White's IGA Mooloolah
Stories of Inclusion / White's IGA Mooloolah
We avoid the shops like the plague as Henry (autistic) normally is overwhelmed within minutes of arriving. To be honest sometimes even before we’ve made it through the car park to get to the shop.
This happened a few weeks ago when we had to leave mid shopping experience, I thought we would be ok but it was a disaster. There were boxes everywhere, the store was loud as the music was playing through the loudspeaker and Henry had had enough before we even managed to get half way through our list. We left. Again.
I don’t know how many times we have had to abandon cart mid shop, mid car park or just plain avoid shopping altogether. When people say “I’ll just pop into the shop on the way home” because it’s just something they can do. I think to myself I can’t imagine that ease as that is not anything like our life.
We notified them via the Cérge app an hour before arriving with our must haves - low noise and light levels if possible and plenty of space for Henry to walk, hold (swing around ) a basket and for the pram if required.
Henry is autistic and has a walk which requires more space and I have a pram for him as he can tire easily. We entered the store and within minutes had a lovely woman come up to us and explain that they had received the Cérge notification and could see the must haves and if there’s anything further she could do for us to let her know. I was impressed immediately.
The music was off and it was quiet with the staff members moving anything out of the way as we approached and giving us a smile, making sure we could find everything and not showing any bother about it. Do you know how good it felt to not feel judged or like we were annoying people!
They also did not stare at his AFOs and spoke to him rather than ignoring him like we experience in other places. This was such an incredible and beautiful extra. Instead of “just avoid, don’t look” which I think sometimes is because people don’t know what to do and I get that. But gee it was nice to feel like a part of the community having chats whilst shopping and Henry happy.
My anxiety was the lowest it’s ever been whilst shopping! Henry was getting a little overwhelmed by the end of our shop and Jodi (Manager) opened up another register for us so that we could move through faster, including the kids in the process and again asking if there was anything else we needed help finding.
So good! This kind of inclusive and also intuitive experience was so amazing! It was a wonderful experience and definitely a place we will shop again! I didn’t feel the usual stress I do when Henry started showing signs of being overwhelmed (which was right at the end this time, not the start!) as I knew we had the support of the staff members and this was such an incredible feeling of comfort.
Henry has already asked when we are going again!!
Wow!!
Wow!!
Wow!!
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Shopping with kids is a nightmare.
They become overwhelmed, with the choices, and excited to see everything. Add in a ND child who loves being a ‘helper’ , whom loves his food -your shop has just got dearer!
Also, our son needs to look at every item on every shelf…
I used the Cerge app, to go to IGA Mooloolah . I was able to note what I was wanting to get/buy that day (my purpose) and ‘about us’ (kids wanting to touch/view all items/view every aisle and highly enticed by looking at every toy in the centre).
I advised my expected arrival time and we were met at the front door by the lovely Jodie. Jodie greeted us and invited James (mr 7) to carry the basket.
She walked with us to the areas we needed and by doing so, it kept both kids on track and avoided them wandering off and get side tracked. She also kept them engaged in conversation as we were walking around.
Jodie then directed us to an empty register and processed our sale. This in itself was a god send, no standing at the register in a que meaning that they would wander off.
I asked James afterwards why he thought it was a success for him, and he felt that it was somebody else walking him/us directly to the items was helpful. In and out! The store manager also mentioned that Whites IGA also do a click and collect style shop if I was to ring.
This service is also available for anybody in the community! Broken foot or arm - injury meaning that you can't carry a basket, need the music or lights adjusted. There are a lot of businesses on here, happy to help!
As a mum of a neurodivergent son, I am always anxious when I know I have to go to the shops with the kids in tow, especially Louis. It is complete sensory overload in a place filled with different noises, lights, and people. He often uses food as a calm-down tool and constantly asks for snacks - a little tricky when you have three other kids in tow to keep the afternoon tea budget down. Let me tell you how that has changed.
I made a new friend named Cérge. A few days ago, I took my son Louis to help me grab a few items from the grocery store. We discovered the Cerge app, which seriously changed our shopping experience for the better.
It is so user-friendly it's not funny.
We tried it for the first time this week when heading to White's IGA Mooloolah. Louis was eager to push the trolley and get the items from our list. The lovely staff greeted us at the door and showed us down each aisle we needed to go down.
They checked the list off with Louis as we went and chatted with him the whole time. Instantly putting him at ease and keeping him on task. They had turned the music off for us and then took us straight to a closed checkout to put our groceries through efficiently.
Our shop took about 15 minutes, instead of the usual hour.
I will be using Cérge every time we need to go to the shops now 
Had a wonderful shopping experience at White’s IGA Mooloolah and White’s IGA Bli Bli using the Cérge app!
This app was very easy to use and I liked being able to review store access information before I went so I knew what to expect. Having the photos (Cérge access guides) was also very helpful to me because they showed me where the accessible parking spots were and exactly how the parking looked so I could find them easily.
I have Cerebral Palsy with a speech impairment and sometimes find it challenging to communicate what assistance I need on the spot, especially when stores are really busy and loud. It was wonderful to be able to communicate my needs before entering the store through the Cérge app.
When I arrived at the stores the staff already knew what assistance I needed and were ready to provide that assistance. At the first store, I asked for assistance with finding the groceries I needed, and someone walked around the store with me and got the groceries I needed.
Support was provided at the checkout to lift my groceries on the counter, pack them in bags, and hang the bags on the back of my wheelchair, which was a wonderful experience.
At the second store, I just asked for assistance at the checkout. Having the option to choose the assistance I needed really appealed to me because sometimes I am capable of shopping on my own, but other days I am too tired and might need help.
The staff were amazing at both stores, and I never felt as if I was bothering them at all. They treated me with respect and dignity, and never made me feel as if I were asking too much.
Using the Cérge app, I had a delightful shopping experience at White's IGA Mooloolah and White's IGA Bli Bli.
By Belinda – Lived Experience of Disability