A woman who uses a wheelchair wants to attend a carol service with her family. She looks at three church websites.
All three say that everybody is welcome. None say whether there is a step at the door, whether there is anywhere she could sit with her family rather than at the side, whether there is an accessible toilet or where she could park.
She does not telephone, because she does not want to be the person who telephones to ask whether she can come in. The family goes somewhere else with a photograph of a ramp.
1. Publish which entrance is step free
Not whether the building is accessible in general but which door, where it is and how to reach it from the car park.
2. Say what the ground is like between the two
Gravel, grass, a slope or cobbles. Anybody with a wheelchair, a frame or a pushchair needs the route rather than the destination.
3. Publish the seating arrangement for wheelchair users
Specifically where, and crucially whether somebody can sit with their family rather than in a designated space apart from them. This matters more than anything else on the list.
4. Publish the accessible toilet position
Whether there is one, where, whether it is available during the service and whether anybody needs a key. Its absence is also useful information.
5. Publish the hearing loop position
Whether there is one, whether it covers the whole building or part, and what setting to use. Also whether anybody can be asked to check it works.
6. Publish the parking detail
How many spaces, whether accessible spaces exist, how far from the entrance and whether there is a drop off point.
7. Publish the large print and alternative format position
Orders of service, hymn books and whether anything is available differently. Somebody with limited sight needs to know before arriving.
8. Publish the sensory considerations
Volume, lighting, incense, bell ringing and whether there are quieter services. This matters for autistic visitors and for people with sensory sensitivities.
9. Publish the assistance dog position
Plainly, in writing. People expect to have to explain themselves and a written statement removes that entirely.
10. Publish what to do on arrival
Whether somebody will be at the door, whether help is available and whom to approach, which connects to visitors wondering what to expect at a first service.
11. Publish the photographs
A picture of the entrance, the ramp and the interior does more than any description. People planning a first visit want to see it.
12. Publish the service timing and length
Practically relevant for anybody with a condition affecting how long they can sit, and covered in service times and accessibility questions visitors ask.
13. Make it easy to ask something not covered
Privately, in writing, without a telephone conversation. Most people with access needs will not ring, and giving them another route is what produces the enquiry.
14. Publish the detail somebody is actually looking for
An assistant that names the step free entrance, describes the route from the car park, explains where a wheelchair user can sit with their family, states the toilet and hearing loop position and answers a question privately reaches a woman who was never going to telephone. Handled with the care in how to handle sensitive questions in your chatbot, with the same specificity as accessibility and store facility questions. See features, start at try, and the sector view sits under churches.