Abstract
Citizens with disabilities wish and have the right to fulfill all social roles, including the consumer role. Business practitioners and scholars, however, frequently fail to consider these potential consumers. This study aims to analyze if the attributes the visually impaired most value in leisure services and environments are present in restaurants in Rio de Janeiro. Results point to certain fundamental attributes as being valued by people with low or no visual acuity in leisure restaurant outings: menus in Braille; personnel trained to serve ; tables with legs on each of its four corners and without sharp edges; low sound and light intensity; attendant paging devices; and adequate restroom facilities. Observations and interviews show that most restaurants have accessibility issues. Practical and social implications point to mandatory investments in infrastructure and personnel training in order to tend to the needs of the visually impaired according to legal and market requirements.
Highlights
Albeit rare, it is possible to find studies regarding people with disabilities as representatives of anunder-developed consumer market, evidencing an extant academic concern with the subject (Beudaert, Özçağlar-Toulouse, & Türe, 2015, Goodrichk, & Ramsey 2012; Van Harten, Veldhuis, Hoeksme, & Krabbendam, 2007)
During the analysis of the focus groups discussions, before trying to identify restaurant attributes valued by the visually impaired, it was possible to detect that these people are used to attend restaurants during leisure outings, supporting the idea that the visually impaired are potential customers for this kind of establishment
This study aimed to analyze what are the attributes that visually impaired people value the most when in leisure restaurant outings, while seeking to evaluate if such attributes could be found in restaurants in the city of Rio de Janeiro
Summary
Albeit rare, it is possible to find studies regarding people with disabilities as representatives of anunder-developed consumer market, evidencing an extant academic concern with the subject (Beudaert, Özçağlar-Toulouse, & Türe, 2015, Goodrichk, & Ramsey 2012; Van Harten, Veldhuis, Hoeksme, & Krabbendam, 2007). People with disabilities (PWDs) account for 23,9% of the Brazilian population, which corresponds to more than 45 million people possessing physical, sensorial, mental, or multiple disabilities. Brazilian researchers and practitioners seem to ignore this legion of consumers. Mick (2006) considers TCR the first step in developing consumer behavior studies that focus on the benefits and well-being of people instead of enterprises. The author attempts to contextualize the importance of TCR using PWDs studies as examples
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