The Krispy Kreme Junket that wasn't

Dear Krispy Kreme

 

 RantWoman realizes it MIGHT be nicer to your brand to write someone in your company directly. RantWoman realizes this but enough of your competitors and other fast food vendors have similar problems about falling short of full accessibility that RantWoman as a public service equal opportunity grouch wishes to share the precise reasons RantWoman and a considerable entourage of people involved with the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing recently DID NOT bring our pitiful budget for organizational junkets into your fine establishment.

(Understand, The Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing is the brand identity attached to a group of opinionated people with disabilities who sometimes become grumpy, frustrated, short-tempered, and generally not fit to be seen in public. When we need to put on our smiley public service-oriented, positive role-model for impressionable youth face, RantWoman is happy to post under our regular name.)

 

The long and short of it: we could not find with the people in our party a direct accessible safe route from a nearby bus stop to an entry into your fine restaurant. Our party included two people who have different levels of vision, both of whom use white canes and one of whom also travels with a wheeled shopping cart, one person who uses a wheelchair and two other people. We are a little spoiled because in our neighborhood, a couple places do a really good job of accessible, usably sloped, easy to identify travel routes and we or at least some  of us think this should be doable everywhere.

 

The Friendly Neighborhood Center contingent recently was privileged to visit another service provider near your fine restaurant. Much good information and greetings and questions were exchanged all around. Some hideous pedestrian difficulties were overcome. Some people had their limits tested. All in all it was a great meeting. But after a great meeting, people get HUNGRY. Plus there is the matter of the bus stop right in front of your location.

 

Our contingent arrived at the bus stop. While awaiting the bus for our return trip, it did not take very much imagining at all to recognize an understandable desire to dine on donuts, coffee, milk, and whatever else you sell to go with the signature product. We assessed finances and realized that budget could be found. And we set off, aiming for a door.

 

We found a ramp slightly uphill from the bus stop. The ramp was occupied by some kind of young person who desultorily moved out of our way when asked. We found something that sort of qualifies as a curb cut on one side of the drive through lane. RantWoman naively would expect that there would be something at least as curb cut like on the other side of the drive-through lane. RantWoman did NOT see any such thing. RantWoman looked left. RantWoman looked right. Understand RantWoman does not see very well, but there was NO way RantWoman was going to have our party risk life and limb amid vehicle traffic in the drive through lane in search of an accessible path to the door.

 

RantWoman assumes there might be some kind of accessible route from a parking lot, but RantWoman also thinks it’s not really reasonable to expect people arriving from the bus stop side even to have to find the parking lot! Word!

 

So, hungry as RantWoman was, after getting everyone’s mouths watering about donuts, RantWoman threw a fit right then and there. No we would NOT be spending money at a place we could not easily get into. NO. We would NOT!

 

The offending location is at 12505 Aurora Ave. N in Seattle. RantWoman has decided not even to think about using her limited eyeball endurance trying to find Google pictures to talk about the offending pedestrian realities. RantWoman will be happy to respond to comments and does reiterate that Krispy Kreme is not alone in terms of accessibility frustrations. Sigh.

 

Thank you for reading this.

 

Sincerely,

RantWoman