Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2021-03-28 04:50 pm
azurelunatic) wrote2021-03-28 04:50 pm
Entry tags:
IKEA on wheels
Following this afternoon's visit to IKEA for a clock and lingonberry jam, I left the following message in their post-visit survey.
I borrowed one of the loaner wheelchairs for my trip around the store today. I am new to wheelchairing; presumably, most of the people who will be borrowing a wheelchair are borrowing it because they do not have one of their own that comes with them every place.
The IKEA experience is supposed to be centered around being able to pick up any of the useful little gadgets that you didn't realize that you needed until you saw them and required them. I went to start propelling myself towards the elevator and realized that there was no place to secure my handbag, let alone a full sized blue bag. I tried holding on to my bag with one hand, but of course a wheelchair pushed with one hand spins in circles. I tried holding it under my arm, but of course couldn't reach the wheel. I thought about grabbing a bag-holder cart, but what then would I use to hold the cart while I pushed the wheels, and how would I push the wheels if I was holding the cart?
Fortunately I had brought a Temporarily Able-Bodied companion, the love of my life, a 6'4" behemoth. I mention their height for a reason -- a great way to get back problems is to stoop over doing a thing, and the push handles on the chair cannot be adjusted for height.
So there we were, with me holding on to the handle of a bag-cart, and my partner shoving from behind. This was awkward, as the cart did not quite fit between the footrests, and leaning forward in the chair to hold on didn't seem smart. We eventually found a way, although we had to stop every now and then to get disentangled. It turns out that not all of the spaces in the store are wide enough to steer a wheelchair through, given that you must allow for the wheelchair, the feet of the person in the wheelchair going around the corner, the things sticking out from the shelf, the bad steering of the person pushing the wheelchair, the box that someone has inexplicably left in the middle of the floor, to say nothing of the pillars, posts, and other impediments, and the other shoppers as well.
The lip of the elevator is hard to get over when hand-propelled. The timing between the elevator dinging, the doors opening, the other people rushing the elevator, and the door closing, is tight enough that my partner had to stand in the doorway of the elevator blocking the sensor to allow me time to board. This could be mitigated by putting labels on the floor for priority wheelchair boarding.
Many things are too tall for a seated person to reach.
I eventually discovered that I could hold the cart with my FEET, by propping them on a little ledge that seemed made for the purpose, and push with my hands. That was effective, if extremely inelegant.
I take it as a sad condemnation of the state of the world that IKEA seems to do extremely well for manual wheelchair accessibility, but you can and should look into a) motorized carts, b) purpose-made wheelchair carts, c) having a co-worker who does not usually use a wheelchair borrow one of the widest store wheelchairs and a cart, and try to navigate the entire store with it, and make changes to the layout of all stores based on where that co-worker has trouble going.
I have not yet played with my own new toy, but I think it will be similar to drive. I was pleased that I immediately got the hang of the two-wheel tight turn. My arms are telling me that I didn't overdo, but they would really like a chance to ramp up to shovin'.
I borrowed one of the loaner wheelchairs for my trip around the store today. I am new to wheelchairing; presumably, most of the people who will be borrowing a wheelchair are borrowing it because they do not have one of their own that comes with them every place.
The IKEA experience is supposed to be centered around being able to pick up any of the useful little gadgets that you didn't realize that you needed until you saw them and required them. I went to start propelling myself towards the elevator and realized that there was no place to secure my handbag, let alone a full sized blue bag. I tried holding on to my bag with one hand, but of course a wheelchair pushed with one hand spins in circles. I tried holding it under my arm, but of course couldn't reach the wheel. I thought about grabbing a bag-holder cart, but what then would I use to hold the cart while I pushed the wheels, and how would I push the wheels if I was holding the cart?
Fortunately I had brought a Temporarily Able-Bodied companion, the love of my life, a 6'4" behemoth. I mention their height for a reason -- a great way to get back problems is to stoop over doing a thing, and the push handles on the chair cannot be adjusted for height.
So there we were, with me holding on to the handle of a bag-cart, and my partner shoving from behind. This was awkward, as the cart did not quite fit between the footrests, and leaning forward in the chair to hold on didn't seem smart. We eventually found a way, although we had to stop every now and then to get disentangled. It turns out that not all of the spaces in the store are wide enough to steer a wheelchair through, given that you must allow for the wheelchair, the feet of the person in the wheelchair going around the corner, the things sticking out from the shelf, the bad steering of the person pushing the wheelchair, the box that someone has inexplicably left in the middle of the floor, to say nothing of the pillars, posts, and other impediments, and the other shoppers as well.
The lip of the elevator is hard to get over when hand-propelled. The timing between the elevator dinging, the doors opening, the other people rushing the elevator, and the door closing, is tight enough that my partner had to stand in the doorway of the elevator blocking the sensor to allow me time to board. This could be mitigated by putting labels on the floor for priority wheelchair boarding.
Many things are too tall for a seated person to reach.
I eventually discovered that I could hold the cart with my FEET, by propping them on a little ledge that seemed made for the purpose, and push with my hands. That was effective, if extremely inelegant.
I take it as a sad condemnation of the state of the world that IKEA seems to do extremely well for manual wheelchair accessibility, but you can and should look into a) motorized carts, b) purpose-made wheelchair carts, c) having a co-worker who does not usually use a wheelchair borrow one of the widest store wheelchairs and a cart, and try to navigate the entire store with it, and make changes to the layout of all stores based on where that co-worker has trouble going.
I have not yet played with my own new toy, but I think it will be similar to drive. I was pleased that I immediately got the hang of the two-wheel tight turn. My arms are telling me that I didn't overdo, but they would really like a chance to ramp up to shovin'.