The cashier motioned for me to try again. Same problem, the terminal did not recognize my credit card. I told him it was okay, that I was just going to enter my PIN rather than tapping my card on the reader. She motioned for me to wait a moment, then she left…
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
She came back with a colleague. I then realized that the friendly employee of my neighborhood grocery store couldn’t hear my words.
I believe this was the first time I had interacted with a deaf person in a customer service context… Since then, I have often gone through Pamela Cabrera’s cash register. Each time, I wondered what his professional reality might look like.
My short experiences as a receptionist in a pizzeria and as a bartender in a local bar lead me to think that even when you can hear customers and talk to them, service is a difficult area! So what about when communication has to be done in a completely different way?
Pamela agreed to discuss it with me. A timely conversation in this month of hearing and communication.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Pamela Cabrera and Jean-Baptiste Bazy, with, in the back, the store manager, Joan Lacroix
When I found her in the back room, the clerk was in conversation with her colleague Laurie. “I’m learning sign language,” she told me enthusiastically.
— When I don’t know the words, I write them on my cell phone and give it to Pamela so she can read them. It’s convenient because I speak Spanish!
“…You mean Pamela doesn’t speak French?”
– Not much yet, no! So I write to him in Spanish. »
The 28-year-old has only been in the country since 2019. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she speaks Spanish and English better than French. For now, at least!
Hard of hearing since she was 3 years old, she worked for a long time in the family hairdressing salon. Then, when she moved to Canada, she opted for housekeeping. Six months ago, his roommate advised him to apply for the Valmont market on Mont-Royal Avenue…
Jean-Baptiste Bazy, 27, had been working there himself for two months. He is now the assistant manager of the grocery store. Hard of hearing from birth, he can decode ambient sounds at about 50% of their volume. He can also speak, which facilitates his relationship with customers.
He met us in the small back room to play the interpreter, between Pamela and me…
“First, I would like to know what he particularly likes about his job as a clerk…
“She really likes working at the cash desk, but she also likes taking care of the deliveries,” Jean-Baptiste translated to me. She likes to move and likes it to be dynamic. Oh, and she says she loves Alain! »
Jean-Baptiste burst out laughing as Pamela’s eyes narrowed playfully. Alain, a colleague of the duo seated a little further, also laughed.
“I love working with them,” he told me. Do you know there are times when Pamela is in charge of the store? At first, I wondered if it would really be possible… It wasn’t bad, it’s just that I had never worked with people who are hard of hearing. Finally, put in as much as possible! Pamela is so good! »
For Joan Lacroix, manager of the grocery store, the main challenge was to establish new ways of communicating within the team. Jean-Baptiste and Pamela can read lips, but it’s much more difficult to do in a pandemic…
The masks isolated them from others. Their colleagues have therefore got into the habit of lowering theirs, if necessary. Then, like Laurie, Joan too began to study sign language.
Then, it was necessary to ensure good communication with the public.
A few months ago, a sign appeared at the entrance to the market stating that hearing-impaired staff work there.
“At first, it was quite difficult to educate customers, admits the manager of the grocery store. Some did not understand why they sometimes waited alone at the checkout or why they were not answered. I spoke with Jean-Sébastien and he agreed with the idea of a poster so that everyone knew what to expect. »
What has changed since then?
The customers are perhaps a little more pleasant, according to Jean-Baptiste Bazy: “They understand that we are deaf and that we sometimes have to ask them to lower their mask to read their lips. Some use their phones to write us messages. They also ask us questions, they are curious! Many ask us how to say ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ or ‘have a nice day’…”
Immediately, Pamela’s eyes lit up.
“It really pleases him when customers learn words,” confirmed Jean-Baptiste.
In 2016, the employment rate of working-age adults with hearing loss approached 50%, according to Statistics Canada. A rate much lower than that of adults without disabilities (73.6%).
If Joan Lacroix had one piece of advice for managers who have the opportunity to hire people who are hard of hearing, what would it be?
“Don’t hesitate,” he replied immediately. Hire them! I had some concerns hiring Pamela, especially because she didn’t understand French very well yet. Finally, I’m super happy that she’s here… I don’t see any differences between Jean-Baptiste and her, compared to the other employees. Apart from the fact that they are more attentive to what is happening in the grocery store than many people who hear! »
Pamela outbids: “We are capable of doing the same things. »
I would even add that few employees know how to transmit their joie de vivre to me like these two.
How do you say that, then, “bravo”, in sign language?