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Some Stores Widen Aisles, Add Benches For Seniors
By John Seewer, The Enquirer
July 23, 2004
TOLEDO - Sam Burnett walks through the grocery store, making sure the aisles are wide, the canned goods are within reach and prices are easy to see.
Burnett is a secret shopper of sorts - a volunteer who evaluates whether stores are "elder-friendly." He works for the Area Office on Aging of Northwest Ohio, one of 11 government agencies in cities nationwide that check businesses and public places and advise them how to remove the obstacles that older people face.
The changes are significant - pharmacies adding benches to give shoppers a place to rest, grocery stores taking big containers off the highest shelves and restaurants training employees on the special needs of older customers.
"Once they began to hear what our concerns were, they started to pay attention," said Burnett, 72, a retired school administrator.
The Elder Friendly program began in Portland, Ore., in 1995. Since then 190 businesses in the area ranging from auto repair shops to funeral homes have been deemed accessible and accommodating to older adults. They're also listed in a directory distributed all over town.
Businesses ask to be evaluated. The program isn't meant to be punitive.
In the beginning, businesses were reluctant, said Becky Wehrli, executive director of Portland's Elders in Action.
"A lot of them didn't understand why they should target the older market," she said. "They didn't know what the benefits would be for them."
That's not a problem anymore.
"We've made it a point to say elder-friendly is good for all customers," Wehrli said. "Mothers with young babies want wide aisles and easy access to restrooms, too."
Older adults also represent a fast-growing segment of the population. It's expected their numbers nationwide could nearly double in the next 25 years and that one in five Americans will be over age 65.
Stores are beginning to see the value in attracting those customers.
"Besides being the right thing to do, it's good for business," said Gary Huddleston, a spokesman for Cincinnati-based Kroger Co.
The grocery chain offers older customers their own keys to its motorized carts so they don't have to stop at the customer service desk. Its new stores are designed with wide aisles and restrooms near the front.
Glayda Sutter, 84, said the Kroger store in Toledo where she shops could use a bench so that older shoppers could take a break. "I know some people that won't come because it's too much walking," she said.
Shari's Restaurants, which has about 30 locations around Portland, replaced the springs on its doors after hearing they were too heavy for older customers.
Some of its restaurants dedicated parking spots for seniors only, said David Archer, a company spokesman. The changes were a result of suggestions from Elder Friendly volunteers.
"They look at it from different eyes," Archer said. "It makes sense."
The program has expanded to Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Muskogee, Okla.; Gainesville and Brunswick, Ga.; Waterloo, Iowa; Oakpark, Ill.; Albany, Ore., and Montgomery, Ala.
In Toledo, teams of three or four people visit the stores at different times of the day, usually during a two-week period. Stores don't know they're coming. The volunteers fill out a 13-page evaluation, noting such things as whether the stores had consistent lighting and a helpful staff.
Once the evaluators have finished looking through a business, they meet with store managers to suggest improvements.
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