Customer service

What is accessible and inclusive customer service?

Accessible and inclusive customer service aims to ensure a quality experience for all customers, regardless of their abilities. It is achieved through adopting specific rules, providing accessible information and processes, as well as diversified solutions adapted to the needs of each individual. It also includes ongoing staff training to ensure respectful and caring interactions.

Overview of the situation

Persons with disabilities struggle to receive customer service that takes into account their needs and how they function. They face different obstacles related to behaviours, communication methods and physical layout of spaces.

More concretely, these barriers can manifest themselves in a number of ways:

A member of staff speaking only to the accompanying person, without ever speaking directly to the person with a disability
Difficulty getting help to buy something at a nearby store (CDPDJ, 2013)
Waiting a long time for assistance at a pharmacy (CDPDJ, 2013)
Complex documents that make it difficult to understand the information needed to open a bank account
Difficulty obtaining service over the telephone (Auditor General of Canada, 2019)
A limited selection of products and services that meet the specific needs of persons with disabilities (Open Inclusion, 2021)
Staff members’ lack of openness to requests for accommodation (Open Inclusion, 2021)
Incorrect information about the accessibility features of a location, for example, a merchant stating that their store is accessible when there is a step at the entrance.

To overcome these barriers, organizations must take a proactive approach, understand the specific needs of clients with disabilities, and actively seek adapted solutions. Accessible and inclusive customer service is a true guarantee of quality, demonstrating a company’s commitment to all its customers.

Standards and obligations

There are frameworks to guide organizations in creating more inclusive practices. Some are mandatory, while others encourage organizations to go further.

Customer Service Standards, Ontario (2008)

As a result of the adoption of the Ontario Accessibility Act, the province has gradually introduced integrated accessibility standards. These standards vary depending on the number of employees and the type of organization. They include requirements for policies, practices and procedures, service animals, support persons, collection of customer feedback, and staff training.

Accessible Customer Service Standard Regulation, Manitoba (2015)

Following the passage of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, the province adopted a regulation establishing accessible customer service standards. These standards require that organizations with at least one employee have policies and procedures in place to ensure barrier-free customer service.

CAN-ASC-5.2 Design and Delivery of Accessible Programs and Services Including Customer Service (to come in 2027)

Accessibility Canada is currently drafting accessible customer service standards.

Good practices to enhance customer service

We propose a few concrete measures to incorporate into your action plans. Feel free to adapt them to the specific realities and needs of your organization.

Establishing clear policies, procedures and practices

Reviewing all aspects of customer service

Improving the quality of infrastructure: a key foundational component for welcoming people (refer to the Built environment sheet in this guide).
Identifying a clear feedback process on accessibility that contains a procedure for handling the feedback:
- The Ville de Saint-Lambert provides a form to identify barriers in its territory.
Establishing a flexible communication mechanism so that any process can be carried out through the person’s preferred method of communication, whether by telephone, video relay service, email, online chat or in person. It is essential to provide different methods of payment, registration, booking, ordering or obtaining information.
Facilitating interactions with persons with disabilities (see the Oral and written communication sheet in this guide).
Creating a tailored program to meet the specific needs of your clients:
- The Sunflower program allows travellers with disabilities or conditions that are not immediately obvious to discreetly signal their need for assistance or extra time during their journey by wearing a lanyard decorated with sunflowers (Aéroports de Montréal).
- Disney amusement parks’ Disability Access Service (DAS) program assists persons with disabilities who are unable wait in line and can instead receive an appointment time for each attraction.
- The Ville de Boucherville’s provides access to books in parks during the summer season.
Introducing an accessible delivery service or a free delivery service:
- The Ville de Montréal’s Biblio-courrier service allows seniors or persons with disabilities to receive their books at home at no extra cost.
Ensuring digital accessibility among the various technologies used, from the online booking system to payment terminals. Regular usability testing is essential to ensure quality (refer to the Digital communications sheet in this guide).
Training your staff on how to welcome persons with disabilities to better understand their needs and ensure they are treated appropriately, particularly regarding accommodations. Several options are available, including:
- Training videos, such as the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec’s self-study module Mieux accueillir les personnes handicapées [How to better welcome persons with disabilities].
- Training courses run by persons with disabilities, such as those offered by Kéroul or
- Carefully selected internal focus groups addressing specific issues faced by persons with disabilities.

Communicating quality information about accessible places and services

Writing a web page or publishing an accessibility guide on your organization’s website:
- The Sépaq details all of its services, programs and locations in a specific section on their website.
- The Montreal Science Centre has a detailed guide and essential information on its web page dedicated to visitors.
- The municipality of Saguenay provides a lot of information in its Guide des services offerts aux personnes handicapées [Guide to services for persons with disabilities].
Providing a broadcasting mechanism in case of major malfunction, for example, for elevators or other service interruptions that impact accessibility for some persons with disabilities.
Ensuring inclusive representation of persons with disabilities in your photos and videos, whether by creating an image bank or including models and extras with disabilities in your sessions:
- The UQAM initiative Visuallys offers a bank of 250 free images related to mental health.
Sharing photos and videos of facilities and services that enable persons with disabilities to make informed decisions about accessibility:
- The borough of Mont-Royal recently collaborated with Promo-Accès to showcase the accessibility of its pedestrian street.
Planning regular social media posts throughout the year on accessibility and adapted services.
Listing the accessibility features of your products and services:
- Corbeil published an inventory of ADA-compliant appliances, categorized by needs.
- Bell provides a section detailing the accessibility features of its phones.
Developing an accessibility register or requiring an accessibility assessment for all buildings used by the public in a given territory:
- The places certified by Kéroul are listed on an online platform where you can search for them according to their characteristics or location.
- In France, companies that welcome the public must fill out a self-declaration form identifying the accessibility features of its building(s) that will be entered into a mandatory registry
- The Ville de Québec provides key information on the accessibility of its summer entertainment sites.
Using universally accessible communication practices (refer to the Digital communications and the Oral and written communication sheets in this guide).
Establishing a clear policy and process for adapting materials into alternative formats:
- The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Policy on Accommodating Clients with Disabilities is an excellent example.

Available resources

Training

Service Accomplice from Kéroul (and all its variations).
Welcoming persons with functional limitations (or other variation) from AlterGo Expertise.
Sight Guide Techniques from the Regroupement des aveugles et amblyopes du Montréal métropolitain (RAAMM).
National training in recreational support for persons with disabilities from the Association québécoise pour le loisir des personnes handicapées (AQLPH).
Self-study module Mieux accueillir les personnes handicapées from the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec (OPHQ).

Documents

AccessAbility Playbook: Delivering accessible client service, Government of Canada.
Best Practices for Interacting with Persons with Disabilities: A Guide, Canadian Transportation Agency.
Customer service resources, Government of Manitoba

Fact sheet prepared in collaboration with Julie-Anne Perrault, universal accessibility consultant, with feedback from Alexandra Gilbert (AQLPH), Kéroul, and Marie-Claude Lépine (Promo-Accès).