Case Study of an Access Refusal in Marseilles

Pauline Arnould from the French Federation of Guide Dog Associations (FFAC) gave a thought-provoking presentation about a particular case of a supermarket access refusal which occurred in Marseilles, France last summer.

One of the roles of the French organisation for guide dog handlers (ANMCGA) is to deal with referred cases of access refusals.  They dealt with 85 access refusal cases out of a total of 1,500 teams of guide dog handlers in France.  The organisation contacts the place that has refused access, explains the role of a guide dog, and sends them stickers to display. 

Pauline’s presentation focused on the role of social media, an amazing communication channel, but one that needs to be used with caution because it is not possible to control a post once it has been shared.

One example involved the Quick fast food restaurant.  They published apologies on social media but the complaint was shared much more widely than the apology, showing just how fast bad press can spread.

Another example involved a clothes shop.  The shop assistant who refused access to the guide dog team was subsequently insulted on social media and received threats. 

Pauline then played a video showing some of what happened when Arthur, a guide dog handler in the south of France, wanted to go into a supermarket.  He was refused access by a security guard and the manager then became involved.  Arthur was with his friend who filmed it.  After a verbal confrontation, the manager released the dog’s collar and took the dog out of the supermarket away from Arthur.  There was then a disturbing scene where they tried to push Arthur out.

Arthur initially sought the help of the French organisation for guide dog handlers to publicise and resolve the issue.  They agreed on a communication strategy and prepared a press release explaining the legal requirements with a link to the video.

Unfortunately, Arthur went ahead of them by a few hours, released the video and took part in media interviews.

• The national organisation of guide dog handlers received a lot of publicity. It became an uncontrollable and costly communication campaign.
• Arthur received lots of criticism for dodging the security guard. People said it was a fake video as he wasn’t blind.  (He can see a little bit).
• The manager and security guard received threats on social media.
• Another implication of this case is that potential guide dog handlers are now more concerned about the implications of having a guide dog, and fear negative reactions from the public.

Arthur then stopped his collaboration with the organisations so the outcome of his complaint isn’t known.

The supermarket group apologised and put in place training for all stores.  Much progress was made with the private security guards’ organisations. 

Pauline stressed the importance of communicating good experiences and the inherent dangers of not carefully managing social media cmpagns.  Let’s be positive and communicate good stories.

Finn Hellman was concerned that disabled people are silent and accept so much negativity without complaint and that “We need to speak up for ourselves”.

“Education is good but let’s not become silent”

Finn Hellman

He seldom hears about discrimination in Sweden but knows that it takes place.   The problem is the silence.  He added that education is good but let’s not become silent.

Christel Sogenbits said that it is the same in Estonia: people are silent. If a guide dog user complains, they can receive negative comments and criticism for using a dog as a guide dog.

She added that the situation is improving and when we speak about problems we have to learn the best way to do that, so that we leave the right impression.

Ari Talja said if that had happened in Finland they would be punished for a crime.  There is strong legislation on rights of guide dogs.  We have to spread the word of the importance of the guide dog to help us move independently in our daily lives. 

“When we speak about problems we have to learn the best way to do that, so that we leave the right impression”

Christel Sogenbits