A Lanarkshire charity shop has introduced a new tool to make shopping more accessible for disabled customers.
Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s shop in Bothwell has joined WelcoMe, a service which allows people to share their access needs prior to visiting the store.
It allows them to plan their visit in advance and reasons for visiting, helping staff do more for those living with a disability with greater ease, with enhanced communication and instant training.
The charity, who support people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions to live their lives to the full, hopes to enhance the shopping experience for their customers and make sure staff and volunteers can easily access training to deliver the best possible service for all of their customers.
WelcoMe specialises in making face-to-face transactions between staff teams and disabled customers as informed, anxiety-free and friendly as possible.
Customers can use WelcoMe to let the staff know their anticipated arrival time, and how they would like to meet them alongside the specific visit information and responding to some questions.
WelcoMe then gives the shop team training through an innovative in-the-moment approach.
The shop team are given easy to understand summaries of what the customers would like you to be aware of, simple-to-action hints and tips and further resources, so that staff do not need to rely on recall to deliver best practice and can easily identify hidden conditions without awkward conversations.
This enables the shop team to have the information they need in advance so they know exactly how best they can help and so that the customer receives a warm welcome.
Carole Edmonds, head of retail at Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, said: “We want to make sure our shops are accessible for everyone and that all our customers have a positive experience in store.
“WelcoMe allows our customers to share their specific needs before they visit us and provides our shop team with the information, they need to make sure our customers feel supported when shopping with us.”
You can find out more about the Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s shops available on WelcoMe by visiting www.wel-co.me/chss and start planning visits.
You can find your local Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland store’s address and opening times here.
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