Press Release issued: 18 April 2012.
Over twenty Scottish businesses have won prizes in a special award scheme to highlight companies that do most to help blind and partially sighted people.
Winners include local branches of such household names as Marks & Spencer, Asda, Iceland, United Colours of Benetton and McDonalds. But smaller award-winners include the Edinburgh Filmhouse, Aberdeen Indoor Bowling Club and Kimbles Chocolates in Glasgow.
The Go Shop Awards scheme - launched by the Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland - aims to encourage improvements that would make shopping, travel, leisure, banking and even web-surfing more accessible to people with sight loss.
The award-winners, announced today, were nominated by people living throughout Scotland with sight loss.
Guide-dog user Joy Roberts, who is registered blind, nominated Aviemore-based Badenoch & Strathspey Community Company. "The staff and volunteers are a committed and caring bunch of people who understand the importance of good transport services that enable elderly and disabled people to live independently," she said. "Their assistance is always given with good humour and a smile and makes you feel that helping is a pleasure not a chore."
William McPherson, general manager of Iceland Foods store in Greenock, said: "We were delighted as a store and a team to have won this award. It's a fantastic achievement for our staff who aim to look after all our customers. It's important for us as a business that our service is accessible to everyone. We like to be known for exceeding customers' expectations for service - which is what we aspire to do."
John Kimble, owner of Kimble's Chocolate in Glasgow's St Enoch's Centre, said: "I think it's very important that as a business we are accessible because our business has been built on loyalty and we just don't want to exclude anybody. One of the biggest pleasures that we get is seeing regular customers coming into our shop, especially when we get recommendations."
John Legg, director of RNIB Scotland, said: "For people with sight loss, the Go Shop Awards have provided hope that service-providers will listen and are prepared to make changes to the way they work, to make their goods and services more accessible.
"For businesses, it has been an opportunity to learn about the challenges people face in their everyday activities. And this doesn't necessarily have to mean elaborate or expensive changes. Several have commented on how the awards have transformed the way they think about the needs of blind and partially sighted consumers, which was precisely the kind of response we were hoping for.
"We need to work together towards more practical solutions for people living with disabilities."