Step-free entrance blocked and locked, unfriendly staff
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Visit date:
This review is especially helpful for those who have or use the following: Wheelchair, Powerchair
Overview
At first I was unable to enter this branch of EAT, it look a long time to gain access, and staff were rude and ungracious. A lot of work is needed to make this branch wheelchair-friendly.
Transport & Parking
Green Park station is nearby and is fully step-free, BUT check before you travel, as the lifts at this station are notoriously and disgracefully unreliable. Several bus routes run up and down Piccadilly and will drop you off nearby.
Access
The main entrance door has a large step, which is insurmountable for wheelchair users. I was shocked and disgusted to find that the door at the step-free side entrance was locked, and that the door was furthermore obstructed inside by a table and chairs, where people were eating. See my picture below. There is no doorbell, so I was unable to alert staff to my need for the side door to be unblocked and unlocked. I had to wait quite a while outside in the December cold until a random stranger kindly alerted staff to my presence. An assistant manager came along, moved the table and chairs, and effortfully unlocked and opened the door. It had clearly not been used for a long time, because it was stiff, she had to work really hard to yank it open, there was a huge amount of filth accumulated around its bottom edge, and it dragged heavily across the carpet underneath it. I remonstrated with her about the door being blocked and locked. She was inflexible and ungracious, in fact she was at the very outer fringes of civility, and refused to accept that the door should be kept available for use at all times. I was disgusted by her attitude and her manner.
Toilets
I didn't find a toilet.
Staff
See my comments above about the assistant manager. I did not interact with any other staff.
Anything else you wish to tell us?
This was a really horrible and upsetting experience, and shows how little EAT cares about disabled access - it adds another branch to my long list of EAT branches where I have had horrible difficulty gaining access and encountered again and again staff who clearly don't care about disabled access. To make this branch wheelchair-friendly (and Equality Act 2010-friendly) EAT needs to carry out the following remedial actions: - Clean, lubricate and renovate the step-free entrance side door - Keep the side door unlocked at all times - Do not obstruct the side door with tables and chairs - Implement a programme of company-wide disability awareness training for all staff If these things are done, I will be able to write a much more positive review of this branch. Meanwhile, I will be avoiding this branch, despite the excellence of EAT's ham and Jarlsberg-cheese baguettes.
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