Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Braille, Burger King, and Bathroom Signs (self.Blind)
submitted by blind_devotion08
(Also posted on r/legaladvice, but I figured my fellow blind/vi people might enjoy this:)
Up until last year, I used to live just down the street from a Burger King, and a couple years back after buying food and headed to the bathroom for the customary BK Gut Bomb, I noticed the braille on the bathroom sign was...off. It looked like it was hand-dropped onto the sign with an eye-dropper. The characters were not readable as braille, as both the size of the "characters" and the spacing between the characters and the individual dots was pretty off on both the men's and women's bathroom signs.
I informed a manager that the braille was incorrect, and that he should inform his boss to get the sign fixed before anyone makes any sort of formal complaint, because the Americans with Disabilities Act has rules about accessibility regarding signage. That employee was rude, claiming "I thought the bumps didn't mean anything." Strictly speaking, since it was such crappy braille, he was kinda right. But it was still an issue so I called corporate and informed them of the issue. I got a call from the owner of that location, and he appologized and said he placed an order for new, correct signage. Fast forward about a year and the signs with crappy braille were still there, but there were now brand-spankin'-new signs with proper braille on them NEXT to the door. I didn't think much of it at the time, until today.
I moved across WI last year, and there's a Dairy Queen across the street from me. I just went and had dinner there less than an hour ago, and used the bathroom. I looked at the signs and sure enough, more crappy braille, but at least DQ had proper signs next to the door, like BK had after I complained. I talked to the DQ manager, and informed him that the braille on their bathroom signs was wonky, and he says:
"Oh, that's probably left over from when this building used to be a Burger King. There's even still the BK logo on the other side of the door."
"Really?!" I said. "That actually explains a lot!" The manager informed me he'd let his boss know, because he doesn't want any problems, but for the whole walk home, I was wondering about that orginal BK location.
I've already posted this on r/legaladvice, and the general consensus there is that as long as there are correct signs up, the crappy signs can stay. This seems like a pretty crappy way to treat people who need braille. What do you folks think? Have any of you noticed something like this elsewhere in the U.S.? How about outside my state of Wisconsin?
Up until last year, I used to live just down the street from a Burger King, and a couple years back after buying food and headed to the bathroom for the customary BK Gut Bomb, I noticed the braille on the bathroom sign was...off. It looked like it was hand-dropped onto the sign with an eye-dropper. The characters were not readable as braille, as both the size of the "characters" and the spacing between the characters and the individual dots was pretty off on both the men's and women's bathroom signs.
I informed a manager that the braille was incorrect, and that he should inform his boss to get the sign fixed before anyone makes any sort of formal complaint, because the Americans with Disabilities Act has rules about accessibility regarding signage. That employee was rude, claiming "I thought the bumps didn't mean anything." Strictly speaking, since it was such crappy braille, he was kinda right. But it was still an issue so I called corporate and informed them of the issue. I got a call from the owner of that location, and he appologized and said he placed an order for new, correct signage. Fast forward about a year and the signs with crappy braille were still there, but there were now brand-spankin'-new signs with proper braille on them NEXT to the door. I didn't think much of it at the time, until today.
I moved across WI last year, and there's a Dairy Queen across the street from me. I just went and had dinner there less than an hour ago, and used the bathroom. I looked at the signs and sure enough, more crappy braille, but at least DQ had proper signs next to the door, like BK had after I complained. I talked to the DQ manager, and informed him that the braille on their bathroom signs was wonky, and he says:
"Oh, that's probably left over from when this building used to be a Burger King. There's even still the BK logo on the other side of the door."
"Really?!" I said. "That actually explains a lot!" The manager informed me he'd let his boss know, because he doesn't want any problems, but for the whole walk home, I was wondering about that orginal BK location.
I've already posted this on r/legaladvice, and the general consensus there is that as long as there are correct signs up, the crappy signs can stay. This seems like a pretty crappy way to treat people who need braille. What do you folks think? Have any of you noticed something like this elsewhere in the U.S.? How about outside my state of Wisconsin?
charliemyheart 1 points 6y ago
A college near me which I will not even consider, didn't have Braille signs, I don't know very much braille just enough not walk the wrong restroom, read number signs and not fall down stairs.
k00l_m00se 1 points 7y ago
For summer school, I had to take classes at an older high school in my school district that didn't have Braille signs. Needless to say, I had to ask for help, which was incredibly embarrassing. I accidentally walked into the wrong bathroom before I gave up on using my extremely limited vision
blind_devotion08 [OP] 1 points 7y ago
That really sucks. I don't mean to sound entitled, but the fines for failing to do proper signage should be higher. Situations like that are easy to help people avoid.
Unuhi 1 points 6y ago
I've walked to the wrong bathrooms (men's, in my case) several times. My logic: if it doesn't have braille (and there isn't a queue of people of one gender indicating which queue it is), it's unisex.
k00l_m00se 1 points 7y ago
I agree. In older private buildings, especially mom and pop shops, I don't care all that much. Braille signs aren't cheap. The government ought to pay for them though. And the fines are way too low, although being slapped with a lawsuit by the ADA is scary and unpleasant I imagine
Unuhi 1 points 6y ago
In smaller places I can always ask. If it's a nice place, I don't mind.
But there are rules for the signage. And for bathroom accessibility. Where i live even small businesses need to now have a wheelchair accessible bathroom. Which Ivthink can be unisex... And many places have gender-neutral, family and whatnot batheooms.
But there are rules for the signage. And for bathroom accessibility. Where i live even small businesses need to now have a wheelchair accessible bathroom. Which Ivthink can be unisex... And many places have gender-neutral, family and whatnot batheooms.
blind_devotion08 [OP] 1 points 7y ago
braille signs are actually pretty cheap, though. If it's for things like bathrooms, there's a major hardware store that has signs with braille on them for like, five bucks each. If a business owner can't drop ten dollars to prevent embarrassment for the blind/VI, that makes them a jerk, and they should pay the fine.
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