Accessibility | The Accessibility Standard for Customer Service

The Customer Service Standard addresses business practices and training to provide better customer service to people with disabilities.

The Customer Service Standard was the first standard under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. Under this standard, all Manitoba organizations with at least one employee (including businesses) must create policies and procedures that help achieve respectful, barrier-free customer service.

Requirements

To comply with the Customer Service Standard, all organizations must meet the following requirements:

• meet the communication needs of customers, clients, or members
• allow assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, walkers, oxygen tanks and communication devices
• welcome customers with support persons, who are there to help
• welcome customers with service animals
• maintain accessibility features, such as automatic doors, ramps, or elevators, so they can be used as intended
• let the public know when and why an accessibility feature is unavailable
• invite customers to give feedback about accessibility features
• public sector organizations must make public events accessible
• train staff on accessible customer service, including reasonable accommodations under The Human Rights Code (Manitoba)
• large employers with 50 employees or more must document (in-print) their customer service policy
• large employers with 50 employees or more must also provide notice that their customer service policy is available in accessible formats, on request