A report released today by the Extra Costs Commission led by disability charity Scope finds that 75 per cent of disabled people and their families have walked away from a UK business due to poor service.
Drawing upon research conducted by Business Disability Forum (BDF) in 2006 on the value of the ‘Walk Away Pound’, or the income lost by businesses that fail to make goods and services accessible to disabled people, the Commission surveyed over 2000 disabled people to find that businesses are losing an estimated £1.8 billion a month by ignoring the needs of disabled customers.
3 in 4 people reported they and families moved spending away from businesses including supermarkets, banks, utilities, restaurants and transport companies as a result of poor service and lack of disability awareness. The Commission has urged businesses to do more to value and serve the ‘purple pound’- an estimated £212 billion market.
Growing business case
As a UK business membership organisation working with large private and public businesses that account for nearly 20% of the UK workforce, BDF welcomes the report, which adds to a growing business case for improving accessibility and usability of products and services for disabled people.
George Selvanera, Director of Policy, Services & Communications at BDF, said:
“The findings of the Commission’s report are a call to action for business to seek out new ways of improving the customer experience for disabled people. The rapid ageing of the UK population, growing numbers of older and disabled people and changing technology make the case for business investing in improving accessibility more and more compelling.”
Opportunities for business to grasp
Warren Buckley, Chair of BDF, said: “We wholeheartedly welcome this report.
“The opportunities are there for businesses to grasp. We work with those that are already supplying excellent customer service, and this reports sets out how they can get even better at supplying of goods and services to disabled people.
“The Government value the purple pound at over £200bn. Businesses that improve how they work with disabled consumers will have an advantage over their competitors.”
About BDF
BDF is a not-for-profit business membership organisation that represents some 300 organisations that employ 20% of the UK workforce. Formerly called the Employers’ Forum on Disability, the company has more than twenty years experience of working with public and private sector employers and service providers.
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