Starbucks Opens ‘Silent Cafe’ in China

American coffee chain Starbucks has opened first of its kind ‘silent cafe’ in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where nearly half of the employees are hearing-impaired. The employment is a part of the company’s initiative to support the employment of people with disabilities.

The ‘Silent Cafe’ is specially designed with a customized easy-ordering system, where people can place orders without saying a word. For example, all the drinks and food are numbered to facilitate the ordering as there is a two-way digital display, customers can also choose to write down their specific needs.

This arrangement is done keeping in mind 14 of the total 30 staff in the cafe, who cannot hear properly. The outlet is located in the Yuexiu district and is officially opened last week.

Seattle-based Starbucks has more than 3,800 stores in China and the move is seen as a part of its ongoing efforts to get closer to local communities.

Belinda Wong, chief executive officer of Starbucks China says, “Starbucks China will continue to build a different kind of company and use our large scale of operations to create the perfect place for everyone in China, no matter what their needs are”.

The design of the store is made considering the special needs. Sign language and symbols are printed on umbrellas in front of the store and there are indicators throughout the cafe. All the staffs wear aprons with the word “Starbucks” embroidered in the sign language, while deaf employees wear an additional pin.

Chen Siting, who works at the store says, “We cannot hear you but would like to share a tasty coffee with you. I believe more people like me could find a career they are passionate about in the future”.

The store not only employs people with hearing challenges but also provide specialized training opportunities. Thus all the employees in the store are professional baristas, who can communicate using sign language.

The store also aims at raising awareness and understanding of deaf and hearing impaired experiences in the workplace. To nurture talent and create more opportunities for the deaf workforce, Starbucks has also partnered with the Guangdong Deaf People Association to offer professional skills training and sign language courses.

Currently, Starbucks dominates China’s coffee scene with more than 3,800 coffee stores across the country and is the single largest coffee chain in China. The ‘Silent cafe’ is Starbuck’s third signing store started only next to Kuala Lumpur and Washington.