Team members at Fenwick department store in Colchester have completed Research shows that the support is
In addition to teaching practical skills, Guide Dogs’ sighted guide training helps raise awareness of the impact of sight loss and the legal access rights of guide dog owners. This is crucial to the sight loss charity’s mission to make shops, services and wider spaces more inclusive and accessible for all.
Fenwick is the largest family-owned group of department stores in the UK, with the Colchester branch home to hundreds of brands.
Staff representing various departments across the store, including menswear, womenswear, toys, concierge and security
To help them feel prepared to support shoppers wherever they might need assistance, and understand the impact for people with sight loss, the pairs practised guiding each other around the shop floor. This included navigating product displays, rails and tills, providing visual descriptions of the space and items for blindfolded colleagues as they went.
Tadeja Zajec, Sighted Guide Training Officer at Guide Dogs, said: “It’s been so rewarding working with the team at Fenwick, and watching the pairs grow in confidence whilst practising guiding each other. Sighted guiding can make a huge difference to people with sight loss. So it’s great to know that, following Guide Dogs’ training, staff here are equipped and ready to offer the support to any customer who might need it – as well as people in their local communities. Our shops and all public spaces should be accessible for everyone to enjoy.”
Elizabeth Wilby, divisional sales manager at Fenwick in Colchester, added: “Fenwick Colchester was delighted to host the Guide Dogs team for a truly enlightening training session in-store for a selection of colleagues. The techniques and skills shared will help assist customers with sight-loss needing support in-store.”
Guide Dogs offers sighted guide training to communities, businesses, and friends and family of people with sight loss.
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