Business Disability Forum calls on businesses to recognise value of accessible customer service
Business Disability Forum (BDF), the leading business membership organisation in disability inclusion, has called on private sector organisations to recognise the business imperative of providing accessible customer experiences and service delivery.
This follows the publication of new UK Government research showing businesses are failing to meet the needs of disabled customers.
Angela Matthews, Director of Public Policy and Research at Business Disability Forum, said that this latest research shows that businesses are not providing accessible customer experiences and service delivery. She commented: “This is not only a failure of basic equal rights but is also a missed business opportunity.
“Businesses are putting up barriers which prevent more disabled people spending more money with them. It has a direct impact on businesses – on profit and growth as two basic examples – if they are not seeking to get their product or service purchased by as many people as possible.
“Many businesses talk about customer and client “needs” which are “tailored” and “individual” and that they are “happy to help”. Yet these words we associate with excellent service are not being experienced by disabled people.
“Adjustments and accessibility here are really about removing a difficulty which gets in the way of someone spending money with a business.
“If the legal and moral case that every human being is valuable and of equal worth in society doesn’t land with businesses, the profit case certainly should. Either way the outcome is the same: businesses, why are you making it hard for people to spend their money with you?”
Business Disability Forum runs a customer service taskforce and has published a range of free resources to help businesses meet the needs of disabled customers. It continues to work with business, Government and disabled people to improve the life experiences of disabled employees and consumers, by removing barriers to inclusion.
