the queue.

I would ring ASDA today and ask how they can enable you to queue safely in your chair so that you can do your shopping. I

OP did that yesterday.

I am wondering if you and the manager have a different view on whether it is safe for you to wait on the pavement. The pavements around ASDAs are generally laid out so parents with children and buggies do not have to walk in the road. I have never seen one that is blocked or that can't be accessed by a drop step, although sometimes you have to go a way to access them.
I suspect you waiting by the door would make social distancing impossible.

@Tonyaster

I wonder why you feel the need to be so unpleasant. Do you have feelings of inadequacy?

If you can't be helpful just go away. Why try to make the OP feel bad?

Spiteful.

Oh fgs.

The supermarket made this decision, not me. I can see where they are coming from.

Ok so the obstacles were actually in the car park. Can't you queue up and when there is an obstacle just queue out a bit? People behind would know you were in the queue. And anyone with a buggy would have to do the same. Actually given a wheelchair does not take up much more space than a person standing, you would only have been slightly to one side of the queue.
Not sure I believe that you could not queue. I also don't know why you expected the manager to tell you disabled hour was no longer happening when he saw you getting out of your car. Disabled people are allowed to shop at any time.

At the moment the people confined to their homes in case they die have it worse.

I don't really see the correlation between people having to shield and people and places being accessible for those in wheelchairs to be honest. Surely by OP going into the shop for food rather than fighting those who can't leave the house for a delivery slot it makes it a tiny bit easier for them anyway? It's alright though, plenty of people face this kind of crap all of the time, I guess it's too much to expect things to be better at a time like this.

And what’s with the daily shopping trips anyway?

I don't see the point in making a disabled person who is upset even more upset.

That some people think it's fine is not ok.