Customer Service Nightmare - Fake Service Animals

I recently stayed in a hotel where, during breakfast service, a guest brought not one but two large dogs into the dining room.  Each was on a leash and each had a vest indicating that they were "service animals."  They didn't seem to be trained (not even garden variety obedience training).  The problem is: anyone can go online and "register" and animal (and buy a vest) without any requirement to prove that the animals indeed meet the definition of service animal. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals very broadly:

A service animal is any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.

 Further ...

 Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.

The problem is that there is no verification requirement and, as a result, people are scamming the system, buying fake vests for Fido so that Fido's owner can flagrantly disregard the "no pets" rule at most consumer establishments.

The problem for front line service employees is that it is unlawful to bar a bona fide service animal from an

Order this Vest Online

establishment.  The business could easily be sued if a person with a genuine disability was barred in error.  So, the quiet hotel breakfast I expected was disrupted by a selfish scofflaw with two untrained animals in tow.

I suppose this trend is yet another example of consumers feeling entitled to write their own rules.

Maybe it's time for the government to tighten up the definition of "service animal."

In the meantime, the challenge for businesses is to train front line employees to identify the fake service animals without denying services to disabled customers.

It's a tough one.