The Tale of Two Tickets

Sometimes being disabled take just so much time and so much work. Let me give you an example. Joe and I wanted to make reservations for a special dinner show. I went to the web site, scanned it for information. All I wanted to know was simply, is the venue accessible? I went to the FAQ section and found tons of information but none that told me if I could get in, and if  got in could I get to a table and if I got to a table, would I be able to use the 'toilet facilities' while there. Nothing. NADA. Not. A. Word.

Oft times I give up at this point. Let me rephrase, I decide to 'boycott' (that sounds better) because if you can't be bothered to put relevant information on your website, why should I both coming. But really, I usually just give up. But this time, we wanted to go fairly badly, so I went to the contact us tab. Here there don't give you an email address to write, which is often the case, you have to fill out this long form giving them your name, your address, your phone number and your email address before you can fill in the little box with your question. That seems like a lot of personal information to be giving away when you just want to know if you can pee in their toilet.

So that done. I got an email back telling me that I just needed to put 'wheelchair access' onto their on line form for a reservation. OK. Good to know. I set about to do that, have the form nearly filled in when I go for 'special accomidations' and find that I can select either 'wheelchair access' or 'vegetarian meal' but not both. Wheelchair users simply can't be vegetarian on this form. I decide I'll call them the next day.

Now three days after first trying to make a reservation, I call. The woman is very nice and let's me talk first about how there should be information on accessibility on their website, that there should be multiple choices offered on the site for people with disabilities. That done, it's kind of obligatory isn't it, I was even kind of bored saying it. It was all done over the phone with the woman helping me. She was tremendously nice and provided a LOT of information about accessibility and seating, answering all my questions with ease.

We got the tickets. Yeah! But it took, time, effort and determination. Again, my disability is one thing but the needless barriers that we face as disabled people can just be freaking exhausting.

Now that we have tickets, we both wonder, what happens next. Because, accessibility seems to be a word with many definitions doesn't it?