Mystery Shopping: Why Genuine Experiences Matter in Accessibility
Facing the reality is always a good start.
You can listen to the main articles in this newsletter (read by myself).
Hello everyone,
I couldn’t raise my eyebrows high enough when I read the scoop Disability News Service revealed in the past two weeks.
Some rail companies used evidence on the accessibility of their rail services that has come from “mystery shopping” exercises carried out by non-disabled people pretending to be disabled.
It’s not surprising that the disability community is fuming. The rail minister was challenged in parliament about it because the mystery shopping trips the rail companies are making are performance-relevant. Also, the rail regulator ORR seems concerned.
Devaluation of disabled people’s experience
This is offensive on so many levels. It devalues the experience of disabled people when using public transport. It makes a mockery out of their experience every day when using trains. And the worst part was, that some operators defended that after they got caught. Again, sorry seems to be the hardest word.
Faking impairments will never work because you can’t copy the unique experience disabled customers have. Non-disabled people don’t even know what good service for this customer group looks like. They don’t know what to expect and how to manoeuvre the system. They will never get stuck in the middle of the night because the train was hours delayed and a wheelchair-accessible taxi was impossible to get. They will never get overcarried to the Terminus station. They get off the wheelchair they have borrowed and lift it off the train, something many wheelchair users can’t do.
Faking impairments is not the way forward
Also, my life as a wheelchair user for over 40 years has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with someone who sits in a wheelchair for an hour. That’s the same approach as black-facing. In the case of disabled people, it’s called “cripping up”.
Last but not least, every company that spends money on mystery shopping should be interested in learning from it. So, getting wrong and misleading feedback is a waste of money.
You will never get anything meaningful about accessibility and staff behaviour from fake mystery shoppers. It’s a box-ticking exercise. So, if mystery shopping should have a meaningful outcome, the only way forward is to use genuine disabled customers. And if companies fear the outcome would be too bad if genuinely disabled people do it, well, all I can say is, nothing will change if you don’t start somewhere. Facing the reality is always a good start.
Some interesting links
Eurostar has removed the requirement to transfer into their own station wheelchairs from their website. They replaced it with another not very customer-friendly text and said, it depends on the repair status of the wheelchair, if people get assistance . The Observer celebrates that as their win. I would say some disabled people contacting the rail regulator ORR have done half of the job too.
Also, Eurostar never changed their Accessibility Travel Policy (ATP). They only changed the website and created a mismatch between their ATP and the website. The ATP is part of their operating licence. Changing an ATP is a proper process with the ORR. I wouldn’t be surprised if their “repair state” text will disappear as well when this has cooled down.
Southeastern gets new rolling stock. Hooray! As this is my local train operating company, I’m excited, but they need mandatory level boarding in the tender, otherwise it will implement inaccessibility for another 40 years. And before the first one says, “But there are different platform heights”, true, but there is a platform standard as well, which was ignored for far too long, and there are train manufacturers that have gap fillers. I would not let anyone bid that can’t at least meet the standard platform height of 915mm. Anything else is the same old “it’s all so difficult” approach. Merseyrail showed with their new rolling stock what is possible.
Most of us use video conferencing apps for remote and hybrid meetings. The Business Disability forum has published a free user's guide on accessibility of video conferencing apps. It provides an in-depth analysis of five major platforms, so you can choose the best one based on the needs of your meeting participants and the requirements of your organisation.
Something to learn
Microsoft has released an “Accessibility fundamentals” course. It has 7 modules and focuses on digital accessibility.
Something to watch
I’ve never seen this before but I think it’s a brilliant idea.
[Video description: A bus stops on a turntable in the middle of a road that would be too narrow to turn. Passengers are leaving and then the turntable turns the bus around.]
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Some final words
“Beware trying to iron out all your quirks, perceived flaws and doubts. It's often these things that help you find strength, compassion, empathy for others and heart.” (Rasheed Ogunlaru)
The Accessible Link is a reader-supported publication. So, if you like what you’re reading, consider to
As a paid subscriber you will receive an additional edition every two weeks with best-practice tips on improving accessibility in your organisation.
Who is writing this newsletter?
I’m Christiane Link, and I improve the customer experience in aviation, transport, and travel. I worked as a journalist for over two decades and travelled extensively for business and leisure. I’m a wheelchair user.
Work with me
Whether you're a Customer service director, a Head of Customer Experience, a corporate Accessibility manager, a DEI leader, a transport planner, or a disabled employee resource group member, I can help you to make your organisation more inclusive. You can book me for speaking engagements or hire me as a consultant for your accessibility or DEI strategy, communications advice and other related matters. I have worked for airlines, airports, train operators, public transport providers, and companies in other sectors.
If you want to read more from me, follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Bluesky or Mastodon. You can also reply to this email if you want to contact me.
.
Accessibility testing by non-disabled people is appalling - thank you for calling this out!