Free for any business · about three minutes

How senior-friendly is your business? Get your free score.

Seventeen quick questions about how older customers and their families reach you, understand you and trust you. You get a score out of 100, how you do in each area, and the three changes that would make the most difference.

Start my free score

No email, no sign-up. Your answers stay in your browser and are never sent to anyone.

Your free score

Answer for how things usually are, not how they are on your best day. If a question doesn’t fit the way you work, choose “Doesn’t apply” where it’s offered and it won’t count against you.

Getting in touch

When someone calls during business hours, does a person answer, or call back the same day?
Does your website show your phone number, your hours and what you do near the top of the first page, in text that’s easy to read?
Can a customer do everything by phone or in person, without needing an app, an online form or a code sent by text?

Coming to you, or you going to them

If customers come to you, is there a way in without stairs, such as a level entrance or a ramp?
If customers wait at your place, is there a chair with arms to sit on?
If customers usually come to you, can you serve someone who can’t easily travel, for example with a home visit, a phone or video appointment, or delivery?

Clear communication

Are your forms, quotes and price lists in large, clear print and plain words?
Do you and your staff take time to explain, repeat and check that the customer understood, without rushing them?
When someone asks, can you give information another way, for example reading it aloud, emailing it in a larger font, or explaining it by phone?
If a customer wants a family member, friend or support person involved, do you welcome them on calls and at appointments?

Trust and fairness

Do you give prices in writing, with what’s included and what isn’t, before any work starts or any money changes hands?
Can customers take their time, talk it over with family and decide later, without any pressure to sign the same day?
Is your cancellation and refund policy written down and given to the customer before they agree?
Do you take payment in ordinary ways with a receipt every time, and avoid asking for large cash payments up front?

Care that lasts

Have you and your staff learned how to serve customers with hearing, vision, mobility or memory difficulties?
Do you check in after the job or the appointment, to make sure everything is working and answer any questions?
Do you have an offer for older customers, such as a senior discount, written down where people can see it?

How the score works

Each question counts once, and the five that matter most to older customers count twice: answering the phone, giving people time, written prices, no pressure to decide, and a team that knows how to serve customers with disabilities. “Partly” counts for half. “Doesn’t apply” is left out of the total, so a business with no shop front isn’t marked down for having no waiting room.

Your three next steps are the most important questions you didn’t answer “Yes” to. Most of them cost little or nothing.

Not a compliance check. Ontario’s accessibility standards apply to businesses, and Ontario says almost one in four people in the province has a disability. This score touches on some of the same ground, but it isn’t a review of your legal obligations. For those, read how to make customer service accessible and how to train your staff on ontario.ca.

Questions about the score

Is the Senior-Friendly Business Score free?
Yes. It’s free for any business, with no email and no sign-up. Answer the questions and your score appears on the page.
Who is it for?
Any business that serves older customers or their families: trades and home services, home care, realtors and movers, clinics, shops, restaurants and professional firms. Questions that don’t fit the way you work can be marked “Doesn’t apply”.
Is my information sent to CASL?
No. Your answers are scored in your browser and kept only on that device, so you can come back to them. CASL never sees them. Like the rest of our site, the page counts visits without cookies.
Is this an accessibility compliance check?
No. Ontario’s accessibility standards apply to businesses, and every business with one or more employees must train its staff in accessible customer service. This score isn’t a review of those obligations. Ontario’s own pages explain them: how to make customer service accessible.
Can I show my score to customers?
Your score is for your own use. It isn’t a certification, and it shouldn’t be presented as a CASL endorsement. Businesses that join CASL are vetted first, and can then show the CASL partner badge.
How do I join CASL?
Apply online in about five minutes: the partner application. Every applicant gets five public checks before going live, and how we vet partners explains them.
Does CASL take a cut or charge a fee?
No. CASL is free for businesses and for seniors, and keeps no part of any partner offer.

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