jaybird's Blogs

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas with their family and loved ones!

Apparently, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg feels that adding more wheelchair accessible taxis would, "inconvenience able-bodied passengers."

But he doesn't stop there. He also adds, "If you're in a wheelchair, it's really hard to go out in the street and hail down a cab and get the cab to pull over and get into [it],"

That's right, the mayor of the most populated city in the US actually said this. Does he not realize we come from all walks of life? We are taxpayers, war veterans, retirees, business owners, contributors to the arts, and innovators of science and technology.

We may not all be "able-bodied" but we are "able minded". Deserving of equal rights and equal access. We mustn't let his words go unpunished. If we do, then we prove that his words are true. I don't believe they are true. I know many of you agree. Please read the entire article and vote on their poll: http://nydn.us/okj9ki

Please sign this petition that can affect so many people with disabilities and seniors: http://wh.gov/4PD

Hi everyone!

As most of you know, I celebrated my 35th birthday in Las Vegas. Anyway, I had an encounter that kind of bothered me at one of the resorts. I sent an e-mail complaint to their customer service department, but I wanted to share with you the incident. I would like to know your feedback and whether or not I'm overreacting. Below is most of what I wrote in my complaint:

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Because of my physical disability, I have very low stamina. I only weigh 60 pounds. I can only sit in my wheelchair for 20-30 minutes before I need to lie flat, to stretch out my body. I eat and drink lying down. When I'm in Vegas, I contact restaurants that have private dining rooms, to request to dine inside them, along with a roll away bed delivered from housekeeping to the private dining room. This way, I'm able to eat at the restaurants with my friends. I also like to frequent casino lounges that have couches. We ask the bartender or manager of the lounge if we can use it for me to lie on while we drink and enjoy the environment. I've been most fortunate to receive wonderful accommodations from many resorts with these unique requests.

This was my fourth trip to Las Vegas. I stayed at Aria from July 27-August 9. Since Aria is so close to The Cosmopolitan, we spent many dinners at that property. Prior to August 8, we had 6 meals at Cosmo's restaurants, 2 visits to their pool and we booked one night in the wraparound terrace suite. We felt quite comfortable at this resort.

On August 8, my friend and I walked from Aria to Cosmo. I was physically tired and needed a place to stretch out. We arrived at the bar called The Chandelier Lounge. The place has many couches and chairs. It was around 5:30 PM and the place (Monday) was practically empty. I always bring my own straws and blanket wherever I go, we asked the bartender if we could use a couch that we could use and he said sure. So, I was lying on my own blanket that was on the couch, while my friend sat next to me. I ordered a lemonade and was relaxing to the live jazz music. My friend wasn't feeling well, I did not want to leave because we had dinner reservations upstairs in a few hours. I told my friend to go back to Aria and come back in an hour or two for dinner.

He didn't want to leave me, but I assured him I was comfortable & fine. I'm 35, verbal and have never shied away from a little time alone. I convinced him to leave, so here I was on the couch, in the lounge listening to the music. After about an hour or so (estimating because wasn't wearing a watch) a large security man came up to me and said something like "Sir, are you okay? Do you require any assistance?" I understood his concern, so I pretty much tried to explain to him what I told you in the above paragraphs. He said that he was told that I have been alone for over an hour and he would like to know where my friends are so they can return. I asked if I was in some kind of trouble. He said no, but there are lots of "knuckleheads" around and for my safety, I need to have my friends near me. I told him they will be returning, I am okay and I would prefer to remain here and enjoy the music. He said he will be back in 30 minutes to check on me and see if my friends have returned, I said okay and asked for his name. His name was "Bob".

20 minutes later "Bob" returned with an additional security man. This new security man said "Sir, this area is for paying customers only, are you a guest at this resort?" I immediately said, "I paid for this drink, am I not welcomed at this bar?" He immediately started to backtrack saying "no no no, but we would prefer you are a in your wheelchair because in case of an emergency, it would be much safer to access." I said that I'm comfortable where I am, my friends will be coming back and when they do, we will leave for our dinner reservations. I also explained that I didn't appreciate being constantly badgered and looked over. Then he said this is only for security measures. In case someone or something tried to take advantage of my situation, my friends aren't here to assist. I said I'm okay, I have no medical needs or requirements. I'm completely okay.

I need to mention that the music is somewhat loud so it was hard for me to speak over the music, but they did understand everything I was saying. I also was getting offended by the constant badgering and I even asked "why did you say this area is for paying customers, when I have paid for this drink?" They were totally backpedaling and said they will be in the area to check up when my friends return. I said okay.

15 minutes later, I saw another security man standing near me. I made direct eye contact with him and he came over and sat down. Basically, the same thing happened where he was told to look for my friends when they arrive and I explained my situation. He told me his name was "Sam" and we were just talking straight, but I was feeling very uncomfortable because not only was I being watched by security, but now regular patrons were wondering what all the security is about and what is this disabled individual doing lying on a couch.

As we were talking, a man in a suit with three firemen/paramedics arrive. The paramedics place blue plastic gloves on their hands. I can't express to you how embarrassed and upset I am by this scene. I immediately looked at the man in the suit and repeated the questions I asked earlier to the security man, "am I in some kind of trouble? Am I not welcomed here?" He said no no, we are just concerned because your friends have been gone for over an hour and they really need to be in this area in case you need some kind of assistance. Now, I was really upset and frustrated and I asked for his name. His name was "Joe", a manager at the resort. I asked for his card and he gave it to me. I then said this, "if you are so concerned, why didn't you just come up to me an hour ago and ask me face-to-face?" I told him I felt insulted and humiliated by his actions. He said if he could go back and do things differently he would have taken my advice. The firemen asked me if I need any medicine or if I would like to be transferred I said no. I said my friends will be here shortly.

I was trying not to lose it, everyone was staring so I said to "Joe", "if you Google the phone number to Aria, I will call my room and have them come down." He said sure, no problem. We did that and when I did call, there was no answer. I concluded my friends were on their way over to Cosmo.

Anyway, "Joe" said he will return when my friends arrive. The firemen and paramedics left me alone. 10 minutes later, my friends arrived and I was like "you guys aren't going to believe this" as I was explaining the situation, the security and "Joe" introduced themselves to my friends explaining their concerns. My friends apologized and said they didn't mean to take so long and they felt very bad. The security and "Joe" understood and said that they were just concerned because of safety measures.

This was quite humiliating not just to me, but for my friends. As my friends arrived, a pedestrian came up to one of my friends and said, "I don't know you, but you are a f'n a-hole for leaving your friend" Others gave them dirty looks and we all felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Now, I understand all about safety and liability issues. However, if the resort manager would have simply come up to me originally, instead of security, then paramedics & firemen, I believe it would have saved everyone a lot of hassle. I know my situation is unique, but I don't feel I should be singled out for such accommodations. This was not the way we were hoping to spend our last day in Las Vegas.

Also, not one server ever bothered to ask me personally if I wanted another drink, but I saw them visit other tables. It made me feel quite isolated.

I hope you will genuinely review this complaint and devise a better communication plan to prevent such an embarrassing incident for future guests.

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Okay, sorry for the superlong composition. Anyway, please let me know if you would've handled the situation differently.