“Vehicles are not allowed”, M’sian woman on wheelchair allegedly denied entry at Johor bakery

When operating business, many entrepreneurs will look to find ways to ensure that their products and services are not only inclusive, but accessible for prospective customers. This is especially important when it comes down to serving differently-abled customers, who may require certain amenities for their convenience.

To the chagrin of one differently-abled woman, her experience at a local bakery turned out to be less than satisfactory.

M’sian woman on wheelchair was allegedly denied entry at Johor bakery 

In a post that was shared by netizen Mary on her social media, she claims to have encountered a local bakery café when out and about with her mother. Without much hesitation, they decided to check the bakery out. At the time, Mary was using a wheelchair owing to an undisclosed condition that she has suffered since she was born.

However just as they were about to head in, a sales assistant came out and told Mary that she is not allowed to enter the bakery as ‘vehicles’ are not allowed in the bakery. Taken aback by the comment, Mary and her mom left quickly the bakery before sharing the ordeal she experienced online.

Following her post, a woman who claimed to be from the management of the bakery reached out to her and claimed that the reason she was denied entry was because there was a lorry that was unloading their goods into the bakery.

Speaking to Wau Post, Mary clarified that when she arrived the bakery in the mall, there were plenty of customers walking around choosing their pastries as well as lining up to pay for their goods. She mentioned that she didn’t see any lorry or staff unloading goods into the bakery and to date, she has yet to be given a proper reasoning as to why she was refused of service.

“I only wanted to browse through the pastries and buy some home, I wasn’t intending on dining in, but I was refused of service before I could even say anything”, she said.

From her observations, the bakery was a little on the small side but definitely spacious enough for her to browse through without knocking things over.

When asked about how the incident make her feel, she shared that she didn’t register that what she encountered was considered as discrimination and her post was purely because she was shocked at how she was treated.

“I’ve been on a wheelchair my whole life and I’ve become desensitized towards what people have to say about me”, she said.

She adds that she did not have any ill intentions towards the bakery as she only wanted to let her dissatisfaction be known on her socials, and did not expect for the post to gain this much attention among local social media circles.

“I knew that the space was spacious enough and that’s why my mom and I decided to head in. If the place significantly small, I would’ve chosen to not enter and bring inconvenience to other people,”

Following her post, many netizens have commented on the issue and were appalled to learn how she was denied entry over her wheelchair, and admonished the employees for their alleged discrimination.

“Are they sick? Your wheelchair is like your legs okay, it is not a ‘vehicle’.”

“This is considered as discrimination, you should report them.”

“This staff is definitely not in the right mind, does he/she expect someone on wheelchair to stand up and walk into the shop?”

“This is absurd, if someone can walk, why would they choose to sit on a wheelchair?”

“It’s importsnt to choose employees with good quality.”

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Also read: “A disabled person would die using this!” M’sians left exasperated over incredibly steep wheelchair ramp