Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Andrew J. Garnett of Special Needs Group & Special Needs at Sea On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
Get it in Writing: Everyone knows this one, but unfortunately, I thought that others are like me. If I give my word, it is as good as me signing a paper. There have been several occasions when I thought that a person’s word was good enough, only to find out that wasn’t the case. Always get it in writing.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew J. Garnett, founder, president and CEO of Special Needs Group® / Special Needs at Sea®, a medical equipment and supply company, and the leading global provider of wheelchair, scooter, oxygen and other special needs equipment rentals.
Garnett has over 21 years of leadership experience building a global brand in the Special Needs industry. An accomplished corporate strategist and marketer, his vision and expertise in business performance have driven notable growth in both the special needs and the travel industries. Throughout his years in the special needs industry, Garnett has forged strong relationships with the manufacturers of special needs equipment. He has also established global contacts for logistical fulfillment within this industry. Through these relationships, he is not only able to procure equipment at a moment’s notice in virtually any corner of the globe but is also able to provide input into the design of equipment customized to the needs of the cruise industry, as well as any other possible application.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you ended up where you are?
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. You know how they say the best things happen by accident? Well, this is one of those instances. I was working as a recruiter for AT&T call centers and AT&T decided to leave the call center business. So, I was downsized from my position and had some trouble finding a job when a travel agent I had met through a friend asked me if I would be willing to provide wheelchairs and that type of equipment for cruise ships. They had received several requests for it and wanted to find someone who could deliver to their clients. I figured I had nothing to lose since I was having trouble finding work anyway. So, I literally started in my bedroom and started making deliveries from my car by folding down the seats. Things seemed to be progressing, so I rented a storage unit and rented vans on busier days. Next, I leased a warehouse, purchased a van, and hired some staff to make deliveries in South Florida. In the meantime, I would get up at 3 a.m. and drive up to Port Canaveral, make deliveries to the ships there, then drive across the state and make deliveries to the ships in Tampa, and then drive back home. Today, we have services in 70 different countries and 217 different metropolitan areas.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Determination: As I had mentioned about the beginnings of Special Needs Group, Inc., I was determined to make travel not only possible but also enjoyable for any and everyone. To accomplish that goal, I “Drank the Kool-Aid” and did whatever it took to move things ahead. Working insane hours, driving extreme distances, and making some serious sacrifices weren’t easy, but my determination was the fuel to drive me. Our slogan is “Delivering an Accessible World®.” We are making that happen.
- Innovation: No one had ever done what I was out to do. So, being able to creatively come up with solutions that bridge the gap between hospitality, travel, cruising, medical equipment, logistics, etc. necessitated some innovative thinking. For example, to my knowledge, we were the first company to facilitate online rentals of mobility scooters, wheelchairs, etc. I have also mentored my team to look at different scenarios to come up with the best solutions and worked on them together until they felt like they had it handled. I remember that there was a time when we were running short on mobility equipment for the Mediterranean ports and the team wasn’t sure what to do. It would have been easy for my team to just refuse any orders and/or cancel existing orders. However, they know that I have told them to never say no. So, they looked at various solutions and decided to ship equipment from our warehouses in Northern Europe to the Mediterranean locations. Through this philosophy, we have been able to push ourselves to innovatively service more locations with more offerings globally.
- Empowerment: I believe in hiring good people and empowering them to make decisions on their own. One important part of that philosophy is allowing them to make mistakes. I sometimes see that they are about to make a mistake, nothing critical of course, and purposely allow them to make it so that they are going through the motions and can learn from it. Constantly dictating to your staff without empowering them is more like having a robot complete tasks that they may not be able to do in the future without guidance. I always tell them that making a mistake isn’t great but is okay so long as they learn from it and do not repeat it.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work-related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
This may sound a bit cliché, but the COVID-19 pandemic was the greatest work-related struggle our company has ever known. We went from a booming business to zero overnight. We experienced higher fixed costs and demands for refunds that drained our bank account. I had to make quick decisions to save the business. We laid off more than 80% of our staff and tried cutting costs wherever we could. Additionally, we had to reinvent the business. Some people called it pivoting, but I call it diversification. Since we only dealt with people traveling and travel was no longer allowed, we were dead in the water… pun intended… As a medical equipment company, we were able to secure PPE as one of the first to offer it. It kept us very busy at first. We also beefed up our sales of medical equipment. We sold and shipped about nine pallets of oxygen equipment to India when they desperately needed our help. That is a part of the business that was necessary to start and will continue to grow. I also made some personal sacrifices for the sake of my team and for the business.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
We have two exciting initiatives we are working on right now. First, we have introduced our Ultra-Light line of mobility equipment. Through the years, the weight of the equipment has become more of an issue for our customers. They want to be able to have as much independence as possible so being able to lift something themselves becomes that much more important. For example, our typical mobility scooter that we use for rental weighs about 110 lbs. Our Ultra-Light scooter weighs only 37 lbs. and the Powerchair only weighs 33 lbs. Manual wheelchairs are also available with removable wheels that can easily fit in a small car’s trunk with its frame only weighing 13.5 lbs.
Next is our collaboration with an organization endeavoring to make space travel accessible. We are actually thinking of changing our slogan from “Delivering an Accessible World” to “Delivering an Accessible Universe.” Soon space travel and tourism will become an everyday occurrence. Those who are manufacturing the spacecraft for these missions would be better off if they incorporate accessibility features now in the design and construction phases rather than trying to retrofit later. It is an honor to be a part of this!
I am also a gadget guy. So, we always have something new in the hopper and there are a couple of initiatives that we are working on but have not finalized yet. Be on the lookout for some exciting new things from Special Needs Group, Inc.!
Fantastic. Let’s now shift to our discussion about inclusion. Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?
I am a Board Member for the organization Arc Broward. It has an amazing array of services and an impressive mission to transform the community by providing opportunities for people with disabilities and other life challenges to realize their full potential. It has educational programs that give students certification in culinary, warehouse work, and, etc. Arc Works assists candidates and students in finding employment. I really cannot say enough about how AMAZING the whole organization is from top to bottom and the board I work with is full of top-notch individuals.
Arc Broward operates at nine locations and provides 20 programs throughout Broward County, FL. Arc Broward’s two social enterprises — Arc Educates, and Arc Culinary — are groundbreaking efforts to transform the community by providing opportunities for people with disabilities and other life challenges to realize their full potential.
As for our workplace, we did a complete remodel of our building when we took possession of it. The front door was moved to accommodate anyone with a mobility device, and we made each bathroom and the kitchen accessible. We also have provided employment for employees with cognitive issues. As mentioned earlier, I have a passion to make travel possible and enjoyable for anyone who would prefer to experience destinations in person rather than on television or through the internet. With that in mind, we sometimes provide equipment and services that my staff has scratched their heads about. There is this one time that sticks out in my head. We had a request from Make a Wish, and it was for equipment that we didn’t have and probably would never have needed again, so my team was apprehensive. I spoke with them and said that our mission was more important than one service. In the end, we made it possible and enjoyable for a whole family with a child to have the cruise vacation of their life!
This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
I look at this from two perspectives. First, inclusion ensures availability of more talented individuals. One thing that Astro Access, the space accessibility organization I mentioned earlier, learned is that deaf individuals didn’t experience motion sickness during their parabolic flight experiments. This means that a deaf person could be better suited for space travel than a large number of hearing people. Inclusion is key there. Then I look at a consumer perspective. Many years ago, I was trying to explain about my business to a cruise line. The representative I spoke with said, “that isn’t the type of clientele we want.” Well, as the population ages, we will see many more people who need that extra assistance. They have both time and money. Anyone who can cater to them will have the opportunity to earn their business and make money. One example I like to give sounds like a joke, but it is a real scenario. Let’s say there is a family reunion group that wants to take a trip together. If grandma needs oxygen and/or a mobility scooter and her need is not met, the whole group cancels because guess what…Grandma was paying for everyone.
There is one additional positive aspect that cannot really be explained without experiencing it. When some of the clients from Arc Broward get placed, both the client and the workplaces often tell us that they are so much happier working together. The client is of course happy that they are working, and the rest of the staff seems to have their spirits elevated because of the enthusiasm of the client.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
A couple of things come to mind regarding reasonable accommodations. First, let’s say a hotel has several deaf customers staying on a night when their accessible rooms are already spoken for. The hotel can provide portable alert kits that will work in any room. This reasonably accommodates the guests and doesn’t overburden the hotel by forcing them to construct more accessible hotel rooms. The cost variance is dramatic, to say the least, but either way, the customers are reasonably taken care of. The next scenario is if a business says no dogs are allowed. They must make an exception for service animals. The animal is really more like necessary equipment for the individual who needs it rather than a pet. So, the business needs to make the accommodation
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? If you can, please share a few examples.
Many of us are visually stimulated so I recommend including images of people with disabilities in company marketing materials, social media posts, websites, internal policy and procedure booklets, etc. You can also have company theme days that follow the national day calendar. May is National Mobility Month and September is National Deaf Awareness Month. For those who are not visually stimulated, I also have braille printed on my business cards. As a first impression, it shows that our organization is welcoming to all who come to us.
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
As mentioned before, we did a major renovation on our building before we moved in. It had several bathrooms, but none were accessible. We decided to make all of them and the kitchen accessible and ended up losing one bathroom in the remodel because of it. Additionally, we have hired and continue to give opportunities to staff that have some sort of cognitive disability. They are valuable members of our team and by giving them a chance to prove themselves, we have shown both our staff members and customers that we have served, the proof that anyone given a chance can really change someone’s preconceived notion.
This is our signature question that we ask in many of our interviews. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
I was quite fortunate to have a supportive family that also had experience owning their own business. So, there were some things that I was told, but was stubborn and believed that I knew better. Well, in many cases, I was wrong…
- Anyone is Replaceable: As much as I hate to admit it, anyone is replaceable. That also includes me. There were times in the past when I was in a panic when a staff member would leave. I thought, “How will we get along without them?” When it does happen, I always look to promote from within first. If we do not see anyone who can be promoted to that particular position, my team looks outside of the company. Much to my surprise, I can think of several occasions when it worked out so well that things were better than before. One example, in particular, would be when I replaced myself. As mentioned earlier, the company started from humble beginnings. So, I was doing a little bit of everything all the time. I still touch on anything and everything that needs my attention. As the company grew, I needed to let go of some areas. I promoted and transitioned our office manager to our Director of Operations, and she has seriously excelled and allowed our company to go to new heights.
- Get it in Writing: Everyone knows this one, but unfortunately, I thought that others are like me. If I give my word, it is as good as me signing a paper. There have been several occasions when I thought that a person’s word was good enough, only to find out that wasn’t the case. Always get it in writing.
- Work-life balance: I was always someone who kept busy so when it came to working all the time, it was like second nature to me. I really put off personal time and said that I will get to it later. Well, I had a wake-up call one day. I was doing my typical, working all the time, and went on a business trip for about two and a half weeks. I flew back to South Florida on an early flight and went to the office to work. When the day ended, I went to the daycare center where my son was and didn’t immediately recognize my son. He was at the age when children change a lot from day to day and he had also gotten a haircut, but it startled me that I hadn’t recognized him immediately. He had come out running and wrapped his arms around me with the best long hug you can imagine. I’m glad he recognized me right away. So, I immediately hired some staff that could make the trips I was making and enabled myself to not miss those important moments in my son’s life that you often hear about.
- People do what is inspected not what is expected: I learned this from a colleague that unfortunately passed a couple of years ago. We all want to assume that our team will automatically do what is necessary. Most of the time, if you have selected wisely, they will. However, if your staff knows that you won’t check, they may start to cut corners. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are trying to get away with something, but if no one is looking, why do it? When you do check on them, it keeps them on their toes, and it will keep their productivity up to a higher level. To be clear, this doesn’t mean that you need to become a micromanager. It means that you still empower your team but make spot-checks on what you know they are supposed to be doing. One instance I can recall is when I asked one of my managers for a report that I hadn’t asked for in quite some time. They looked at me like a deer in headlights because it hadn’t really been done since the last time I had asked for it. So, we did the research for the report and found that some protocols had not been followed either. Since the protocols weren’t followed, we had some “fires we had to put out.” Equipment hadn’t been transported to the destination it was needed within the normal timeframe, so we had to airfreight the equipment. That meant that the staff had to drop everything and take care of this immediately and the company lost money on that service. In the end, my staff saw the importance of the protocols and why the report was necessary for efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their jobs are actually easier to do when the set policies and reports are followed and completed.
- The only way to succeed is to try. Basically, it is okay to fail.: Keeping an open mind is an important key to entrepreneurship. Willingness to fail is another. If you don’t have an open mind and the willingness to try something new, you will never have success with that idea. Making a calculated decision is also key, but the point is, if the idea isn’t tested, it will never come to fruition. Just like making a sales call, you may not get the sale on your first try, but if you never asked, you definitely wouldn’t have gotten the sale. When the pandemic hit, I could have tried to just wait it out, but instead worked on getting the PPE and other necessities for our customers and expansion of our business. Our customers appreciated the fact that we were there for them regardless of what their needs were. The masks were a hit, but the face shields were not So, while we were successful overall, we have cases of face shields still left. Does anyone want a face shield? LOL
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
Anything easy to do is easy not to do…So just do it!
This is something I often tell myself and those around me. My son probably gets tired of hearing it from me, but it has done me a lot of good. When I feel worn out and perhaps a bit lazy, I tell myself that anything easy to do is easy not to do…so, just do it! It helps me get more accomplished and made the business a success from its infancy. Making those long drives and keeping long hours was at times exhausting, but this phrase kept me going. I definitely accomplished more because of it.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Definitely different, but all the same.
I hope that people will someday soon understand that we are all the same with some subtle differences that make each of us unique and special. We are all human and those slight differences should not separate us. It should make us work better together as a team because we all have some strengths and weaknesses that can complement one another for a better whole.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Visit our website at http://specialneedsgroup.com/ or follow us on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Andrew J Garnett of Special Needs Group & Special Needs at was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.