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Frequently Asked
Questions About Retail Stores
Q: Are retail stores
required to have TTYs (text telephones for people who are deaf
or hard of hearing)?
A: Only
those businesses that allow customers to make outgoing calls on
more than an incidental convenience basis must provide TTYs. For
making calls to or receiving calls from customers with hearing
or speech impairments who use TTYs, stores are able to rely on
the relay systems that telephone companies have established. Operators
employed by relay systems will relay communications between TTY-users
and people using conventional telephones.
Retail stores can ensure effective communication by training staff
who answer the telephone to anticipate incoming calls through the
relay service. Handling these calls may take longer because an
operator at the relay system will be receiving typed communications
from the caller and will also be using the relay system equipment
to type communications from the store staff person to the caller.
Training should be undertaken as soon as possible because all states
already offer some type of relay service.
For your information, however, a TTY is relatively inexpensive, usually costs
about $275 and would be a welcome service for customers with hearing or speech
impairments. If you have a TTY, be sure to list your telephone number followed
by "Voice/TTY" in any publications or advertisements to signify that customers
can communicate with you by voice or TTY
Q: Must retail stores allow service
animals, including guide dogs, to accompany customers with disabilities
into stores?
A: Yes.
Q: Do dressing rooms need to be
accessible?
A: If it is readily achievable,
stores must alter one or more dressing rooms to allow use by customers
who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices. If it is not readily
achievable to provide an accessible dressing room, alternative methods
must be used, such as establishing a liberal return policy so customers
who cannot use the dressing rooms can take merchandise home to try
on.
Q: Are clothing
stores required to provide assistance in dressing rooms to people
with disabilities?
A: DOJ states that dressing assistance
is required in stores where individualized assistance in selecting and trying
on garments is provided. In a store where such assistance is not offered
generally, it is not required because it is not provided to other customers.
Q: How can a retail establishment communicate
with a customer who is deaf or hard of hearing or who has a speech impairment? A: Most customers who are
deaf or hard of hearing will identify themselves by writing a note
or using hand gestures. When a salesperson has realized that a customer
is deaf or hard of hearing, he or she can communicate by writing
notes. Maintaining face-to-face contact is important for communications
with a customer who reads lips.
The services of a sign language interpreter should not be necessary to accomplish
most retail transactions that are short and straightforward but may be necessary
to communicate effectively in an unusually complex transaction.
Stores that use public address systems to announce special offers or sale days
should consider providing electronic bulletin boards or print announcements near
doors and check-out counters to announce these events as a way to communicate
effectively with customers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
It is also important for retail businesses to communicate effectively with customers
who have speech impairments. Allowing sufficient time for a person with such
a disability to express himself or herself or read a message spelled out on a
word board are examples of methods to achieve effective communication. |
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