THIS is how you handle something properly – Corporate, DID style… A niche, but hear me out:
My initial response:
“Hell. Fucking. No.”
Justifying my point to someone who said I was being too sensitive:
“Actually, I get angry when people make fun of people who have survived severe trauma. You call that offended. I call it common decency.”
My response as a consumer, to their international CEO in regards to their Advertisement:
[TEXT:
Mr Gainor,
It has come to my attention that in an advertisement for your banana split, you have chosen to make mental illness the punchline. This is in reference to the “Split personality? Order two!” sign. I would like to inform you that this is extremely offensive.
It’s called Dissociative Identity Disorder – and it is caused by chronic and severe trauma during early childhood.
I have been a customer at Dairy Queen for over a decade, and you have lost a lifetime of business from this former customer.
I would also like to inform you that DID occurs at a rate of 1% in the general population. You have just alienated and made a tasteless joke in reference to 1 out of every 100 customers.
And finally, I wanted to let you know that you have made survivors of the most horrific trauma and abuse a punchline.
Please reconsider this ad and remove it before you cause more damage to your company.
Sincerely, Eleanor Hutchinson (a real life person with DID)]
And today, to my shock and amazement:
[TEXT:
Dear Ms. Hutchinson,
Thank you for reaching out to John Gainor regarding the point of sale poster for the banana split seen in Texas.
I am so sorry we have upset you and offended you. Please accept my apologies on behalf of John and the corporation.
Everyone on Texas Marketing and Operations teams is working to have this removed and destroyed immediately.
Kind regards,
Carolyn
Carolyn Kidder Senior Fan Relations Manager American Dairy Queen Corporation
”: ]
My final response:
[TEXT:
Ms. Kidder, Your apology is warmly accepted. Thank you for listening and responding so gracefully. DQ has been a brand I have been loyal to since childhood, and have had the fondest memories. I’m reminded of fund raisers in the community; and the sponsorship of my high school’s hockey team, along with the Peer Mentors program. You have certainly won back my current and future business. I think I’m going to have to go get a blizzard 😊 Thank you for listening to the DID community’s feedback. It helps restore your faith a bit, you know? Take care,Eleanor Hutchinson ]
Long story short; A+ to Dairy Queen for being so responsive. I love you more than I thought possible :,)
While this blog primarily focuses on physical accessibility and ableism directed towards physically disabled people, this is a great example of how to respond to ableism anywhere- especially at a corporate level. Contact the company politely and explain why something is a problem to someone in charge. Don’t yell at employees- it isn’t up to them to decide. Ask the employees how you can contact the manager and/or owner of this branch. Some will refuse to help or lie claiming they don’t know how to reach their manager. If there is a customer satisfaction survey and employees made bs claims like this and stonewalled you that you fill it out with a complaint about their unwillingness to help you. Beyond that harassing employees does nothing. If they won’t say who to contact go directly to the chain head with what happened. They will get in touch with the manager/owner and ensure the issue is fixed because they don’t want their brand to look bad.
This was how I handled a recent incident where a security guard refused to let my working service dog come with me into hospital. I gave them the laws and wrote an info sheet on applicable local laws as well as federal and provincial around service dogs and disability accommodation. They have asked permission to make my info sheet I made to summarize things as a permanent part of their staff training. By going to the person in charge not just yelling at employees, especially if you are able to explain how to fix it, it ends up not only helping you but others who didn’t know what to do or who don’t have the spoons to handle it.
