This week, yet another couple took to Facebook to share their woes, after their newborn baby was banned from entering a restaurant because he was in a special buggy.
Matt Brown and Hannah Reese were holidaying with their two children – including newborn son Colton – when they decided to grab a bite to eat at their favourite restaurant, Nicola Pizza.
Little Colton has a condition known as spinal muscular atrophy and uses a medically adaptive stroller to get around when outside of his home.
The family were left confused and frustrated when a server approached them, telling them that they could not enter the restaurant because of Colton’s accompanying equipment.
Tonight, my grand children were turned away from Nicolas on Rehoboth Avenue because their disabled baby ( 6 months old...
Posted by Susan Hamadock on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Colton’s great-grandmother took to Facebook to lodge a complaint, writing: “When his father, my grandson, explained that this adaptive stroller was equivalent to a wheelchair, and the baby is totally disabled; the person at the door adamantly said ‘no strollers allowed’”.
She added that, when Colton’s father rang and spoke to management, he was greeted with an equally poor response.
“My grandson did call and spoke to Nick Jr., who laughed, apologised, and offered nothing in the way of help, support or staff sensitivity training,” she added.
While the restaurant staff’s behaviour is quite shocking, what they did is also illegal under The Americans with Disabilities Act.
Since the complaint went public, administration has addressed the incident on Facebook, saying that management are “very saddened by the misunderstanding”.
