Starbucks Opens First U.S. 'Signing Store'

Starbucks opening its first U.S. 'Signing Store' catering to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing customers in Washington DC.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Fox News' Lauren Blanchard on Starbucks unveiled on Tuesday its first United States-based store designed specifically for Deaf and Hard of Hearing customers near Gallaudet University in the D.C.

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Located in Washington, D.C., the “signing store” employs about 20 to 25 people - all of whom know American Sign Language. And to allow for easier hand movements and better communication, it features lower tables and counters, brighter lights and no background music.

“We’ll teach them some signs, ‘Here’s my name, what’s your name, pointing to the apron,’ Starbucks store manager Matthew Gilsbach said on Tuesday. “It’s a nice way to make that customer’s experience legendary, and that connection happen.”

The store also offers a picture menu so customers can point to which items they’d like to order, and an iPad so they can write down what they want.

Starbucks collaborated with Gallaudet University, the only one in the world that caters to the Deaf and partial-hearing community to create the store.

In 2016, the Seattle-based coffee giant first opened a “Signing Store” in Malaysia.

“This is a historic moment in Starbucks’ ongoing journey to connect with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, hire and engage Deaf and Hard of Hearing partners, and continue to find ways to be more inclusive, accessible and welcoming to all,” Rossann Williams, the executive vice president of U.S. retail for Starbucks, said in a news release.

SOURCE FOX Business

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Starbucks Opening Café Staffed By Deaf Baristas

A Starbucks store in Malaysia has become the first in the world coffee chain to focus on providing employment opportunities for Deaf and Hard of Hearing customers.

KUALA LUMPUR -- Seattle Times: A Starbucks store in Malaysia has become the first in the global coffee chain to focus on providing employment opportunities for those who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing customers.

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The store in Kuala Lumpur, which opened Wednesday, results from a partnership between Starbucks Malaysia and The Society of Interpreters for the Deaf, the company said.

The society provided Starbucks with two sign-language interpreters during hiring, training and coaching for Deaf employees, and to teach sign language to hearing employees, according to a Starbucks news release.

The store employs 10 Deaf employees and three hearing ones, including the store manager.

“This is an underrepresented community in Malaysia,” a Starbucks spokeswoman said. “Over the years, the team has worked with local organizations to hire Deaf partners [employees] and we wanted to celebrate and recognize the contributions of Deaf workers and people of all disabilities.”

Customers place their orders by filling out a menu ticket that they hand to the baristas. The baristas then key in the orders on a dual-screen system where customers can see if their order is correct. The order number is displayed on a large screen above the pickup counter when it’s ready.

The store also has a Starbucks Card kiosk where customers can check their card balances and reward-program points.

Starbucks currently has no plans to replicate this model beyond the Malaysia store, the spokeswoman said.

SOURCE - SeattleTimes

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Deaf Man Receives Note From Starbucks Barista

Starbucks employee's kind act for Deaf patrons hit the Internet.

LEESBURG, VA -- A Virginia man's Facebook post is creating some internet buzz after he shared a note from a Starbucks employee who offered a kind gesture.

Ibby Piracha, who is Deaf, told ABC News through an interpreter that he was surprised Friday morning to be greeted by the familiar barista with sign language.

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"I usually use my phone and I'll text them what I want to order," Piracha of Leesburg, Virginia, said. "She was saying she looked on YouTube because she had a lot of customers that came in using text. I was very surprised she was willing to learn sign language and it shows she respects Deaf people ... she's an inspiration."

Piracha, 23, said the female barista handed him a note that read, "I've been learning ASL just so you can have the same experience as everyone else."

Piracha posted a picture of the kind words to Facebook, where it received over 2,000 “shares.”

"I was very shocked to go in there one day and have her sign a little bit and I kind of smiled, thinking about it and I even told the Starbucks manager, 'You know, I was very impressed by your employee."

The manager at the Starbucks where Piracha received the note told ABC News that while he could not comment on this particular incident or name the employee, he confirmed Piracha's account.

“We are proud that our store partner employee is taking this initiative to learn American Sign Language to better assist and serve her customers,” a Starbucks spokeswoman told ABC News. “We always love to hear stories of meaningful connections between our partners and customers.”

Piracha said he hopes his Facebook post gets the message across that "the hearing world and the Deaf World are trying to communicate."

"I definitely want people to understand that Deaf customers can have a really great review," he added.

SOURCE - ABC News

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Deaf Woman's Video At Starbucks Goes Viral

A video of a Deaf customer using sign language to order through a new video drive-thru panel at Starbucks goes viral on Facebook.

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL - A video of a new technology at one St Augustine, Florida Starbucks is going viral and it is awesome!

The video was posted on Facebook by Rebecca King, who uses sign language to place her order! And guess what, the barista, Katie Wyble, signs back through a two-way video screen!

Wyble told Fox 30 Action News Jax she's had a "passion for sign language since I first saw a teacher use it when I was in preschool."

King's video of the encounter went viral with million views and thousand shares.

"Starbucks! This is what I'm talking about! Share it away! We can change the world!" King wrote as the caption. “I think more people need to know about what we’re doing because it moves customer service to a whole new level,”

Wyble said. “I hope it helps make more people aware of what they can to do serve others in their communities.”

SOURCE -FOX35

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Starbucks Sued For Discrimination Deaf Employee

Starbucks sued for allegedly discriminating against Deaf staff.

PHOENIX, AZ -- The American Genius: Having a product that is in demand is vital, but maintaining quality help is the very bedrock of successful companies. A business, even the most reputable one, cannot make an impact without respectable, pleasant and reliable employees.

Regulars get used to seeing helpful, friendly faces and before you know it, instead of merely stopping by a coffee shop to grab your favorite cup of joe, a connection is made. Patrons become invested in the success of the company because they’re invested in the relationships they’ve fostered with the staff.
And so the cycle begins.

This is the type of emotional correlation that breeds success, but these connections can only occur when employees are valued and supplied the proper modifications at work. With that being said, shame on you, Starbucks.

Obviously, most of the adult world couldn’t function without their java, but that doesn’t give companies like Starbucks a pass on providing disabled employees proper accommodations.

Laura Roberts, a Starbucks employee for seven years, has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks. She claims that the store fired her in retaliation after she repeatedly asked for American Sign Language (ASL) accommodates.

Roberts, who has been Deaf since infancy, requested interpreters during staff and training meetings on various occasions.

She can read, and during her employment relied on a printed schedule for her hours. She also utilized her ability to lip-read in order to serve customers.

After a managerial transition, she was denied a printed schedule, and required to read her schedule from a posted list. Thus, limiting her ability to understand the hours she was required to work... Read The Full Story.

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Deaf Customers Sue Starbucks Over Mocking

Deaf News: Starbucks employees allegedly laughed at speech of hearing impaired customers in New York City.

NEW YORK CITY -- Twelve Deaf Starbucks customers in New York City have filed a lawsuit against the Seattle-based coffee company, claiming discrimination. Starbucks employees allegedly mocked the customers multiple times over the course of several years, and once called the police on a monthly meeting of Deaf people.

"Cruel Employees" at two different Manhattan Starbucks mocked Deaf customers and refused to serve them, a stunning new lawsuit says.

"They were ridiculed, laughed at and told they had to leave Starbucks," said lawyer Eric Baum, who's suing on behalf of a dozen Deaf customers.

Jamie Riley, a spokeswoman for the mega-popular coffee chain, said they were aware of the allegations and were investigating them. "Discrimination of any kind is unacceptable at Starbucks," she said.

The suit says one incident took place at a Starbucks at 424 Park Ave. South in August 2012, when customer Alan Roth said a barista laughed when he placed his order, telling him he "sounded funny."

She "asked him to continually repeat himself as she laughed harder each time," and she was soon laughing "hysterically," the suit says.

When Roth demanded to speak to a manager, the employee started screaming obscenities at him and had to be restrained by other Starbucks staff, the suit says. Another employee told Roth to leave and never come back, the suit says.

Roth said he had "never before been so blatantly and maliciously been discriminated against."

The suit says Deaf customers also were forced to leave and had the cops called on them another time at the 13-25 Astor Place location, which had been chosen as the monthly gathering spot for an informal "Deaf Chat Coffee" social group...

Read The Full Story.

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Deaf Korean Starbucks Barista The Signs

The Korean Starbucks Barista, It’s all in the Signs.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Deaf Korean Starbucks barista, it’s all in the signs. Although a Starbucks branch in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, was bustling with coffee lovers at around noon on Monday, employees worked in silence.

Most baristas at Starbucks franchises receive orders from the cashiers verbally, with shouts of machiatto, mochachino and latte echoing throughout the store.

But Hwang Jin, a 33-year-old Deaf barista, receives her orders via hand gestures. Employees give a thumbs-up to signal an Americano and make a “G” sign to confirm it’s a grande.

“When making foam with milk, those who are hearing-impaired rely on the sensation in their hand when frothing the milk instead of the sound,” barista instructor Sung Jeong-min said. “They are more sensitive to the vibrations of the milk steamer and produce a smoother taste in the coffee.”

Hwang, who lost her hearing after health complications as a 4-year-old, has worked at the Seoul National University of Education Starbucks branch since November 2011... Read More Here.

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