The Benefits of Wheelchair Lifts for Businesses

By: Sammy Turner

As a society we've become increasingly tolerant of the disabled, with governments giving increasing more help to those who need it and a wide range of products now being available. However, some stores still view those in wheelchairs as a problem for which they have to accommodate. In the modern commercial environment not only is this attitude out of date but also damaging to business. All businesses need to consider how to make themselves more accessible to the disabled population and this can mean installing wheelchair lifts.
The most obvious benefit of installing a wheelchair lift is that it makes the store accessible for those in wheelchairs and therefore increases the range of people who can buy a businesses products. What is important to remember that is not only those who are wheelchair bound who will be put off by a store without support but also those they are shopping with at that time who will not want to leave their friend alone in their wheelchair. Therefore the market which can be effected by the lack of adequate facilities is actually surprisingly large.
More importantly however is the image that having access for the disabled gives off for the business. On the one hand, those who don't accommodate those in wheelchairs appear to simply not care about those members of the community and to some degree appear stuck in the past. On the other hand, those who are pro-active give off a much better community image as well as a caring and open philosophy. This outward projection of your business really does have an effect on the way shoppers view a store and therefore cannot be ignored.
Third, multi level shops who often face problems of product placement for the wheelchair bound can enjoy the use of their other floors through the use of wheelchair lifts to make these other levels accessible to wheelchair shoppers. The particular model that is useful here is the shaft model, which resembles a normal lift but is designed with the wheelchair user in mind.
Fourth, without access for those in wheelchairs it is impossible to be a truly open opportunities employer, as you are obviously neglecting to make your jobs accessible for those in wheelchairs. Limiting your pool of employees is never an intelligent move and in office environments especially is unfair.
A lot of people worry about the cost of making these sort of alterations and this is a valid concern, especially for smaller retailers but there is a lot of support from government bodies at a regional and national level. This support ranges from subsidized wheelchair lifts to staff education programs so that all businesses can engage properly by those who have to use wheelchairs. This really eliminates any reason for not upgrading, and when faced with all the benefits which come with accommodating the disable community, it is hard to understand businesses not modernizing.

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Commercially, a wheelchair lift can be used to provide a cost effective accessibility solution. Like the stair lift, they make using the stairs easier, but are more wheelchair friendly.

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