Last Wednesday (April 30) was International Guide Dog Day. A day when Guide Dogs NSW/ACT shone a light on the local hospitality venues and businesses, helping to build a more accessible and inclusive world for people with low vision and blindness.

The new Guide Dog campaign is called ‘Is Inclusion on Your Menu?’ Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is not only raising awareness of the legal rights of Guide Dog handlers, but also celebrating the cafes, restaurants, and community spaces that are already doing it right.

While research reveals that 80% of Australians living with low vision or blindness experience barriers to public access, and that cafés and restaurants are among the most common places where refusals still occur, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is supporting business action access strategies to decrease refusals and create an accessible world.

Regional communities are leading the charge, where local businesses are actively creating inclusive environments that welcome Guide Dog handlers and value accessibility.

Jessica Hough is a client connections specialist with Guide Dogs and is based in the Alstonville office. Jess told the Lismore App that the campaign was about highlighting some of the problems that people who use guide dogs experience when they access hospitality venues.

"Anecdotally, of course, this is much more of an issue in more built-up areas. It seems that in the Northern Rivers, everybody's a little bit more relaxed and happy to take the time to learn how to be good at including people. 

"I would say that by and large, in the Northern Rivers, even though there's always room for improvement, we are very, very lucky to have a really good, inclusive, open-minded hospitality Industry.

For any readers who are in the hospitality game, below are Jess' Top 4 tips on how to look after somebody who is vision impaired:

1. If a person who is blind or has low vision comes to your venue, introduce yourself and don’t be afraid to ask how you can help them.
2. Announce the items you bring to the table such as menus, drinks or meals.
3. Offer to explain what is on the table using the clock-face method, eg “your drink is at two o’clock.
4. If a person has a guide dog, provide all your attention to the person and ignore the guide dog.

Jess acknowledges that point four can be very difficult to uphold. After all, who doesn't love to pet a dog?

"It is honestly so hard. It's so hard. They're so cute and gorgeous, and well-behaved, and you just really want to pat them, but when they're working. It's really important to the person who is the dog handler that this dog is paying attention. It's about their safety. It's a safety issue.

"So, it's just really important that, as hard as it is, ignore that dog. Do not pat it."

So, in Lismore and the Northern Rivers, which businesses are best at looking after a vision-impaired person?

"We chose to celebrate International Guide Dog at Swish in Ballina because they just do such a good job. Their staff are really on the ball and they go the extra mile, like bringing the points of sale to the table rather than having people go to the counter, things like that.

"It was really, really close though between Swish and The Bank in Lismore, because they are also just so good at it.

"It doesn't matter what time you go in or what staff member you get; they immediately understand that you have got a vision impairment and go right into adjusting their serving style to meet your needs. And it's just really nice to be able to go to a venue and feel welcome. It's an easy process because getting around with blindness and low vision can be very challenging, so it's nice to be able to just be part of the community and for it to be a seamless, nice experience."

If any business owner or manager would like help to improve their vision-impaired customer experience, feel free to contact Jess.

"They can definitely reach out to us in the Alstonville office, to reach out to me specifically. We have a brochure that's really simple, but staff can read and digest it very quickly.

"The hospitality industry is not a slow-paced one, so it's designed to make it easy for the staff to get a handle on it. So, they are absolutely welcome to contact me and I'll email them a brochure or I'll pop in and see them and give them one."

To get in touch, email connections@guidedogs.com.au or call 02 9412 9489. You can leave a message.