[nfbwatlk] Target thinks blindness is a laughing matter:

[noaprlfoo at aol.com]

????? On Saturday I went into the North gate Target store to do some shopping, and afterward I went to their restaurant to get a bite. I asked the woman to please read me the menu as I could not see well enough to read it. She looked at me, then up at the menu, and?at back at me. She began to laugh very loudly? "Ha Ha Ha". ?I was shocked and I just stared at her. When I asked her why she laughed at me she replied? "Well, the menu is so big, Why don't you tell me what you want". When I repeated, "you laughed at me" , she said?"Not really". I was embarrassed, and shocked, I turned and walked away to find a manager.???
????? Another associate got a manager right away without asking me any questions. A young man came over to me "Can I help you?". I told?him that one of his associates had laughed at me. He asked me where and how it happened. I told him how she laughed and declined to read me the menu. His response was "I'm sorry that happened to you, I will have a talk with her". I replied " You'll have a talk with her?". "Yes, I will talk with her".? I?said "don't you have sensitivity training here?" he replied "No we're too cheap". He again assured me that he would have a talk with her. When I asked him what that meant, he told me that all he could do was talk to her. That he could not be physical with her, could not talk to her?in front of others, doc her wages, or shorten her hours, none of which I had asked about.?He showed no understanding for the distress I was under. I realized that talking?with him would not get me anywhere, nor would it affect change. When asked he provided me with store and corporate contact information, as well as his first name and the associates first name. He told me that if I talked "to corporate long enough" that I would probably get a gift certificate.?He then said "It's to bad I can't talk to her in front of you.....a kind of eye for an eye type of thing". I told him it wasn't about that.
???????What I wanted to do was to prevent further incidents and to make people aware so that others with disabilities would not be embarrassed when asking for basic assistance. I left with the impression that Target, or at least the North gate Target, believes that it is alright to laugh at reasonable requests?from customers with disabilities and to make them?feel they cause trouble and inconvenience. The Target store displays the Pizza Hut logo, and serves Pizza Hut products, I wonder how Pizza Hut would feel about having it's name associated with the behavior of these Target employees,?do you think I should contact Pizza Hut?as well?. I welcome any suggestions or comments on how to pursue this.

Kay Burrows, Secretary Seattle chapter???
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      On Saturday I went into the North gate Target store to do some shopping, and afterward I went to their restaurant to get a bite. I asked the woman to please read me the menu as I could not see well enough to read it. She looked at me, then up at the menu, and at back at me. She began to laugh very loudly  "Ha Ha Ha".  I was shocked and I just stared at her. When I asked her why she laughed at me she replied  "Well, the menu is so big, Why don't you tell me what you want". When I repeated, "you laughed at me" , she said "Not really". I was embarrassed, and shocked, I turned and walked away to find a manager.   
      Another associate got a manager right away without asking me any questions. A young man came over to me "Can I help you?". I told him that one of his associates had laughed at me. He asked me where and how it happened. I told him how she laughed and declined to read me the menu. His response was "I'm sorry that happened to you, I will have a talk with her". I replied " You'll have a talk with her?". "Yes, I will talk with her".  I said "don't you have sensitivity training here?" he replied "No we're too cheap". He again assured me that he would have a talk with her. When I asked him what that meant, he told me that all he could do was talk to her. That he could not be physical with her, could not talk to her in front of others, doc her wages, or shorten her hours, none of which I had asked about. He showed no understanding for the distress I was under. I realized that talking with him would not get me anywhere, nor would it affect change. When asked he provided me with store and corporate contact information, as well as his first name and the associates first name. He told me that if I talked "to corporate long enough" that I would probably get a gift certificate. He then said "It's to bad I can't talk to her in front of you.....a kind of eye for an eye type of thing". I told him it wasn't about that.
       What I wanted to do was to prevent further incidents and to make people aware so that others with disabilities would not be embarrassed when asking for basic assistance. I left with the impression that Target, or at least the North gate Target, believes that it is alright to laugh at reasonable requests from customers with disabilities and to make them feel they cause trouble and inconvenience. The Target store displays the Pizza Hut logo, and serves Pizza Hut products, I wonder how Pizza Hut would feel about having it's name associated with the behavior of these Target employees, do you think I should contact Pizza Hut as well?. I welcome any suggestions or comments on how to pursue this.
Kay Burrows, Secretary Seattle chapter   
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