Design For Dignity
Retail Guidelines

Guidance on premises

Customer interaction counters, tables and worktops

A desk or counter should be appropriate to the task. The expected length of time a customer interaction will take, the nature of the conversation and requirement to view and use a shared screen will dictate the style of desk and seating. Longer conversations requiring a shared screen view and discussion of personal details is better with a lower desk, more comfortable chair and a quieter space. Shorter conversations about products or services may be more appropriate for a stool and bench conversation but alternatives should be available.

“No individual table, counter or worktop height and clearance beneath will suit all users with disability. A bench with easily adjustable height with a range of 700mm to 850mm from the finished floor is preferred.”^{*Australian Standard Design for Access and Mobility: Part 2: Enhanced and additional requirements AS 1428.2 (1992), p33}

Reception or payment counters

Access is not just about the physical ability to reach the counter. Design should also consider the equity of the experience of customers that purchase goods or services. A counter with a uniform height over 1100mm can create the impression of a barrier between the employee and customer. Adding to that difficulty is the depth of the desk and presence of computer monitors which raise the effective interaction height even further. It would also make it difficult to employ a person who is a wheelchair user or of short stature in store roles.

If the primary purpose of this counter is payment for purchases, then easy access to the card reader should be a focal point of the design. Access to the counter, visibility of the screen if required and the ability to have a face-to-face conversation is enabled in many bank branches by the provision of a low height section in the counter.

Design focus

• Premises Standards don't dictate how reception or payment counters should be set up.

Additional considerations for more dignified access

• The highest section of a counter, including things placed on the counter, should be no more than 1100mm.
• More recently, counters are being designed with a lower overall height or in a way that does force a person into the ‘special’ section of the counter.
• AS 1428.2 suggests counters ideally have at least one place with a low height section (830mm to 870mm) knee and foot clearance of 800mm to 840mm and wide enough for a wheelchair (900mm).
• The card reader should be within reach of customer and able to reach the customer's lap whilst sitting at the counter.

Customer service and self-service tables

Using a combination of table heights with good under table clearance is good design.

The use of dividers between customer terminals for privacy and noise reduction assist people with disability as well.

Additional considerations for more dignified access

• Consider adjustable height tables with good under-desk clearance.
• Interactive screens or keyboards within reach distance from a seated position.
• Stool seating can be more difficult for an ageing population and provision needs to be made for more alternative seating.
• Seating and table arrangements should provide the degree of privacy required for the nature of the conversation.
• Where customers and staff share a screen as the basis of a discussion, enable the screen to be fully rotated to the customer.
• If computer screens are used to share information with customers, information will need to be described and/or provided in a format that the person can access.
• If audio content is played to a customer (for example, playing an audio version of a long insurance clause), how will that be provided if the person cannot hear it?