KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — A Petaling Jaya councillor and disabled rights activist has alleged that he was denied entry at a Pizza Hut outlet in MidValley Megamall here.
Anthony Thanasayan claimed he was barred from the fast food outlet during a recent visit as Pizza Hut purportedly has a policy that disallows customers from entering in wheelchairs.
“Anthony Thanasayan, who is councillor for Petaling Jaya and an activist for disabled rights, was scheduled to have a lunch appointment with an able-bodied person,” a blog for the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (PetPositive), of which Thanasayan is president, posted today.
“When Thanasayan requested to choose where he wanted to sit with his friend in the half-empty restaurant, he was told point blank by Pizza Hut restaurant manager Niq Ribiya that her outlet had a strict and clear policy not to welcome customers in wheelchairs.”
Pizza Hut has since commented on the incident on its Facebook page, expressing its concern for Thanasayan.
“We have moved to investigate this matter and we will be meeting Mr Anthony today to resolve the miscommunication that occurred. We welcome any feedback on the issue here as our official channel to respond to this issue,” said Pizza Hut.
According to PetPositive, a complaint was also made on the day to MidValley Megamall’s customer care manager Kenny Tan.
Tan declined comment when contacted by The Malay Mail Online.
MidValley Megamall’s management later confirmed the incident, attributing the cause to the Pizza Hut outlet manager’s poor training.
“The manager could not accommodate the wheelchair. She wasn’t properly trained,” Stephanie Tan, MidValley’s assistant public relations manager told The Malay Mail Online.
According to Stephanie, the restaurant was only half-full when Thanasayan visited it, but the way the tables were arranged, left no space to accommodate his wheelchair.
She added that Thanasayan had promptly left the outlet after being denied entry
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