[gps-talkusers] Re: denied access in a Copenhagen restaurant
- From: Michael May <mikemay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:35:43 +0100
Thanks for your support and comments. After 33 years and 5 Seeing Eye dogs in
30 countries or so, I am actually quite amazed how good access has become. This
is why I was so surprised in Copenhagen that 3 out of 4 restaurants I entered
said something about the dog. That is quite high. Out of 3 restaurants in
Poland, nobody said a word.
I have also not been asked for any of my dog paperwork at any airport or train.
No taxi driver has questioned the dog. Got to give credit where credit is due.
Three countries to go.
And yes, it was our GPS friend who is head of the Danish blind Association who
offered to help and he assures me they will follow up on this. Denmark is a
fantastic country and I highly recommend a visit.
Mike
At 01:16 AM 12/5/2006, you wrote:
>Mike,
>
>This really pisses me off. To add insult to injury, most Europeans think
>Americans are ill mannered cowboys. Maybe we aren't the barbarians they
>think we are. Protecting the rights of citizens with disabilities is the
>law, and the right thing to do. I wish foreign governments provided us
>with the same rights as we enjoy here in the states and other
>enlightened countries.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>[mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Michael May
>Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 1:26 AM
>To: GPS-talkusers-freelists.org
>Subject: [gps-talkusers] denied access in a Copenhagen restaurant
>
>
>The GPS helped get us to Visuvio's restaurant in Copenhagen but the
>front door is where the access ended. It is rare for me to run into a
>situation where I am absolutely denied access to a restaurant because of
>my Seeing Eye dog. It is so frustrating and humiliating when it happens.
>
>The two previous restaurants we went to in the last day objected to the
>dog but they didn't protest long. I know every angle in the book and
>Visuvio's wasn't budging. We argued in the doorway for 20 minutes or so.
>I called a blind Danish guy in the local blindness organization and he
>explained that there isn't any specific legislation about dogs. It is
>hard to know how general descrimination law applies in Denmark. We did
>pass one other dog guide user on the street so it isn't the fact that
>there are no dogs here. Anyone know the actual law about dog guides in
>Denmark?
>
>I really hate backing down. I was prepared to stand in his doorway the
>whole evening but then there was the matter of our business dinner to
>consider so eventually we relented and used the GPS to see what other
>restaurants were nearby. Wouldn't you know we ended up at an Australian
>restaurant. I will definitely make good on filing a complaint about
>Visuvio's. I sure hope I don't run into too much more discrimination on
>this trip through 5 European countries. It isn't any fun.
>
>Mike
>
>
>
>Michael G. May
>
>CEO Sendero Group
>
>Developers and distributors of BrailleNote GPS
>Distributing BrailleNote, VoiceNote, Talks, Miniguide, The Tissot
>Silen-T tactile watch, and the ID Mate bar code reader
>
>MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>http://www.SenderoGroup.com
>
>1-888-757-6810, Fax (530) 757-6830, Mobile (530) 304-0007
>Sendero Group, LLC
>1118 Maple Lane, Davis, CA 95616-1723, USA
>
>Latitude, 38 33 9.239 North
>Longitude, 121 45 40.145 West
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