Jane’s experience of mystery shopping in Guildford with the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers

Jane is a visually impaired member and trustee of The Coalition. Below, she shares her experiences of mystery shopping with Research Institute for Disabled Consumers in Guildford.

“I was asked to look at the accessibility of Guildford train station and how it can be improved. I took the 9.21AM train from Horley and arrived very hot at Guildford as it was the hottest day. I arrived at Guildford at 10.15AM then I asked if I could use the accessible toilet which was also a Changing Places toilet; when you waved your hand once inside the toilet there was an audio guide to describe where things were such as the toilet is on the left the basin is behind you the flush is on the left. I hadn’t come across this before then I asked the assisted travel man if I can ask if there is a loop at the ticket office as I know that [another member] has used Guildford for his Hard of Hearing meetings and he says that there is a disabled counter where there is a loop but not one of the staff knew if there was a loop or not and if it worked…

I went into Marks and Spencer, bought my lunch and came back to Horley on the 11.08 train.

I also have done some other research work for Open Inclusion who are a really good organisation. They do research with anyone with a disability.”

Thank you Jane for sharing your mystery shopping experience with us!