Anger as man with guide dog told to leave Marks & Spencer shop

theguardian.com:

A senior executive at the charity Guide Dogs said he felt “publicly humiliated” when he and his guide dog, Faldo, were illegally told to leave a Marks & Spencer shop in west London.

Dave Kent, 62, a corporate engagement executive at the charity who has been totally blind since he was 18, said he was “curtly” asked to take his golden retriever out of the Mortlake department store three times by a security guard last Friday.

He said the incident felt like a “kick in the nuts” and that it highlighted a continuing problem of blind and partially sighted people being refused entry or ejected from shops because of their guide dogs.

A Guide Dogs survey found that three-quarters of guide dog owners have experienced been illegally turned away from public buildings.

M&S apologised to Kent and accepted that its security team was wrong to ask him to leave. Kent has written to the chief executive of M&S, Steve Rowe, urging the company to inform its security team of their legal duty to allow free access to guide dogs and their owners.

Kent was shopping with a friend for shorts and other summer clothing when they were stopped on the way to the checkout and asked to leave. Faldo had clearly been wearing his guide-dog branded harness at the time, Kent said.

When Kent stood his ground, the security guard twice more insisted that they should take the dog out of the store. When he asked to see the store’s manager he received an apology and the offer of a complimentary drink.

Recounting the incident, Kent said: “A cup of tea. I just thought don’t patronise me.” He left the store without buying his holiday shorts.

He said: “Every time this happens, it’s a kick in the nuts. All I want to do is go to Marks & Spencers and do what any seeing person would