Sound Solutions for businesses

Why isn’t the hospitality industry as accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people as it could be?

RNID, the national deafness and hard of hearing charity wants to see businesses open up their service to the nine million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. Here the charity explains why improving accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing people in the hospitality industry is vital if businesses wish to welcome clients with a substantial share of the estimated £50 billion spending power of disabled people across the UK.

We know that individuals and businesses do not intentionally go out of their way to discriminate against deaf people. Often all that is needed is a little guidance to ensure deaf and hard of hearing people can make the most of your business and  that you meet the standards of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Given that many organisations struggle to understand and implement the changes outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act, more can obviously be done to provide this guidance so RNID Products, the not-for-profit retail arm of the charity, is offering advice, encouragement and ongoing support to demystify and make the process easier. A simple step like installing an induction loop system, which amplifies the spoken word for hearing aid users, can make a world of difference to a hard of hearing customer. The nine million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK represent a huge consumer population – one that should be able to access your business easily.

Any business with more than 15 employees is required by law to make the reasonable adjustments necessary to make their service accessible to anyone with a disability – including potential employees. Unfortunately even some well-meaning companies unwittingly fall into some common traps - purchasing poor quality or insufficient equipment, not training staff on how to use the equipment once installed, customers being unaware of its presence and even on occasion, not switching equipment on.

A vital element of the hospitality industry is taking bookings.  We want to see the industry being more aware of the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people and the products and services that are available to help. Textphones are just one of the many products you can use. They have a keyboard so you can effectively carry out live text calls between you and your deaf or hard of hearing customer. Alternatively you can use the RNID Typetalk service, the national telephone relay service for deaf and hard of hearing people, that enables you to communicate with customers via highly trained relay assistants who type your voiced message to the caller – free training on this service is available for your staff.

With customer service at the centre of your business making the right first impression when greeting your customers will be of paramount importance to you. When considering hard of hearing customers bear in mind reception areas, restaurants and bars can be very noisy and for someone wearing a hearing aid, this could mean too much background noise. This is a common issue, which can be overcome in a simple step - installing a loop system. They can either be portable or installed depending upon your requirement, and are vital in making your business accessible.

Another example of the clever little gadgets available is the Clipboard with Induction Loop which can be used by your waiting staff as they take orders from hearing aid wearing clientele. It looks like a normal clipboard but with restaurants being noisy at the best of times it makes sure the customer can place their order with ease - something that will ensure they come back time and again.

Knowing who to ask is half the battle won - RNID Products have a team of expert engineers who cover the whole country and install equipment to the highest standards, offer advice and draw on their experience to make sure your business is accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people. Site surveys can help to make sure that the products you have or want are suitable for your business and your customers and the aftercare means that you are supported through the early months and have someone on hand for maintenance queries.

As well as the physical requirements RNID can work closely with your staff so they are aware of everything from allowing hearing dogs on the premises to attending deaf awareness training and even Start to Sign lessons.  We can also sit down with you as an employer and talk through your responsibility to improve access to your workplace for deaf and hard of hearing people.   There's even an award – the RNID 'Louder than Words' charter mark is given to businesses who demonstrate their commitment to equality for deaf and hard of hearing people – a true badge of honour to attract deaf and hard of hearing clientele.

No longer should businesses be daunted by the thought of going through this process alone.  Together with the UK's largest charity for deaf and hard of hearing people you can breakdown barriers that have stopped one in seven people in the UK visiting and working in restaurants and bars.

For more information, contact RNID's information line (telephone) 0808 808 0123 (textphone) 0808 808 9000 email informationline@rnid.org.uk or visit www.rnid.org.uk