SaskTel marked World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 by highlighting the sensory shopping experience offered at a number of their retail stores.
The Swift Current location in the Wheatland Mall is one of three SaskTel Stores that offer a sensory-friendly environment for customers on a regular basis, but on Wednesday, that experience was extended to all twelve of the crown corporation’s retail locations across Saskatchewan for the entire shopping day.
“We offer sensory shopping to provide individuals that have difficulty processing sensory inputs like light, sound and touch in a more comfortable and relaxed environment,” said Greg Jacobs, External Communications Manager for SaskTel. “The lighting has been dimmed in the store, so that it’s not so bright and not so glaring for someone who might have difficulty processing lighting input. We also have turned off the in-store music so it’s a quieter experience and turned off electronics that emit noise, like a scanner.
“There are many individuals, whether they have autism or other challenges that they're faced with on a day-to-day basis that experience the world differently than others,” Jacobs added. “The sensory shopping is about being an inclusive service provider for the residents of Saskatchewan.”
Swift Current’s SaskTel Store along with locations in Regina and Saskatoon offer sensory shopping on Thursday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
“The feedback from customers has been really positive,” said Ted Mortensen, the manager of the Swift Current location. “We are looking to create more awareness, though, with our event today across the province, so we’re hoping we can make it more enticing for other customers that can benefit from this type of event.
“We started this in 2020, so it’s been going on for five years now,” Mortensen added. “We are really proud to be able to offer this and hopefully some people can take advantage of it.”
Jacobs adds sensory shopping is one way SaskTel is promoting inclusivity for their customers and employees.
“On the employee side, we have our supported employment program which offers gainful employment opportunities for individuals who have cognitive challenges or cognitive disabilities,” he said. “For our customers, we participate in the Connecting Families Initiative, which is a federal initiative through which we provide low-income families and low-income seniors with a broadband connection at a subsidized rate. We also offer customers who have accessibility challenges, whether it be visual or other challenges, longer trial periods with their services so they can get a better understanding of how our services will interact with the technologies they use to overcome or adapt to the challenges that they face on a day-to-day basis.”
Customers can learn more about these initiatives on SaskTel’s website.