Who doesn’t like eating out? Time spent with family and friends good food, and there are no dishes to wash up! However, for the millions of Americans with blindness or visual impairment, eating out could be a test of patience.

If you’re a restaurant proprietor, you’re aware that customer satisfaction is just as important as the food. If you want to improve the experience of your customers with visual impairments, We’ve come up with a recipe.

It all starts with the service.

If someone is visually impaired, it isn’t a reason not to expect and get excellent customer service. Sometimes an inexperienced server could result in miscommunications or, even worse, unintentional discriminatory behaviour.

It is important to inform your server that guide dogs aren’t pets. They should be allowed into the restaurant along with their owners. Additionally, guide dogs are active and shouldn’t be touched or play with.

Each guest should have the chance to talk. When it’s time to order, each participant at the table must be given the opportunity to ask questions as well as select their food. If a person who has blindness or visual impairment requires assistance, they’ll be able to be able to ask..

It is important to communicate regularly. Some restaurants pride themselves on their service, which is invisible, sweeping plates away and refilling water bottles without a trace. But, this may cause problems for people who have a visual impairment. Servers should communicate clearly the tasks they’re performing, but in a manner that isn’t intrusive.

Get 5 stars for easy access menus.

A big part of eating out, particularly when you’re dining out in a new place, is looking at how the food is prepared! This expectation is also valid for those who are blind however, unfortunately, a lot of restaurants don’t have accessible menus.

You can be compliant with ADA laws and earn points for all your guests by serving menus with accessible formats such as braille as well as large print. It might surprise you by how many disabled customers would prefer a larger print version in the event that it is available!

If you’ve got online order systems, be sure that the menu you have there is also accessible. PDFs, for instance, aren’t compatible with screen reading technology in their default format. They have to undergo the process known as Section 508 remediation, which conforms to WCAG 2.0 the AA Standards.

Another accessible option is audio. It’s not just for blind people or visual impairment, or poor vision. Anyone with a reading impairment are also able to benefit from menus with audio.

When you’ve made the choice to offer menus that are accessible, make sure you don’t choose a low-cost choice. Be aware that experience is just as important as the ingredients. Choose a partner for your document that is accessible who can analyze your menu and format it into accessible formats in a way that makes sense for your customers. Quality menus can will save everyone time and boost sales. If the menu is organized, the user can navigate it faster and concentrate on what it is that he would like to look through. Also, when one can spend time looking through the menu, they’ll be more likely to purchase more food items (like appetizers and drinks).

For those who don’t yet have an available menu 

In general, when someone needs a menu that is accessible and isn’t in stock, they’ll request the person they are with to help. If they are eating alone, they may need assistance. The law gives the patron the right to have equal access to the information available on the menu. Many establishments try to make the menu accessible for someone who is visually impaired or blind. This can be lengthy and limits the possibility for the patron to look over certain menu items. By providing an accessible format, you can provide patrons with the menu items they desire and will save the restaurant both time and money.

If a person who has visual impairment needs assistance when ordering food, prepare your servers to begin with a question like “Are you preparing to eat something specific tonight? Do you have a particular food item that you dislike or would prefer to be aware of, such as an allergy to shellfish?” This will let the server know where to begin and what they should skip from the menu.

Your staff should learn to read menu items until they are confident in doing it. Make sure you include the price on the menus in your descriptions. There is nothing worse than a surprise on the checking or tasting.