If you’re a business owner, large or small, you’ll be looking to do all you can to ensure your business becomes as successful as it can possibly become, which is why modular steps, wheelchair ramps, and much more besides, are proving to be so incredibly useful. Studies have found that a large percentage of businesses in the UK, particularly high street retailers, have failed to make their stores as accessible and as disability-friendly as they should, and are losing out as a result. If you’re looking to make your business more accessible for less able-bodied individuals however, you may wish to opt for modular steps, wheelchair ramps, and various other pieces of equipment which we’ll be looking at in this article. In this article we’ll be taking a look at a few simple, yet highly effective tips to help ensure that you are able to make your business more accessible. Now, be warned, some of these tips will require a fair amount of investment, but they are worth every penny, and then some besides, so without any further hesitation, let’s get started.
Keep Aisles Clear
First and foremost, one of the best things you can do to help ensure your store becomes more disability friendly, is to ensure that you keep your aisles clear at all times. A stray box here and there, or a misplaced product may not seem like a big deal to you, but to a wheelchair user, or an elderly person unsteady on their feet, this obstacle will not only make parts of your store inaccessible, it may also put their health at risk as a result. There is no excuse for blocking up aisles and misplacing products, so ensure it never happens.
Have the Right Tools and Equipment Installed
Another very effective way of ensuring your business becomes more accessible and is considered more disabled-friendly, is to have the correct tools and equipment installed. Modular steps are very beneficial and effective and are selling very well as of late, but on top of those, you will want to ensure that you have wheelchair ramps/wheelchair access ramps, double doors, and possibly even hearing loops by your tills.
Electric Doors
If you’re a relatively large business, not only should you have double doors fitted, you should also seriously consider having electric doors fitted and installed in your store. Opening a set of doors by hand can be very difficult for even able-bodied individuals, so for somebody confined to a wheelchair, or who isn’t considered the most mobile of people, having to manually open a door by hand could prove extremely difficult. With electric doors however, you have a large button located relatively low to the ground, which wheelchair users and those unsteady on their feet, can press and then enter your store. On top of that, you may also wish to ensure that the glass has stickers and decals stuck to it, to ensure that people can actually tell that it is glass. Consider having the doors a different colour to the rest of your store, as well.