Starbucks to launch sign language store in Washington DC for deaf customers
All employees will be required to know how to use American Sign Language
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Your support makes all the difference.Starbucks has announced that it’s going to be opening its very first “Signing Store” in the US for customers that are deaf or have hearing impairments.
The branch of the coffee chain is going to be launched in October this year in Washington DC, close to Gallaudet University, which educates students who are either deaf or hard of hearing.
Approximately 20 to 25 of the partners who will be hired to work at the Signing Store will have partial or complete hearing loss.
All of the employees will be required to know how to converse using American Sign Language.
“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,” said Rossann Williams, executive vice president of US Retail at Starbucks.
The coffee giant was inspired to open the US Signing Store following the unveiling of the first store of its kind at a Starbucks branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2016.
The company has been praised for taking a step towards greater inclusivity of the deaf community.
“The National Association of the Deaf applauds Starbucks for opening a Signing Store that employs deaf and hard of hearing people,” said Howard A. Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf.
“Starbucks has taken an innovative approach to incorporating deaf culture that will increase employment opportunities as well as accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing people, while at the same time educating and enlightening society.”
A lot of thought has gone into the design of the Washington DC-based Signing Store, from the aprons that the partners will wear to the decor of the coffee shop.
The baristas who are deaf will wear aprons produced by a deaf supplier with an American Sign Language-inspired design, while the partners who aren’t deaf will wear pins that indicate that they know sign language.
Furthermore, artwork created by a deaf artist will appear both within the store and on the coffee mugs.
Customers who come to the store who don’t know how to use sign language will be able to order at the counter using different forms of communication.
“Starbucks is to be commended for their affirmative approach to employing people with disabilities, in this case persons who are deaf and hard of hearing,” said Tom Harkin, former US senator from Iowa who authored the final bill for the Americans with Disabilities Act within the US Senate.
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