Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd.’s Accessible Standards Customer Service Policy (Providing Goods and Services to People with Disabilities) shown below, outlines our commitment to excellence in providing goods and services to all members of the public, including people with disabilities.

Accessible Standards Customer Service Policy

(Providing Goods and Services to People with Disabilities)

Our mission

The mission of Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd. is to provide an accessible work environment for all staff, customers, and visitors. Our company does not discriminate and welcomes people with disabilities. As such, we require all employees to be familiar with SVP’s Accessible Standards Customer Service Policy respecting the provisions of goods and services to people with disabilities.

Summit supports the full inclusion of persons with disabilities as set out in the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) 2001 and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) 2005. Summit is committed to complying with the AODA Accessibility Standards for Customer Service and providing high quality service where all persons have equal access to its services.

Our commitment to service

Our commitment in fulfilling our mission is to strive at all times to provide our goods and services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. We are also committed to giving people with disabilities the same opportunity to access our goods and services and allowing them to benefit from the same services, in the same place and in a similar way as other customers.

This statement of our commitment reflects our best efforts to provide excellent customer service, within the limits of our resources, by:

  1. being sensitive, aware and knowledgeable about the realities of prejudice and discrimination;
  2. recognizing and accommodating the diverse needs of our many client groups;
  3. providing accessible services, information and materials;
  4. acting on issues brought to the Summit as quickly as possible while maintaining the high quality of our work; and
  5. responding to questions, concerns and criticism in a prompt, fair and respectful way.

Providing goods and services to people with disabilities

Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd. is committed to excellence in serving all customers including people with disabilities and we will carry out our functions and responsibilities in the following areas:

Communication

  • We will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability.
  • We will train staff who communicate with customers on how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.

Publications

  • We will provide our publications in alternative formats, upon request, in a timely manner, dependent upon document specifications (e.g. length of document, format required).

Telephone services

  • We are committed to providing full accessible telephone service to our customers. We will train staff to communicate with customers over the telephone in clear and plain language and to speak clearly and slowly.
  • We will offer to communicate with customers by e-mail or fax if telephone communication is not suitable to their communication needs or is not available.

Assistive devices

  • We are committed to serving people with disabilities who use assistive devices to obtain, use or benefit from our goods and services. We will ensure that our staff are trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by customers with disabilities while accessing our goods and services.

Billing

  • We are committed to providing accessible invoices to all of our customers. For this reason, invoices will be provided in the following formats upon request: PDF, large print, e-mail or fax.
  • We will answer any questions customers may have about the content of the invoice in person, by telephone or e-mail.

Use of service animals and support persons

  • We are committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal on the parts of our premises that are open to the public and other third parties.
  • We will also ensure that all staff, volunteers and others dealing with the public are properly trained in how to interact with people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal.
  • We are committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person. Any person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to enter Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd’s premises with his or her support person. At no time will a person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person be prevented from having access to his or her support person while on our premises.

Notice of temporary disruption

  •  Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd. will provide customers with notice in the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in the facilities or services usually used by people with disabilities. This notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration and a description of alternative services, if available.
  • The notice will be placed at all public entrances on our premises, as well as on the company website.

Feedback process

The ultimate goal of Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd. is to meet and surpass customer expectations while servicing customers with disabilities. Comments on our services regarding how well those expectations are being met are welcome and appreciated.

Feedback regarding the way Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd. provides goods and services to people with disabilities can be made by mail, e-mail, fax or via our website. All feedback will be directed to the Human Resources department. Customers can expect to hear back within five (5) business days.

Complaints will be addressed according to complaint categories already established in our company’s standard operating procedures.

Modifications to this or other policies

We are committed to developing customer service policies that respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. Therefore, no changes will be made to this policy before considering the impact on people with disabilities.

Any policy of Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd. that does not respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities will be modified or removed.

Questions about this policy

This policy exists to achieve service excellence to customers with disabilities. If anyone has a question about the policy, or if the purpose of a policy is not understood, an explanation should be provided by, or referred to, the human resources department of Summit Veterinary Pharmacy Ltd. A copy of this policy is available upon request by contacting the human resources department. In addition, a copy of this policy is available on the company’s web site at www.svprx.ca. The policy document will be provided in a format that takes into account a person’s disability.