Serving guests with disabilities: what the front-of-house team says and does

This is part 4 of our 7-part series Guest experience at a café or restaurant. Earlier: steps of service, the first 30 seconds and large parties.

Our post on ADA accessibility basics for a café covers the building: ramps, doors and counter heights. But guests meet your team before they meet your counter. A server who reads the menu without sighing, a host who asks before moving a wheelchair, a cashier who knows the two service-animal questions: those are the moments people remember.

This post is the people side: what the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations and the Department of Justice's guidance say about communication, policies and service animals, turned into a page your team can follow.

This is general information, not legal advice. State and local laws can add to the ADA. For your business, talk to a lawyer or an accessibility specialist. Sources checked October 5, 2026.

The principle: change the routine when it's needed

The ADA rule for businesses open to the public (28 CFR Part 36) has a general rule on policies. A business "shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, when the modifications are necessary to afford goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to individuals with disabilities", unless the business can show the change "would fundamentally alter the nature" of what it offers (28 CFR 36.302(a)).

In a café, that's ordinary: bringing the order to the table for a guest who can't carry a tray, letting a guest order at the end of the counter that has the low section, or reading the specials board aloud. Train the team to treat these as service, not exceptions.

Communicating with guests

The regulation says a business "shall furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities" (28 CFR 36.303(c)(1)). What that means depends on the conversation. Ordering lunch is simple; a long catering contract is not.

Guests who are blind or have low vision

The DOJ's primer for small businesses gives a restaurant example: "a restaurant can put its menu on an audio cassette or a waiter can read it to a patron." Its guidance on effective communication puts it the same way: "In a lunchroom or restaurant, reading the menu to a person who is blind allows that person to decide what dish to order."

• Offer to read the menu, the whole thing, including prices and the specials board. Don't summarize it as "we have sandwiches".
• Say who you are when you approach, and when you're leaving.
• Describe the plate when you set it down if the guest wants that: "The salad is at six o'clock, bread on your left."
• Read the check and the total before they pay.
• Ask how they'd like help. The primer: "Usually a customer will tell you which format he or she needs. If not, it is appropriate to ask."

Guests who are deaf or hard of hearing

The primer says that for simple exchanges, "Exchange of written notes may be appropriate for casual interactions." Ordering a coffee is a casual interaction.

• Face the guest when you speak, and don't cover your mouth. Turn down the music at the counter if it's loud.
• Keep a notepad and pen at the register, or turn the POS screen around so the guest can read the order.
• Talk to the guest, not to their companion. The regulation says a business "shall not require an individual with a disability to bring another individual to interpret for him or her" (28 CFR 36.303(c)(2)).
• Relay calls are real calls. The primer says: "Staff who answer the telephone must accept and treat relay calls just like other calls." Our post on the first 30 seconds covers the phone.

Guests with a speech disability

The DOJ's effective-communication guidance says: "Staff should always listen attentively and not be afraid or embarrassed to ask the person to repeat a word or phrase they do not understand." It also mentions "keeping paper and pencil on hand so the person can write out words that staff cannot understand or simply allowing more time to communicate with someone who uses a communication board or device".

Give it time, don't finish the guest's sentences, and read the order back as you would for anyone.

Seating and wheelchairs

• Ask before you touch a wheelchair, a cane or a walker. They're part of the person's space.
• Offer the choice of table. Don't automatically put a guest who uses a wheelchair at the table nearest the door. The primer says accessible tables "must be dispersed throughout the dining area rather than clustered in a single location."
• Move a chair away from the table so a wheelchair can pull up, and ask whether they'd like it moved.
• Keep the route clear during service. A high chair, a delivery box or a sandwich board in the aisle is a barrier on a busy night. The regulation lists "Rearranging tables, chairs, vending machines, display racks, and other furniture" among its examples of barrier removal (28 CFR 36.304(b)(4)).

When something can't be fixed today

For existing buildings, the regulation says a business "shall remove architectural barriers in existing facilities, including communication barriers that are structural in nature, where such removal is readily achievable, i.e., easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense" (28 CFR 36.304(a)). Where a barrier isn't removed yet, the team should know the alternative: the step-free side entrance, bringing the order to an accessible table, or curbside pickup. Write it down so nobody has to improvise.

Service animals at the counter and the table

The rule starts plainly: "Generally, a public accommodation shall modify policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability" (28 CFR 36.302(c)(1)).

What staff may ask. The regulation says a business "shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person's disability, but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. A public accommodation may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform." It "shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal" (28 CFR 36.302(c)(6)).

When not to ask at all. The same paragraph: "Generally, a public accommodation may not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person's wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability)."

No vest needed. The DOJ's service animal FAQs say: "The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness."

At the table. The FAQs answer this directly: "covered entities are not required to allow an animal to sit or be fed at the table." The dog lies on the floor, usually under the table. Don't pet it, feed it or talk to it: it's working. And the regulation says a business "is not responsible for the care or supervision of a service animal" (28 CFR 36.302(c)(5)).

When a dog can be asked to leave. Only if "The animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take effective action to control it" or "The animal is not housebroken" (28 CFR 36.302(c)(2)). Even then, the business "shall give the individual with a disability the opportunity to obtain goods, services, and accommodations without having the service animal on the premises" (36.302(c)(3)). That decision belongs to the manager on duty, not to whoever is at the door.

A script for the door, when it isn't obvious:

"Welcome in! Is that a service animal required because of a disability? And what task is it trained to do? Thanks, have a seat anywhere."

Your one-page team guide

Where Mays fits

• The guide, on every phone: put the page above and the door script in a Knowledge Base article. See Knowledge base basics.
• A quiz on the hard cases: in Learning, add questions such as "A guest's dog is guiding them to the counter. Do you ask the two questions?" and assign the module to everyone who works the floor. See Creating learning modules and Assigning training.
• A clear route, every shift: add "aisles, ramp and accessible tables clear" to the opening checklist with a Photo answer. See Creating a checklist template.
• Phone questions about access: with the AI receptionist add-on, the Missed questions tab shows what callers asked that no FAQ answered, such as whether there's a step-free entrance. See FAQs and missed questions.

Mays doesn't tell you whether your space or your policies comply with the ADA. That's a job for a lawyer or an accessibility specialist.

Your accessibility-at-the-table checklist

• Reasonable changes to the routine treated as service
• Menu, specials and check read aloud on request; notes and the screen for ordering
• Talk to the guest, not their companion, and give people time
• Ask before touching mobility equipment; offer a choice of tables
• Two service-animal questions only, and none when it's obvious
• A written alternative for any barrier you haven't removed yet

Train the whole team on the same page

Write the guide once, quiz every new hire on it, and check the route at open.

Start your free trial: 30 days, every module, no card needed. Next in this series: special requests and dietary needs without slowing the line.