Customer Service Standard Policy

Introduction

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) was passed by the Ontario legislature with the goal of creating a fully accessible Ontario by 2025.

AODA Section 1:

“Recognizing the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Ontario, the purpose of this Act is to benefit all Ontarians by,

(a) developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025; and

(b) providing for the involvement of persons with disabilities, of the Government of Ontario and of representatives of industries and of various sectors of the economy in the development of the accessibility standards.”

One of the five standards developed, and now law, is the Customer Service Standard. This standard details specific requirements for all organizations with one or more employees. Under the Customer Service Standard, all applicable employees, volunteers, board members, contractors and family members, must be trained on the following areas:

  1. Establish policies, practices and procedures on providing goods, services or facilities to people with disabilities.
  2. Use reasonable efforts to ensure that your policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity.
  3. Set a policy on allowing people to use their own, personal assistive devices to access your goods and use your services and about any other measures your organization offers (assistive devices, services, or methods) to enable them to access your goods and use your services.
  4. Communicate with a person with a disability in a manner that takes into account his or her disability.
  5. Allow people with disabilities to be accompanied by their guide dog or service animal in those areas of the premises you own or operate that are open to the public, unless the animal is excluded by another law. If a service animal is excluded by law, use other measures to provide services to the person with a disability.
  6. Permit people with disabilities who use a support person to bring that person with them while accessing goods or services in premises open to the public or third parties.
  7. Where admission fees are charged, provide notice ahead of time on what admission, if any, would be charged for a support person of a person with a disability.
  8. Provide notice when facilities or services that people with disabilities rely on to access or use your goods or services are temporarily disrupted.
  9. Train all staff, volunteers, contractors and any other people who interact with the public or other third parties on your behalf on a number of topics as outlined in the Customer Service Standard.
  10. Train all staff, volunteers, contractors and any other people who are involved in developing your policies, practices and procedures on the provision of goods or services on a number of topics as outlined in the customer service standard.
  11. Establish a process for people to provide feedback on how you provide goods or services to people with disabilities and how you will respond to any feedback and take action on any complaints. Make the information about your feedback process readily available to the public.

The Casablanca Hotel is committed to excellence in serving all customers including persons with disabilities.

Assistive Devices

Assistive technology is a term used to describe the various forms of devices such as assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices used to assist persons with disabilities. These devices are used to support the needs of the individual person and specific disability by enabling them to perform tasks that they may not have been able to accomplish formerly.

Examples of assistive devices include hearing aids, speech amplification devices, white canes, wheelchairs, screen readers, etc. Ontario employers are not responsible for providing any assistive devices under the Customer Service Standard, but rather, are responsible for ensuring all employees are properly trained.

The Casablanca Hotel will ensure that our staff is trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by customers with disabilities while accessing our good and services.

Communication

Accessible customer service requires employees to overcome and find ways around different barriers that customers may have. Employers need to ensure that their employees are trained on how to successfully communicate with customers with disabilities to ensure accessible goods and services.

The Casablanca Hotel’s employees will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disabilities.

Service Animals

With certain types of disabilities, an animal may be more of an assistive form of aid rather than a device. These services animals are trained to carry out certain tasks that help people with disabilities. There are three types of assistive animals that have been categorized by the international assistance animal community:

  1. Guide Animals: Used to guide the blind
  2. Hearing Animals: Used to help signal the hearing impaired
  3. Service Animals: Used to do work for persons with disabilities other than blindness or deafness

Under the Customer Service Standard, service animals must be allowed on parts of the workplace premises (excluding certain areas such as a kitchen). Fines for denying a service animal access in areas for the general public can be up to $3000 in Ontario.

The Casablanca Hotel will welcome people with disabilities and their service animals into our workplace when it is readily apparent that the animal is used by the person for reasons relating to his or her disability or, if the person provides a letter from a regulated health care professional, confirming the need for a service animal for reasons relating to a disability.

Support Persons

Support persons are those that help persons with disabilities perform day to day tasks. Without support, the person may not be able to access your organization. All support persons should be welcomed into the workplace.

A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises.

The Casablanca Hotel may require a person with a disability to be accompanied by a support person when on premises, but only if a support person is necessary to protect the health or safety of the person with a disability or the health or safety of others on the premises. We will consult with the person with a disability to understand their needs.

Notice of Temporary Disruption

In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities for customers with disabilities, The Casablanca Hotel will notify customers promptly. A clearly posted notice will include information about the reasons for the disruption, its anticipated length of time and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. The notice will be posted at the point of service or facility disruption.

Training

Under the Customer Service Standard all employees must be trained. The Casablanca Hotel will provide training to all employees, volunteers and others who deal with the public or other third parties on our behalf.

Our training will include:

  • An overview of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
  • The requirements for the Customer Service Standard
  • How to interact with people with various types of disabilities
  • How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device
  • How to interact with people who use the assistance of a service animal
  • How to interact with people who use a support person
  • How to use any equipment or devices available at your workplace to assist with providing goods or services to persons with disabilities
  • What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing our organization’s goods or services

New employees will be trained after being hired, within two (2) weeks, and retrained in the event that changes are made to the policy or the AODA legislation.

Feedback Process

A process must be established for receiving feedback on how companies will provide service to customers with disabilities, and how companies will respond back and take action on any complaints.

The Casablanca Hotel’s customers who wish to provide feedback on the way we provide goods, services or facilities to people with disabilities can provide feedback via email [email protected], phone (905) 309 – 2323, or mail 4 Windward Drive, Grimsby Ontario L3M 4E8.

All feedback, including complaints, will be handled by Management and you can expect to hear back within ten (10) business days in the manner within which the feedback was originally communicated.

Modifications to This or Other Policies

Any policy of The Casablanca Hotel’s that does not respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities will be modified or removed.

If you require an accessible format of this policy, please contact The Casablanca Hotel using one of the three methods listed above.

Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation Policy

Commitment to Persons with Disabilities

The Casablanca Hotel is committed to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and equal opportunity and are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. We will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005).

The Casablanca Hotel has developed and made available upon request, this policy and a multi-year accessibility plan which outlines the actions we will put in place to improve opportunities for people with disabilities.

Please refer to the multi-year plan for details about how The Casablanca Hotel will address the following:

Information and Communications Standard:
  • Accessible Emergency Information
  • Feedback from Customers and Employees
  • Accessible Formats and Communication Supports
  • Emergency Procedures/Plan or Public Safety Information
  • Accessible Websites & Web Content
  • Kiosks
Employment Standard:
  • Recruitment, assessment and selection
  • Accessible formats and communication supports for employees
  • Workplace emergency response information
  • Documented Individual accommodation plans
  • Return to work process
  • Performance Management
  • Career Development and Advancement
  • Redeployment
Design of Public Spaces Standard
  • New or redeveloped existing exterior paths
  • New or redeveloped existing off-street parking facilities
  • Service Counters

The Transportation Standard and some of the requirements under the Design of Public Spaces Standard do not pertain to The Casablanca Hotel at this time. Should this change in the future, The Casablanca Hotel will ensure it meets the requirements of these standards.

Training

The Casablanca Hotel will provide training to employees and volunteers on Ontario’s accessibility laws and on the Ontario Human Rights Code as it relates to people with disabilities. Training will be provided in a way that best suits the duties of the employees, volunteers and others who represent the organization. This training will be included in the orientation process; within the first two weeks of hire. Training will include but is not limited to, the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation and the Ontario Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities.

The Casablanca Hotel will take the following steps to ensure employees and volunteers are provided with the training needed to meet Ontario’s accessibility laws. The Casablanca Hotel will utilize the video program created and hosted by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Working Together: The Code and the AODA. The program includes sections on:

  • the Code
  • understanding the duty to accommodate
  • applying human rights principles
  • compliance and enforcement

In addition, The Casablanca Hotel’s policy and multi-year plan will be reviewed during the training session. Training records will be kept as a record of who has been trained and when they were trained.

For more information on this policy or the multi-year accessibility plan, please contact The Casablanca Hotel via email at [email protected], phone (905) 309 – 2323, or mail 4 Windward Drive, Grimsby Ontario L3M 4E8.
Accessible forms of this document and the accessibility plan are available upon request, please contact The Casablanca Hotel using the contact information noted above.

Please click here to view our Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation: Multi-year Accessibility