Starbucks Vietnam opens cafe employing deaf workers
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Starbucks Vietnam opened a new cafe in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, designed to create employment opportunities for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The cafe uses a tablet-based ordering system and digital screens to help customers communicate with staff, and also accepts written orders. Its sign displays the Starbucks name using American Sign Language, though the store also acknowledges the distinct Vietnamese sign language system.
The idea for these “Signing Stores” began with a Starbucks employee in Malaysia, and the company has since expanded the model to 26 locations across Malaysia, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, developing training to support employees. Starbucks Vietnam intends to donate revenue from the Ho Chi Minh City store to a vocational school for hearing-impaired people and has released a collection of cups that change color with heat, featuring sign language symbols.
The company views this initiative as a way to integrate the hearing-impaired community into everyday life, beyond traditional social programs. Vietnam has approximately 2.5 million people with hearing impairments, and around 60 percent are of working age. Other coffee shops in Vietnam, such as Osaka coffee and Flow-ee coffee, also employ deaf and hard-of-hearing staff, showing a growing trend towards inclusive employment in the food and beverage sector.
