Accessibility

Surplus Furniture believes in equal opportunity

Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse believes in creating an inclusive digital experience for all customers, regardless of ability.

Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse is providing customers with the same shopping experience regardless of ability. Our website has been adjusted to accommodate customers of all abilities to ensure the same shopping experience. So if you have trouble typing, moving a mouse, gesturing or reading a screen, you can download the assistive technology app from eSSENTIAL Accessibility website, available on desktop and Android devices. The app is a keyboard, mouse and touch replacement solution to help individuals with physical disabilities navigate the website. The app features hands-free face tracking, voice activated controls, visual click assist, on-screen keyboard and text-to-speech.

Together with our Associate-owners and their teams at store level, Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse is committed to providing accessible and equitable customer service to each and every one of our diverse and valued customers. This Accessibility Standard for Ontarians with Disabilities - Customer Service Practice (“Practice”) has been prepared to ensure a consistent consumer experience is provided in Surplus Furniture stores located in Canada in accordance with the requirements of the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, O. Reg 429/07 of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”) and the core principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity. This Practice applies to all Surplus Furniture store employees and volunteers, as well as anyone dealing with the public or other third parties on behalf of any of the Surplus Furniture stores in Ontario.

Accessibility Standards for Customer Service

We respect the dignity, independence and equality of our customers and are committed to ensuring that our shopping experience is integrated and accessible to all people with disabilities. Active steps have been taken to reasonably accommodate the needs of the disabled by offering special treatment and facilities that provide them with an equal opportunity to benefit from our services. At Surplus Furniture and Mattress, anticipating the special requirements of shoppers visiting our stores and offering assistance wherever possible is an ongoing priority.

Communication

Our interactions and communications with our customers will take into account customers’ particular disabilities. To do this, we train all required employees, volunteers and third party contractors in how to communicate with persons with disabilities. Requests for alternative methods of communication should be fulfilled as promptly as feasible. This may be as simple as using a note pad to write down information or simply having a staff member read information out loud to a customer. If a solution or accommodation is not readily available, the customer’s request should be recorded by the Front Store Manager and accommodated. The solution may require a compromise. All requests should be recorded by the Front Store Manager and submitted to the Associate-owner for review and processing.

Assistive Devices

Our customers are welcome to use their own personal assistive devices to access our merchandise and services. We will ensure that staff members are trained on how to interact with individuals using various assistive devices and alternative service methods. To further ensure the accessibility of our goods and services, staff members are available to help navigate within the store and many of the Shoppers Drug Mart stores provide home delivery of prescriptions.

Support Persons And Service Animals

Support persons and guide dogs or other service animals are also welcome to accompany our disabled customers while shopping in our stores. Wherever service animals are prohibited by law, we will provide personal assistance during the store visit. All required store employees will receive training on how to interact with individuals requiring support persons and/or service animals. If a customer does not have documentation for their service animal but it appears to be reasonable that the animal is providing assistance, the animal should be permitted on the store premises (except in circumstances where animals are excluded by law). If it does not appear to be a service animal, customers should be notified that only service animals are permitted on the premises. No service animal can be evicted, excluded or separated from its owner unless the animal demonstrates behaviour posing a direct threat to the health and safety of others. They cannot be removed or excluded as a matter of preference. Individuals with objections to the presence of a service animal should be consulted individually to find a compromise that does not hinder access for the individual with a disability. In the event that a service animal must be separated from an individual, alternate arrangements will be made to support the customer in the animal’s absence.

Notice of Temporary Interruption Of Services or Particular Facilities

If we are temporarily unable to offer any particular facilities or services used by customers with disabilities during their shopping visit, we will make every effort possible to provide public notice of any planned or unexpected interruption to these facilities or services. Notices of disruption will be posted conspicuously in the affected Surplus Furniture store(s) as soon as is practicable and will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration and a description of alternative options, if available. In the event of a planned disruption, the affected Surplus Furniture store(s) will provide at least 48 hours notice, by posting the notice described above. The physical notices will be posted by store staff.

Training

Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse store staff, receive ongoing and documented training in order to properly communicate with and provide assistance to people with various disabilities. This includes accommodating support personnel and assistive devices or animals, as well as resolving any challenges that may arise during their shopping experience. Training will be provided as soon as practicable and will include the following:
• A summary of the AODA and the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service regulation
• Information regarding the Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse policies, practices and procedures relating to the accessibility standards for customer service
• How to communicate and interact with persons with disabilities and those using assistive devices and/or who are accompanied by a service animal and/or support person • How to use any assistive devices and/or technologies available on the Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse store premises
• The process for aiding an individual with a disability who is experiencing difficulty in accessing a Surplus Furniture store’s goods, services and facilities

Training records will be kept in each store in the employee files. Training will be updated in respect to any changes to the policies, practices or procedures relating to the AODA.

Customer Feedback

We actively encourage the participation of all customers in our feedback process. In compliance with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service regulation, we have established a feedback process specifically for the accessibility of our customer service. Your comments and suggestions about our delivery of goods and services to persons with disabilities will play a central role in our ongoing store planning processes and staff training. Any concerns brought to our attention will be addressed quickly and fairly. In addition to sharing your feedback in person at store level, you may also contact us by telephone at 800-746-2875, by mail at Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse, 90 Anne Street South, Barrie, Ontario, L4N 2E3, or electronically through our Quick Links section located under Contact Us on our Help Centre page. Customers are welcome to leave their contact information should they like to receive a response. Any personal information provided by customers in the feedback process will be handled in accordance with Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse privacy policies, available online at www.surplusfurniture.com or in writing upon request. Information about the feedback process is available to the public through the Surplus Furniture website at www.surplusfurniture.com or upon request at a Surplus Furniture store.

Handout

We are pleased to provide a copy of this document upon request. To receive your copy in a format that is most useful to you, please contact us by any of the means outlined in the Customer Feedback section above.

If you feel that these standards have not been maintained in your situation, please feel free to let us know by following the Customer Feedback process outlined above.

Accessibility Standard

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was passed in 2005. Its goal is to have a fully accessible Ontario by 2025. In order to achieve its objective, the AODA will establish accessibility standards in the areas of:

• Customer Service
• Transportation
• Information and Communications
• Employment
• Built Environment
  

The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07) is the first to be enacted into law. 
Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse is committed to providing its goods and services in ways that respect the dignity and independence of people with disabilities, allowing them to benefit from the same services, in the same places and in a similar way as other customers and patients.

• Surplus Furniture and Mattress has developed an Accessibility Customer Service Practice to govern how it and its licensed stores and affiliated companies offer goods and services to people with disabilities in Ontario. Copies of the Accessible Customer Service Practice are available in alternate formats, upon request. To request an alternate format, please contact us.
• Customers are welcome to email or call us at 1-800-746-2875 about how we serve our customers with disabilities.
• We recognize Canada's diversity as a source of national pride and strength. We have made it a priority to reflect our nation’s evolving diversity in the products we sell, the people we hire, and the culture we create in our organization. Accommodation is available upon request for applicants with disabilities in the recruitment and assessment process and when hired.