- Amtrak Customer Service Training
- Airports Council International Online Training
- Airline CRO Training
- Airline Acting CRO Program
- Airline Wheelchair Handling Workshops
- Celebrity Cruise Accessibility Project
- Norwegian Cruise Line Staff Training Video
- Inclusive Arts and Culture Program
Amtrak Customer Service Training
In a nationwide program that will run throughout 2011, Open Doors Organization (ODO) is providing customer service training to almost 8,000 frontline staff, from conductors and other train crew to ticket agents and red caps. The day-long classes, which cover basic sensitivity training as well as Amtrak policies and procedures in relation to passengers with disabilities, are being conducted in 17 cities as part of Amtrak’s annual block training. The ODO training makes use of a series of PowerPoint presentations, videos, class exercises and guided discussions.
This is ODO’s largest program to date and required not only curriculum development but also recruitment of a large number of knowledgeable trainers, a majority of whom have disabilities themselves. The recruiting initiative was made possible only because of the extensive network of close associates which ODO has built up over the past decade. Training cities include Seattle, Portland, Oakland and Los Angeles on the West Coast; New Orleans, Meridian, Miami and Jacksonville in the South; Chicago in the Midwest; and Richmond, Lorton, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York City, Albany, New Haven and Boston in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
The goal of the program, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the ADA in 2010, is to enhance service for Amtrak’s many customers with functional limitations—physical, sensory and cognitive. This fast-growing customer segment includes many older individuals who increasingly rely on train travel as an alternative to driving.
Airports Council International Online Training
Open Doors Organization, in partnership with Airports Council International (ACI), is developing a new series of online training modules designed to help airports better meet the needs of air travelers with disabilities. Topics will include Disability Rights Laws at Airports, Disability Awareness Training, Universal Design in Airports, Providing Access to Information, Managing Customer Service and Emergency Preparedness and Security. The courses are geared toward airport executives, managers, engineers, architects and designers. The first “Disability Awareness Training” module is already available from the ACI Online Learning Center.
Airline CRO Training
Complaints Resolution Officials (CROs) are the airlines’ experts on the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and customer service for persons with disabilities. They are required at all US airports as well as foreign airports whenever flights are scheduled to or from the US. In 2009 when Part 382 regulations became effective for foreign carriers serving the US market, Open Doors Organization developed a new training program for Complaints Resolution Officials. To date ODO has provided CRO classroom training for dozens of foreign carriers in the US and overseas, traveling to such countries as Malaysia, Philippines, Venezuela, Morocco, Switzerland, Italy and Canada.
In 2011 Open Doors Organization is continuing its CRO Training Program with group classes scheduled in major cities including Miami, Houston, New York and Chicago, with additional dates to be added throughout the year. For details on upcoming classes, see Classroom Training. ODO also conducts trainings for individual airlines on demand, with timing and location to meet their needs. These classroom trainings for new CROs take place over a 2-day period and include a basic sensitivity training module, required under the ACAA, as well as a thorough review of the law and Part 382 regulations.
ODO also offers a CRO Refresh Training in the form of a webinar, available through Web Event Solutions. This 90-minute program, which consists of an audio recording and PowerPoint presentation, is designed to help airlines easily and inexpensively complete the annual recurrent training required of all Complaints Resolution Officials under Part 382. The webinar is available on demand and live Q&A sessions with ODO staff members can be prearranged.
Airline Acting CRO Program
Beginning in 2010, Open Doors Organization began offering its services as an Acting CRO to smaller foreign air carriers. ODO is presently the Acting CRO for Astraeus d/b/a Iceland Express which in 2011 offers regular flights between Reykjavik and Newark as well as two new cities, Boston and Chicago. To respond to queries or complaints from passengers with disabilities, ODO staff members are on call 24/7 via toll-free numbers in Iceland, the US, Canada and the UK. This toll-free network can be extended to other countries as additional air carriers sign on for this cost-effective ODO service.
Airline Wheelchair Handling Workshops
In an initiative designed to reduce damage to manual and power wheelchairs and scooters, Open Doors Organization in 2009 began conducting free workshops at airports around the US. These popular half-day programs, which provide hands-on training for ground handling staff, are available to air carriers on request. The trainers include people with physical disabilities so that ramp staff can hear first-hand why the careful handling of wheelchairs is so important to those who rely on them for mobility. These unique workshops are sponsored by Global Repair Group, a company which works with airlines to expedite the repair or replacement of mobility devices damaged in transit.
Celebrity Cruises Accessibility Project
Although ADA design standards do not as yet apply to cruise ships serving the US market, in 2010 Celebrity Cruises began working with Open Doors Organization to fine tune the accessibility of its popular passenger vessels. Initial work included site visits to ships from three classes of vessels—Century, Millennium and Solstice—while they were in port in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.
This is an ongoing project with ODO assisting as needed as Celebrity renovates older vessels and designs new ones once the ADA standards for passenger vessels are finalized. ODO Research Director Laurel Van Horn, who served at the US Access Board on the Passenger Vessel Access Advisory Committee that formulated the initial guidelines, is taking the lead on this project.
Norwegian Cruise Line Staff Training Video
In Spring 2011 Open Doors Organization created its second staff training video for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). It is designed to help NCL’s frontline staff better understand the needs and preferences of passengers with a variety of disabilities. Featured in the video are Eric Lipp, ODO’s founder/director who uses a cane or electric scooter; Pat Pound, an ODO associate from Austin, Texas, who is blind and uses a guide dog; Constantine “Gus” Zografopoulos, an ODO advisory board member who uses a manual wheelchair; and Lynn Rousseau from the Hearing Loss Association of Florida.
ODO‘s first NCL training video, shot in 2008 at NCL’s Miami headquarters and onboard the Norwegian Dawn, highlighted the many barrier-free features of the ship and showed each step of the accessible cruise experience, from reservations through check-in, onboard dining and recreation to ports of call excursions. As in the subsequent video, individuals with different disabilities discussed how best to provide respectful and effective customer service.
Inclusive Arts and Culture Program
In 2009-2010 under a grant from Chicago Community Trust, Open Doors Organization offered a series of free workshops aimed at increasing access to the arts in its home city of Chicago. Participating cultural organizations, primarily museums and theatres, learned how to make their facilities, services and outreach more accessible and welcoming to the disability community.
To highlight best practices, the workshops took place at institutions known for superior accessibility such as the Victory Gardens Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and the Notebaert Nature Museum. Guest speakers included Jay Cardinali from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Betty Siegel from the Kennedy Center. As an additional benefit, participants could request a free accessibility audit and inclusion in ODO’s Easy Access Chicago guide.
