Why Not?

A couple of weeks ago my mother and I were shopping for gifts at the local store of a major retail chain. While she looked for one gift, I went in search of an outfit for my friend’s new baby. Not finding that section I asked a sales associate. She told me that the baby clothes were located in the back of the store and then kindly proceeded in taking me there. When she said the back of the store she meant the back of the store! What I wanted was in the VERY BACK CORNER of the store and getting there was no easy task. I had to weave through a complicated maze of shelves, tables, carousel racks, and dress dummies while trying not to snag anything on my walker or knock things to the ground for the poor sales associate to have to pick up. Throughout it all I felt as bad for the sales associate as I did for myself. She went out of her way to move displays and merchandise for me all the while chatting in an effort to make the situation less awkward. While I was very thankful for her kindness it got me to thinking… Why not employ people with disabilities to visit stores and other public places to check for accessibility? Also, why not get rid of some of the shelving to make a retail space more open? Why Not?