A tale of two cities

 I have had two very different experiences shopping in the past week. At two different stores in two different cities.

While in Grand Rapids for a dermatologist appointment (nothing major found, just a couple zaps/freezes - which is amazing for this fair-skinned lass who had had more than her fair share of sunburns!), I decided to check out Horrocks Market. It's a store I visited once or twice in Lansing and they opened this GR location near our home in Kentwood a few years after we had moved. I have always wanted to check it out and last week seemed like a perfect chance.

First, the ramps into the store are very steep and making rolling up a feat my abs and arms did not appreciate. The store did not have a motorized cart that I could see, or the little shopping carts with wheels (love the ones at Walgreens). So my now noodle-y arms and my chair wheeled through the store with my shopping bag from Aldi. I enjoyed exploring but not 'shopping' because my bag could only hold so much and the flowers and wanted to buy didn't kept falling out, so I decided it was a sign to check out.

As I was putting the items back in the bag, there was a customer behind me that had already finished her check out and I was apparently blocking her way out of the store (keep in mind there were two other lanes open with no one in them) so I tried not to feel rushed despite her heavy sighs. Twice, the top-heavy hydrangeas toppled and so I decided to just put them on the chair and walked the chair out of her way.

In the 30 minutes I was in the store, not one person (staff or customer) acknowledged me or offered to assist. Though I'm sure I would have declined except for the hydrangeas.

Then yesterday I made a quick stop at Aldi. This time, armed with a Meijer bag, I didn't plan to need a cart (though the motorized one was available) because I only needed a couple things. While in the store, two people asked if they could help me reach an item, the cashier put the items in the bag for me, and then on my way to my car three people offered to help me load the groceries and my chair. While I declined, I immediately felt the love and kindness of strangers. It also gave me a moment to reflect on the differences between the two shopping experiences.

At Horrocks I was clearly struggling and there were no offers. At Aldi, I wasn't struggling but there were several offers.

I don't want to be seen as disabled and I don't want special treatment because I'm a four-wheeler. But what I do want is to be seen when help is clearly needed. The Great Horrock Hydrangea incident left me feeling like I was both disabled and because of that disability, requiring special treatment (or more than a 'regular' customer). If a motorized or wheeled cart had been available, the whole experience might have been different- imagine if you went to Horrocks (or any store) and a cart wasn't available. Imagine if the ramp had actually been up to code (that is at a reasonably traversable incline) my arms may not have been as tired- if you had to climb fifty steps to get into a store it might be a different experience for you too. Imagine if someone, staff or customer, had acknowledged my hydrangea struggle, helped me get them safely in the bag how different I would view Horrocks right now.

The experience at Aldi illuminated all this for me - getting into the store, getting around the store and being seen all made it a better experience all-around. Too bad they don't have hydrangeas!