Excellent - apart from the toilet
3.5
3.5
Date of visit: November 2016
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: disabled toilet
Overall Rating
Good
Peter Jones, a branch of John Lewis, is fully accessible in every way, staff are eager to help, but never intrusively so. Strongly recommended, despite annoyance about the thoughtless accessible toilet provision (see below).
Disabled Access In and Around
Excellent
The Sloane Square entrance is step-free but has heavy doors. Luckily the shop is so busy that there's always a willing member of the public around to hold a heavy door open for you. For a truly step-free entrance without doors or other obstacles, go to the back of the shop in Symons Street, where the customer collection point is, it has a ramp and automatic doors. This is by far the easiest way to enter and leave the shop. Avoid the entrances at the front of the shop in King's Road, as some have short flights of steps. It's easy to get around the shop on its lovely smooth marble floors, and there are plenty of lifts. Every time I press a lift button I get a nasty static electric shock. I wish John Lewis would fix this annoying problem.
Parking & Transport
Average
I wouldn't try parking here. There are no step-free stations nearby, though if you can get out of your wheelchair and use an escalator, you can use Sloane Square tube station, which has escalators running directly between the street and the platforms, with no intermediate fixed steps. Many bus routes serve Sloane Square and King's Road.
Accessible Toilets
Average
There are accessible toilets. The ones I used on my visits had two problems: 1) Basement Toilet. (a) The red emergency cord had been thoughtlessly shortened with a complex knot. This means that it can't be reached by anyone who falls to the floor in the often precarious transfer from wheelchair to toilet and back. The red emergency cord must hang freely all the way to the floor. (b) A big rubbish bin has been thoughtlessly placed in the wheelchair transfer area. This area is NOT free space for stuff like bins. It must be kept clear of obstacles so that a wheelchair user can park there! See my pictures below. 2) Third Floor Toilet (a) This toilet is kept locked and there is no signage on it telling you to seek assistance from staff. This meant that when I found it locked I sensibly assumed it was occupied. It wasn't. After a very long wait, I was approached by a member of staff asking if I wanted to use the toilet. Yes I did! So she unlocked it for me. She explained that they keep it locked so that only disabled people use it, without having to wait for anyone else who might be using it. But the result of keeping it locked is a long wait anyway before staff spot you and bring the key. This is is contrary to the spirit and letter of the Equality Act 2010, which makes it unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability. Blocking access to only the accessible toilet by locking it is treating disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability. (b) The red emergency cord in this toilet is too short. This is thoughtless and dangerous. See my picture below.
Staff
Average
Full marks to all the staff for being helpful and friendly - except those who maintain the accessible toilets, who should know better than to - tie up the red emergency cord in the basement's accessible toilet - maintain a red emergency cord which is too short in the 3rd floor accessible toilet - block the wheelchair transfer space in the basement accessible toilet with a big bin - discriminate against disabled people by keeping the 3rd floor accessible toilet locked
Additional Information
There is a café/restaurant on the top floor with a sweeping view of west London, and the lemon drizzle cake is delicious.
