“Get a lawyer”: Victoria’s Secret makes disabled customer wait 20 minutes to try on clothes—because the room was full of junk
A disabled woman recently had to wait 20 minutes for Victoria's Secret workers to clear out the junk stored in the handicapped dressing room. A TikTok video shows the wheelchair user watching as employees rush to clear the fitting room, which the shop was apparently using for storage.
Clothing stores with fitting rooms must provide accessible options for disabled customers to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
That's not a storage closet
On Sunday, TikToker Erin Taylor (@unsteadyandready) posted a video about her ill-fated Victoria's Secret visit. According to Taylor, workers apologized and told her it would be around 20 minutes before she could use the accessible dressing room because they had to clean it out.
First, however, they told her that the regular rooms were "big enough" for her and made her try to fit her wheelchair inside.
@unsteadyandready My mom asked me how I felt after this happened. No question. I felt like a spectacle and an annoyance Lesson learned #victoriassecret #adaviolation #disabled #als #treatusright ♬ original sound - erin taylor
"Turns out they aren't," she wrote in the video caption.
In the end, they either put her in a storage closet to try on her items or didn't entirely clean out the handicapped fitting room. Either way, Taylor ended up rolling her eyes in a space crowded with boxes, fake plants, mannequins, and a Christmas tree.
"My mom asked me how I felt after this happened," she said. "No question. I felt like a spectacle and an annoyance."
Taylor has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the degenerative muscle disease that got so much attention in the 2010s. At age 23, she already needs to rely on a wheelchair to get around.
"Shame on that store"
Victoria's Secret may need to get on this quick, as Taylor's video is already nearly at a million views. Accessible fitting rooms are explicitly required by the ADA and should be designed to accommodate wheelchairs specifically. Violators can expect hefty fines and bad PR.
Outraged commenters advised Taylor to call the corporate office and report Victoria's Secret for the alleged ADA violation.
"I worked in corporate for store relations for almost a decade," claimed #mollymaurice. "Call them, DO NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING FROM THEM, even the apology for how you 'were made to feel,' speak with an attorney and report the to the ADA!"
"Get a lawyer and sue them for being not ADA compliant," @kayleighinoakdale recommended. "These big stores have the money to pay out. You have the proof."
Some of the loudest commenter complaints came from current or former Victoria's Secret workers.
"I work at VS/PINK and I am always advocating for ADA rules and regulations!!" said @jessicaxoxobb. "Shame on that store location, your experience should’ve been welcoming and inviting."
"As a prior Victoria secret/pink employee they should NEVER have been putting stuff in that fitting room," wrote @emsmaasher. "They have designated storage rooms and storage units for that stuff not to mention they need to be ADA compliant."
The Daily Dot has reached out to @unsteadyandready via TikTok and Victoria's Secret via email.
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