A different point of view
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The document describes Betsy Replogle's observations of accessibility and design features of different retail stores based on her personal experiences with disabilities, noting that the hospital gift shop best welcomed customers by having wide aisles, good lighting and placement of merchandise, while pharmacies and other stores could improve accessibility. Replogle emphasizes the importance of accessibility and creating a welcoming environment for all customers.
A different point of view
- 1. A Crash Course in Creativity Assignment #2 By Betsy Replogle
- 2. For most of the past 30 years, the form of arthritis I have (diffuse systemic sclerosis) has limited my use of my hands and required me to use a cane or wheelchair to get around. I also have problems with fatigue (which is why I can’t visit 6+ stores.. I am also hard of hearing, so I did not notice the sounds. These problems will also affect many people as they grow older, so I feel my experience is valuable for the future. Most US disability laws do not do enough to help people who are frail but still need to get around on their own. Therefore, I am basing my observations for this assignment on my personal experiences. Considering the challenges…
- 3. …LET THE GAME BEGIN!
- 4. The door is closed, and requires assistance if shopper is disabled—but no one is there to help. The lights are fluorescent and glaring. (no spotlights) Halloween items are already on sale 10- 30-2012. There is a hand sanitizer outside. Window displays are minimal. This shop is primarily a pharmacy, but you will see there is no place for shoppers to sit while they have to wait for prescriptions to be filled. That encourages them to move around the store and shop on impulse.
- 5. Children’s books and toys are right across from lotions and laxatives. (Laxatives make you want to go--in more ways than one.) Not much chance for children to linger and shop. I got my prescriptions here for many years because, as a hospital volunteer, I got big discounts. While my Nexium normally costs well over $1,000 for three months, thanks to a deal the hospital had with the drug company I was able to get mine for under $60. (That should tell you something about drug cost v. price!)
- 6. This does not give shoppers a warm, happy feeling. The door here is decorated with laws and regulations. No one was at the window.
- 7. As in most pharmacies, the only register is in the back of the store. People who just want to buy snacks or candy may have to wait a long time, but long lines will put you near these “impulse purchase items.”
- 8. The floors may be hardwood, but don’t try to get a wide wheelchair down this aisle! There’s barely enough room for two people.
- 9. This gift shop is the first thing people see when entering the hospital. Many people notice it before the Information Desk.
- 10. If the store is open, both doors are open. There are signs by the door saying the hours the store is open and explaining that it is run by the Volunteer Auxiliary with all profits going to charity.
- 11. This store gives hospital visitors and employees a place to get away from their worries. It is a fun, happy place.
- 12. The aisles are extra-wide. The floors are real wood and attractive, as in a high-dollar store, but not slippery, making it safe easy for crutches and wheels. The lighting is a festive blend of string lights, spotlights, and a few fluorescent lights near windows.
- 13. Cash registers, snacks, impulse items are all just inside the door. People who buy these things are usually taking a quick break and in a hurry to return to their stations. The office behind the door is open so volunteer staff (employees) can be sure everything is going well; they can dash out to help almost immediately if needed.
- 14. The central display always has seasonal items. It is about midway in the shop (luring customers in) but easily seen from the entrance and all parts of the store. Items on different levels make customers spend more time looking at the display, but volunteers are always available to help customers reach the merchandise.
- 15. The main area of the store is L-shaped. Here it is viewed from the right side of the central display. Merchandise is organized by type and vendor. If you look to the back, you can see that windows allow views of the store from the main hallway of the hospital.
- 16. (Pardon my bias.) I have worked thousands of hours in this shop. My job is to work on the inventory records, but here is one thing I hadn’t noticed before. It is not in the inventory.
- 17. Besides have hospital security directly outside the shop’s front door, everyone working in the store is trained to be alert for problems. Also, there are hidden cameras and detectors to help protect the $500,000 inventory .
- 18. Here is the shop’s manager and buyer Paula Jones. She also designed the layout, lighting, displays, etc. She is self-taught, and in the time she has run the store sales have increased from $100K to $1.5 million annually.
- 19. The walls outside the store have posters showing how some of the profits have been used.
- 20. I get my prescriptions here now. Nichols Hills is an upscale town of approximately 4,000 people.
- 21. This is a small, neighborhood drug store that has been in business since the early 20th century. Photos from its history hang on the wall. Until the local (and hated) Chesapeake Energy bought the plaza and forced the drug store to move to a remote corner, this store also included merchandise and a lunch counter. For nearly 50 years it was the town’s focal point. (Chesapeake has recently told the store it has to move again; Chesapeake wants its own drug store.)
- 22. Since being downsized in space, the store has not had impulse items near the counter—just reliques from the past.
- 23. For a tiny space, the aisles are as wide as possible. Since it is a temporary location, the floors have not been redone but are original linoleum tiles.
- 24. Customers get good service from the two pharmacists—as many as many large pharmacies have on duty—and rarely have to wait, but seating is available. This view is from the counter, so you can see how conveniently close it is to the door.
- 25. Minimal inventory near the door. The store does not have enough security, but it does have cameras and a police station next door.
- 26. View from the front door.
- 27. BEFORE Chesapeake bought the shopping plaza, customers could drive almost to the door of the pharmacy, as you can see in this still un-remodeled section. NOW the customer has to stop about twenty feet from the entrances, unless he is disabled. Chesapeake is more concerned about “pretty” than “practical”, even though most customers are elderly.
- 28. Handicap parking has been relocated to the two spaces where the red car is parked. The store in front of it is a clothing store for high-fashion 20 and 30 somethings. The other car is parked in front of the drug store, so disabled people have to go all the way around the outside sidewalk to the far end. If you qualify for handicap parking in this state, you aren’t able to get that far.
- 29. Access is the most important issue for disabled people, and not all people are disabled the same way. Just following the law is not enough. The two hospital stores are both near main entrances which can provide free valet parking and wheel-chairs if needed. There are different ways to lure customers into stores, but if you create a happy, fun atmosphere with happy employees, customers will stay longer and buy more. You do not need an MBA to make a business a success.
Editor's Notes
- #10: Entering the hospital, the Gift Gallery is the first thing people see.