Eatsa, Restaurant of the Future, Excludes Blind Customers
New York, N.Y. — Eatsa, a chain of eateries touted as the “restaurant
of the future,” has arrived in New York City with two Manhattan
locations. Yet its
high-tech ordering and food pick-up process has failed to include
existing, readily available usability features for blind and
low-vision people, in violation
of civil rights law. Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a national
nonprofit legal center, filed a class action federal lawsuit today
with plaintiffs the
American Council of the Blind and Michael Godino, a New York resident
who is legally blind and cannot access Eatsa independently,
representing the class.
Eatsa employs no waiters or cashiers. Instead, patrons order their
Eatsa meals through a phone app or at one of a number of in-store
ordering kiosks. These
kiosks consist of Apple iPad devices mounted and framed on a stand.
When the food is ready, the customer’s name appears on a screen along
with a number.
The number directs the customer to a cubby where they can retrieve
their food. The entire process is silent.
While tablets can easily provide assistive technology that make text
accessible to blind and low-vision users with a few taps, these kiosks
do not. Strikingly,
the audio jacks and home buttons required for accessible options are
covered by a frame and no tactile features exist on the kiosks.
Moreover, Eatsa’s
phone app is also incompatible with screen-reader technology, and the
food pickup process has no audible or tactile cues. While Eatsa’s
kiosks contain
an option to request assistance from an employee, this feature, like
every other feature on the kiosk, is inaccessible to blind customers.
Eatsa is a growing national chain that has received national attention
for revolutionizing automated, self-service technology in the food
industry. It
was recently founded by San Francisco branding executives Scott
Drummond and Tim Young, and funded by David Friedberg, a former Google
and Monsanto executive,
who sold his farming insurance startup for $1 billion in 2013.
“Sophisticated business titans should be well-versed in laws related
to accessibility prior to launching new business ventures,” stated
Michelle Caiola,
director of litigation at DRA’s New York office. “The Americans with
Disabilities Act’s purpose is to ensure equal and independent access
for all, including
those who are blind, and it has been the law of the land for decades.”
Plaintiff Michael Godino, a New Yorker who is legally blind, was
recently unable to access Eatsa without sighted assistance. “It’s
frustrating because
the technology to make the app and iPads accessible already exists,”
he explained. “Eatsa just did not care enough to include this
technology in their
design.”
Kim Charlson, president of the American Council of the Blind, said,
“Technology has had a major positive impact on improving the inclusion
of blind people.
Eatsa’s concept is all about the power of technology, but the company
did not think to take the added steps to make it accessible for its
blind customers.”
The federal lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, seeks
an injunction against Eatsa’s further discrimination of persons with
disabilities
and a comprehensive plan to provide blind patrons independent access
to Eatsa restaurants.
A copy of the complaint is available at
http://dralegal.org/press/eatsa-restaurant-future-excludes-blind-customers/.
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