[5] A Hypothetical Example

Here's a hypothetical story that illustrates the "ripple effect" of the disabled access issue on a typical retail business:

Let's suppose you own a neighborhood restaurant. Business has been pretty good recently.

You read in the trade journals recently that people with disabilities spend about $40 billion a year in restaurants, and wanted to increase your share of that market. So you remodeled and made major renovations, and now your hypothetical restaurant is fully barrier-free and in compliance with all of the ADA regulations.

As part of your remodeling project, you added several disabled parking spaces in the back parking lot, installed railings in your restrooms, and added a wheelchair ramp in the back.

Brad and Janet Smith come in 2 or 3 times a week, and usually bring their 3 children. They're satisfied and loyal customers. They're "regulars."

Sometimes the Smiths bring their neighbors in, or relatives from out of town, or clients, or friends from Church. And their kids come in after school, usually with friends. Kids are good customers. They usually eat a lot.

The satisfaction of customers like the Smiths creates a "ripple effect" for your business. Like ripples spreading outward from a stone thrown into a pond, the Smiths' positive image of your restaurant spreads outward to others whose lives they touch in the neighborhood.

You wish you had many more customers like the Smith family.

Then one day, a waitress comments that she hasn't seen the Smith family lately. "They were so regular, and such good tippers, too," she says. And you suddenly realize, you haven't seen the Smiths either, not for several weeks.

And then you begin to wonder, where did they go ...