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Avoid Traumatization

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Have you ever experienced going up to the cashier, trying to place an order and there was miscommunication? How many attempts were made to clarify your order? Which one of you lost their patience?

Cashiers are supposed to provide positive customer experience with fair, friendly and courteous service. But… if there is a barrier occurring, then the service is failing their customers. Is it the person behind the cash register\’s fault? Not necessarily, they need proper training to address their customer or the workplace needs better signage with proper directions to avoid miscommunication. 

Retail, Food Service, Finance, Healthcare, and all other industries attempt to honour accommodation requirements, but miss the mark on basic human interaction. Everyone goes through life with setbacks and barriers, it is traumatizing for some to have it occur one-time, multiple or long lasting repetitive events.

\”A young Autistic woman went to McDonald\’s, she was rushed by the cashier to place her order. She was unable to process her thoughts to pronounce the word she wanted to order. She knew what she wanted, but there were no numbers attached to orders on signage to show the cashier what she wanted. Instead of working with her, the cashier laughed and took the next person\’s order. This left the young woman distraught that she never returned to the franchise again. One experience ruined her bravery to independently place her own order.\”

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Signing Trauma

Some people develop appropriate coping strategies, but it depends on how you address them. Sadly in this case, the young woman was traumatized from the rudeness and treated as less than human being. Society is fast paced and has forgotten to slow down to take the time to be compassionate with people. If the service provider is getting it right the first time, the people who use their services will understand and communicate their needs straight away.

Businesses need to meet their reasonable adjustment duties and make sure that individuals are not disadvantaged. SignAble Vi5ion offers training for businesses and their employees to learn of visually inclusive communication strategies that are more accessible for all, teaching compassion for others and taking the time to communicate effectively.

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