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Quick Reference Guide to Accessible Constituency, Riding Association,
Central Party and Campaign Offices
Excellent Customer Service Is Essential
Excellent customer service is the responsibility of all levels of an organization and not simply of its front-line staff. Customer satisfaction should be integrated into all internal processes and policies. With this in mind, the points below will assist you and your campaign team in providing excellent customer service for voters with disabilities:
- Always treat anyone with a disability with the same respect and courtesy that you would offer to everyone else
- Extend common courtesies as you would to anyone else. Shake hands and/or give them your business card. If the person cannot shake your hand or grasp your card, they will tell you
- Treat adults with disabilities as adults
- Use words that put the person first, referring to them as a “person with a disability” or “person with hearing loss.” Do not use words like “handicapped,” “retarded,” “crippled,” or “wheelchair bound”
- Don't worry about substituting words. It’s okay to use words like "see," “walk,” or "hear." Don't avoid common expressions when they fit naturally into the conversation
- Offer assistance to a person with a disability if it seems appropriate, but wait until the offer is accepted before you help.
- Listen to any instructions that the individual gives about the best way to assist them and respond accordingly. If you are helping and aren't sure what to do, ask
- If you are having trouble understanding something the person's says, do not pretend that you do. Ask the individual to repeat what he or she said and then repeat it back. In some cases it may be helpful to use pen and paper. Do not finish sentences for the person with a disability
- When talking with a person who has a disability, speak directly to them rather than to a companion, assistant or interpreter who may be with them
- Get the person’s attention before you speak. Use eye contact and a simple wave to connect visually when speaking with a deaf, deafened or hard of hearing person
- Don’t shout; speak clearly and distinctly, and at a moderate pace
- Rephrase, rather than repeat, when you are not understood
- Do not overspeak to fill in words or finish the person’s thoughts or sentences.
- As with anyone else, let a person with a disability make their own decisions regarding what they can or cannot do. Do not make assumptions
- Be considerate, some people with disabilities may need extra time to complete a task. Be considerate
- If you are talking to a person in a wheelchair and the conversation lasts more than a few minutes, consider sitting down to be on the same level as the person, and to share eye contact
- It is prohibited to deny a person access to a place or a service because a guide dog accompanies them. Avoid petting or distracting the dog. They are hard to resist – but they’re on the job and petting, although well intentioned, can put both the handler and the dog in danger. Be aware that service animals are used to serve a range of disabilities, including vision and hearing loss, epilepsy, learning and developmental disabilities.