What Do Customer Service Reps Need to Know When Interacting With Customers with Disabilities?

Published November 18, 2021

It is crucial that employees are trained and prepared to interact with customers with disabilities. A core tenant of customer service is being sensitive to your customer bases’ needs. People with disabilities need to be respected like any other group. A few politeness pointers can help you make a big difference in this regard.

Disability labels 101

There are two schools of thought about which language people should use to describe the disability community.

Some people use person-first language. Person-first language includes the terms “people with disabilities” or “people who live with a disability.” It is meant to focus on how people with disabilities are, first and foremost, human beings. This language deemphasizes the role a disability plays in making up a person’s identity.

Meanwhile, identity-first language consists of the term “disabled people.” The word “disabled” is sometimes interchanged with specific disabilities such as, “blind,” “autistic,” and “Deaf.” Identity-first language is intended to emphasize how a person’s disability is an integral part of their personal identity. Disability is posited in the same realm of identity as someone’s race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Non-disabled people usually use person-first language. However, the disability community has more diverse stances on the language by which they identify themselves. The autism, blind, and Deaf community oftentimes prefer identity-first language, although there are some who do not use it. People in the mental health and learning disability community often prefer person-first language, though, again, this doesn’t speak for everyone. Others with different disabilities have more mixed opinions. Every individual has different language preferences, so it is a good idea to simply ask them what they prefer.

How to talk to disabled people

Disabled people are just that: people. People with disabilities can tell when they are being treated differently because of their disability. They want to be treated like everyone else, so it’s best to treat them as you would any other customer.

It’s best to:

  • Avoid talking down to people with disabilities, like one would a child.
  • Refrain from talking slowly to people with disabilities as if they lack intelligence.
  • Be patient if it takes some people a longer time to process information or do tasks.
  • Talk directly to the person with a disability, not the people assisting them.
  • Rule out asking excessive or overly personal questions pertaining to the person’s disability. The only exception to this rule is if such questions are absolutely relevant to customer service. For example, if a customer with a disability uses a cane, it is rude to ask why the customer uses it unless it truly pertains to serving the customer.
  • Always assume that customers with disabilities are competent at whichever tasks they are doing. Do not assume they need help unless they ask you. For instance, it is bad etiquette to ask a wheelchair user if they need help operating their wheelchair. Most wheelchair users are fully capable of controlling their mobility devices’ movements on their own.

Terms to avoid

Avoid terms such as “impaired,” “wheelchair-bound,” or “handicapped.” These terms focus on the limitations people assume that those with disabilities have. Don't assume overgeneralize language - terms such as “differently-abled,” or “special needs” may be patronizing to many people with disabilities.  

A good rule of thumb is that if a disability term sounds like a euphemism, one should avoid it. Furthermore, if you feel it would be offensive to use certain disability-related terms to describe non-disabled people, don’t use those terms for people with disabilities. For example, if you wouldn’t call a person without a disability “technology impaired” because they have trouble using technology, you shouldn’t call a person with a disability “impaired.” People with disabilities are people, and you should apply the basic etiquette you would use with most people to people with disabilities.

Furthermore, do not use genuine disabilities as a descriptor. Disabilities such as blindness, deafness, OCD, and autism should never be used to describe someone or something negatively. As an example, when people say that those who strive to do perfect work are “being OCD,” it reflects poorly on actual people with OCD. It connotes the real struggles of OCD with false notions of ridiculousness and irrationality.

In addition, you should never use the r-word to describe, or to use when interacting with, people with disabilities. Many people with disabilities find this term extremely offensive. It posits people with cognitive disabilities, and by extension, people with disabilities in general, as the sum of their disability and nothing more.

Disability-related slurs such as…

  • Imbecile
  • Idiot
  • Stupid
  • Moron
  • Dumb
  • Psycho
  • Crazy
  • Lunatic
  • Insane
  • Spastic
  • Cripple

…are words that should be off the table for the same reason. Such terms place disabilities themselves in a negative light. For example, someone who genuinely struggles with panic attacks may find it invalidating if others chalk up those attacks as “fits of craziness.”

It should be noted that all people with disabilities have different language preferences. No size fits all. Some may approve of a term, while others deride it, and vice versa.

The customer knows best

This philosophy is often derided for enabling customers’ feelings of entitlement nowadays. However, it carries a kernel of truth when it comes to serving customers with disabilities.

People with disabilities are always the experts on their disabilities, their needs, and how those needs should be met. The disability community has a long history of marginalization, and it’s crucial to be sensitive to this fact when you interact with a person with a disability. Oftentimes, the input of people with disabilities on issues that affect them is ignored in favor of non-disabled people’s voices. They are often depicted as helpless and incapable. If you are a non-disabled person, it’s very important that you respect people with disabilities’ autonomy and knowledge about things that affect them.

Conclusion

If you respect people with disabilities’ capabilities and feelings, you are already closer to becoming an excellent customer service rep for people with disabilities. You can ensure that people with disabilities feel included and valued, every step of the way.

 

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