Hollister Co. at South Shore Plaza
250 Granite Street # 54
Braintree, MA
Phone: 781-849-4722
http://www.hollisterco.com/
After going to Braintree to use the
Auto Ambulator at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Amanda, Ric and I stopped at South Shore Plaza for some lunch. We saw a Hollister Co. and decided to see if it is more accessible than the other Hollister Co. stores I’ve shopped at.
Hollister Co. is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Most of the Hollister Co. stores I’ve shopped at are NOT very wheelchair friendly or accessible. I’ve shopped at Hollister Co. at Silver City Galleria, Hollister Co. at Independence Mall, Hollister Co. at Dartmouth Mall, Hollister Co. at Patriot Place and Hollister Co. at Emerald Square Mall. You can read my accessibility review of each Hollister Co. by clicking on the store named above.
Due to lack of accessibility of Hollister Co. stores, The Equal Rights Center and Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition filed a suit against Abercrombie & Fitch Co. for discriminating against people with disabilities. The link to the November 2009 – ERC press release is http://www.equalrightscenter.org/releases/AbercrombieandFitchCo..php. Abercrombie & Fitch Co still refuses to make any changes like Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
I’m proud to be a member of The Equal Rights Center who has been Advancing Civil Rights for a Quarter Century. The Equal Rights Center works toward Equality & Justice including outreach, education, and policy; and only goes to court when businesses and entities refuse to make necessary change.
When arriving at this Hollister Co. store I was delighted to find there are no steps at the main entrance. Hollister Co.’s typical signature style of construction includes steps to a porch-like entrance. We heard the only reason this Hollister Co. does not have steps is because the local building inspector questioned the legality of placing steps at an entrance. I wish all town building inspectors understood the ADA and Architectural Access Board regulations as well as this building inspector.
On either side of this accessible entrance are two decorative French style doors that are not really doors and only for looks. Yet one of these doors is a real door that is wheelchair accessible. This accessible door has the required signage showing wheelchair access whereas all the other Hollister Co.’s I’ve been to have no signage at all. My friends and I assume the local building inspector required them to place the wheelchair accessible signage. This door is easy to open for it is automatic with a simple push of a button. Yet, we didn’t use this door because the main entrance was open and easier to access.
Once inside I found this Hollister Co. is a little more accessible than some of the other Hollister Co stores I’ve been to. Most of the aisles are wide enough for my chair and I could view most of the merchandise. The only problem I found is that two aisles in the rear at both sides of the store are NOT accessible for they are way too narrow for my chair; and two display tables in the rear do NOT have enough space to fit my chair. We were only able to take a few pictures until a sales person told us no pictures are allowed!!
The dressing room has an accessible fitting room; it has a curtain at the entrance instead of a door; the hooks are lower; there is a bench; yet there are no safety grab bars which are required by ADA.
The front and rear cashier counters are NOT wheelchair accessible for it is much too high just like it is in the other Hollister Co. stores I’ve visited. The ATM/Debit/Credit Transaction Machine is NOT accessible either for it is set too far back on this high counter.
I give Hollister Co. at South Shore Plaza THREE STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Two Stars they would need to widen the two narrow aisles in the rear and place more room between the two rear display tables so a customer in a wheelchair can access all the merchandise; place ADA required safety grab bars in the accessible fitting room; lower a section of the cashier counter to a wheelchair accessible height; and place the ATM/Debit/Credit Transaction Machine in an accessible place on the cashier counter so a person in a wheelchair can independently pay for their purchase.
November 6th, 2010 at 11:31 am
I am a person with no disabilities (up until now) when a few weeks ago, I injured my ankle/achilles tendon while walking down the front steps of a Hollister store near my home.
I have to say, being an “abled person,” I never gave this design much thought before. Now that I have this injury, I’m now thinking how stupid this set up is. Like, what’s the purpose of the steps? It makes the store no more attractive, just harder to get into, and almost impossible if you are physically impaired. You’re are also talking about the difficulty you have getting your chair down the aisles in some stores. Hell, I have difficulty seeing in the stores (very low lighting) and trouble hearing, because the music is always up too loud! Combine this with the parent company (Abercrombie and Fitch’s) non-response to complaints regarding ADA rules, and it leads me to believe they only want a certain “kind” of person shopping there.
I think they’ve spoken. Maybe we should speak with our wallets and not shop there.