If you run a business that has premises that is open to the public, then accessibility should be a major concern for you. Is it easy for people to get in to your premises? Whether you run a shop, a hotel, a restaurant, or any other form of public facing business, simple accessibility upgrades such as automatic sliding doors could make a big difference to the way people view your company.
Access for Disabled Customers
In many parts of the world, shops and restaurants are required to offer easy access to the disabled, with wheelchair ramps, elevators, and automatic doors being a requirement. Even if that’s not the case in your area, it makes sense to make your business as accessible as possible.
It’s not just disabled customers that benefit from easy access. Parents with pushchairs will appreciate ramps, lifts, and automatic sliding doors. Even able-bodied consumers sometimes struggle to open doors or navigate steep stairs when they’re weighed down by lots of shopping.
Other Benefits of Automatic Doors
If you run a restaurant, shop, or office that sees a lot of through traffic, then having automatic doors is a good way to ensure that people move through the area quickly. Queues and choke points can be very inconvenient for your visitors, and don’t leave a lasting positive impression.
Another benefit of doors that open and close automatically is the energy savings. In many cases, old-fashioned doors end up being propped open all day because people get sick of them slamming shut. This leads to lots of noise pollution, drafts, and wasted energy keeping the building at a set temperature. If you don’t have to worry about the doors opening and closing smoothly, you can save energy, and save money too.
Door openers can be installed quite cheaply, and the long-term energy savings can be impressive. You may even find that passing trade increases as a result of the installation of automatic doors. This may seem like an odd statement, but if you’ve ever walked past a quiet store and wondered whether or not it’s actually open, you’ll understand the principle behind this – open doors act as an invitation for people to come in and see what you have for sale. A shop with closed doors and dim lights is far less inviting.
Lifts, Ramps and Other Updates
It’s not always possible to install a full set of accessibility upgrades in an old building – sometimes, you simply can’t make extensive changes because the building is a historic one and you’d ruin the flavor of the building if you tried to make too many changes. In other cases, there simply isn’t the space.
However, it’s a good idea to try to make as many improvements as possible. You may not be able to install sliding doors in an old building, for example, but you could probably fit a door opener to a standard hinged door. This would offer many of the benefits of sliding doors without requiring major structural changes to the building.