You have a golden opportunity to demand disability awareness training for
store employees, and to stick to your guns to make it happen.  I do not even
treat children so condescendingly, but this employee seems to be laboring
under the misconception that we are a pitiful and infantile.  I suspect that
you have serious leverage here, especially with your Dad as a witness.

It's possible that you can "write your own check" on this one, but the
question becomes: What do you want to see happen?  Ultimately, this might be
viewed as an unveiling of a serious need for employee training in that
particular store.  If you can take a positive action that will educate the
employees of that store for the benefit of the next customer with a
disability, will that help you feel vindicated?

It sounds as though lack physical accommodation must be addressed as well,
and you can also use this opportunity to address that aspect.  Based on what
you said, it truly sounds like you have a significant amount of leverage to
strike a blow for accommodation, from a dignity standpoint as well as a
design standpoint.

I would have been mad as hell if that had happened to me, by the way.

Betty

In a message dated 03/21/2000 12:40:35 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< I was trying on a few suits for a mock trial match I had coming up, and my
 dad had entered the dressing room to help me with dressing.  We made sure
 there was no one else in the room, and locked the door to our stall.  A
 saleswoman came in, and started yelling that he had to leave.  He didn't
 want to embarrass me by mentioning my disability in front of the shoppers
 (since the door was open now, everyone could hear).  He just said he was
 helping his daughter.  The woman kept knocking on the door until we came
 out, but when she saw me wouldn't say anything.  He was angry now, and asked
 if she was the one yelling, and what she wanted.  She petted me on the head,
 in front of everyone, and said "I'm sorry baby, I didn't know you were
 crippled."
  >>