Pearl Restaurant Wins Service Excellence Award The Pearl Restaurant Bar & Lounge of Audenshaw, Manchester received a service excellence award recently from a local guide dog owner, for recognising the high standards of customer care given to blind and partially sighted people, in Tameside. Guide dog owner Les Hankinson nominated the restaurant for the award after being particularly impressed with how welcome he and his guide dog, Nessie were made. Les said, "They are so welcoming and have recently introduced menus in both Braille and Large print. I thoroughly enjoy eating out at the Pearl Restaurant." Restaurant Manager, Naheem Akhtar said: " We're thrilled to have received this award. Our decision to have Braille and Large print menus came after a conversation with some diners one evening, some of whom were blind. They described how a lack of facilities in restaurants for the visually impaired, often prevented them from eating out. He continued "It's always been important to us that we have an inclusive policy, and by having Braille and Large font menus, it has allowed myself and our entire staff to have a better understanding of visual impairment, as well as allowing us to enhance the quality of service for all our customers." The presentation is part of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's Open Your Doors 'Golden Ribbon' campaign, which aims to educate service providers about how they can best serve visually impaired customers. Guide Dogs' Director of Policy and Development, Tom Pey, explains: "Although there are many examples of good practice, guide dog owners continue to encounter problems accessing a variety of environments from shops, hotels, pubs, and restaurants, to public transport and high street pedestrian areas. We are working with all sections of the service industry to ensure that in the 75th anniversary of guide dogs in the UK, they and their owners receive the same standard of service as everybody else. "Highlighting good practice will help to make it the norm, so that in the future, our vision of doors always being open to blind and partially sighted people and their guide dogs will become reality." To mark the campaign, Guide Dogs has launched a pocket sized reference guide, entitled Opening Doors, for everyone who works in the service industry. It outlines the obligations of service providers, and gives practical advice and tips on how to provide a quality service for visually impaired people and assistance dog users. Businesses can find out more about the campaign, and order free copies of the Opening Doors pocket guide by phoning 0118 983 8281, e-mailing chris.dyson@guidedogs.org.uk or logging-on to the charity's website: www.guidedogs.org.uk top