Bartram's

Buckle in, this might be a bit of a long one.
So, I alluded to an incident involving the mobility company, Bartram's, in my recent post about our trip to the NEC. I've been in touch with them twice since, and fortunately, the situation is as good as resolved.

A week before our trip to the NEC, I visited their 'disabled access' page, and booked a mobility scooter for Wheelz to use. We've used Bartram's in the past, and found them to be a great resource when visiting such a site as the NEC.
Fast forward to Sunday. We followed the sat-nav directions to the parking at the NEC. We found ourselves around the back of hall 17. Upon asking the parking director, we were given directions to the parking outside the atrium, halls 17 and 18. We parked close to the door, and used the wheelchair to get inside. Having used the service in the past, we knew that there was a mobility stall just inside the doors, so we headed there. However, there was no one there. The door was locked, the shutters were down, and there wasn't so much as a sign to tell us when they'd be back. There was a scooter parked outside, with a phone number on the back, which I tried calling. I've since learnt that the phone service isn't manned over the weekend.
At a bit of a loss as to what to do, we sent my aunt and Lil Monster around the corner to find the next mobility stall. I received a call from my aunt not long after they left. The lady- I didn't catch her name- manning that stall informed us that we needed to go around to the next stall in order to collect a scooter.
If you're like me, you'll be thinking, what? You, the able bodied attendant, would like my disabled mother to come to you? 
Apparently, she was serious, so we made our way around to the next mobility stall.
Once there, I showed her the confirmation email that I had, stating that I had indeed booked and paid for a scooter, and which show we were using it for. She read the email, nodded, and informed us that we needed to travel through the NEC, to get to the piazza outside hall 1, which was where the pet show was being held.
We pointed out the obvious- namely, that the whole point of booking a scooter was that Wheelz wouldn't need to wheel her way around the place, she should be able to use the scooter.
It became clear that the lady we were speaking to had no real idea how the NEC was set up, nor how the stall was run.
 I later found out that she was from a temping agency, and had no real training on how to handle the situation.
After some back and forth, and getting the official number from Bartram's so that we could complain, she agreed to give us a scooter to use.

As I said before, Wheelz then had her scooter, and we were able to enjoy our trip to the Pet Show.

On Monday, I got in touch with Bartram's about the whole fiasco. There were a few different issues that I wanted dealing with.
The National Pet Show was being held in hall 1. It stands to reason that we'd collect the scooter from near that hall, right? Except we went to the disabled parking that we were directed to. Our tickets didn't state which hall we were in, so we had no way of knowing where we were supposed to be. The booking form for Bartram's asks you which show you are using the scooter for, but gives no information about which mobility stall you're supposed to collect your scooter from.

So, I got in touch, and spoke to a gentleman from Bartram's- I believe his name was Jack. I explained the situation to Jack, who was reasonably sympathetic in response. He told me that, once a booking has been made, it should show up on a list that all of the mobility stalls have, and the lady shouldn't have argued with us about the collection of the scooter. He apologized about the booking system, but stated that that was just how it was. When it became clear to him that I wasn't going to be fobbed off with that's just the way it is, he offered to take my details and give them to his manager, so that I could discuss the situation with them. I agreed, and he told me they'd be in touch today (Wednesday).

Fast forward again to today. I waited for them to get in touch with me. I waited until around two thirty, which I felt gave them ample time to get in touch with me. I was put through to the event coordinator, Marie. Again, I explained the situation to her, and she helped me clear up a few matters.

Apparently, the parking attendant should have checked which show we were attending. We ended up parked just about as far away from the piazza as it's possible to get, because we followed his directions.
She was unimpressed when I informed her that the stall nearest the doors was unmanned, as apparently, there should have been someone there who could help up.
She agreed with Jack, in that the booking system doesn't give any indication as to where to collect the scooters from, and told me that ideally, disabled patrons should be able to park close to their event, and find the relevant stall from there. When I queried this (what are disabled patrons supposed to do, then, if they can't park particularly close? Hope for the best, and grit their teeth against any pain and discomfort caused by wandering around trying to find their scooter?), she told me that there is supposed to be an allocated person to help with this situation; they were clearly absent during our visit.
She disagreed with Jack about the list that the stalls have. When you book your scooter, it asks you which show you're attending. The assumption is that the ticket you have for your show will tell you which hall you're in, and therefore you'll park nearby and go to the correct stall in the first place. When I explained that our Groupon tickets didn't have this stated anywhere, she told me that she'd get in touch with the NEC and ask them about revising this. She's also going to get in touch with the NEC about the directions given by the parking attendants, because the directions he gave us were what started off the whole sorry charade.
I have to commend Marie for her kindness and helpfulness over the phone today. She issued an apology to myself and passed one on to Wheelz. She has refunded us for the cost of the scooter booking for the weekend, as she said that Wheelz shouldn't have been put out like that in the first place. As I said earlier, she's also going to get in touch with the NEC about a few procedures they have in place with regards to their parking attendants, and ticket layout.
She was, all in all, wonderful in dealing with this situation. The whole experience, prior to talking to her today, had kind of put me off using Bartram's in the future, which would have been a shame.

I was worried about how this post was going to turn out. I think that Bartram's do great work, and don't want to sound as though I don't appreciate what they do. I think there were some issues this weekend that needed resolving, and I'm glad that we were about to sort it all out in the end.
I was also worried about making both phone calls. I don't much like phone calls as a matter of course; it's too easy for conversations to be taken the wrong way, or to be misheard. Despite the fact that I was making a complaint, I didn't want to come across as rude or nasty. However, I also didn't want to sound wet, or be shot down because I wasn't assertive enough.

It didn't help that I spoke to my dad yesterday, and mentioned the situation. I mentioned to him that I was going to get back in touch and complain. He laughed at me! When I asked him what was so funny, he told me that he'd heard my negotiating and complaining before, and he essentially said that I was unlikely to achieve anything, going about it my way. I mentioned my concern about sounding rude, and he told me that that was my problem; I was complaining, and I needed to be clear that I wasn't going to accept being brushed off.

It would be fair to say that making the phone call this afternoon was a bit of a 'fuck you' to my dad. I wasn't going to be brushed off, but I didn't need to be rude or bolshy to make that happen. I'm aware that he still sees me as I was at fifteen, when I moved away from him- a bit timid, a bit... weak.
But that's not the case anymore.
I'm not saying it's easy to do. But I think complaining about the things that go wrong is the best thing you can do. You don't have to be rude about it, you don't have to shout down the phone at anyone.
Things can't change if people don't know what they're doing wrong.
Life is hard enough, being the carer for a disabled person. Going out can be hard, not know what Wheelz is going to be up against and trying to help her with all of that. If me making a complaint today means that our next visit, or the visit of another disabled patron, goes smoother than it did on Sunday, then it was more than worth the discomfort of that phone call.