New 'sign cafe' opens in Ho Chi Minh City to promote inclusive employment

The store is located in an alley on Cao Thang Street and uses a specially adapted ordering process to facilitate communication between customers and hearing-impaired staff, according to Starbucks Vietnam.

Customers place their orders on a tablet at the point-of-sale counter and then follow a digital screen to check their order status at the pickup area.

Those unfamiliar with the technology can also write down the name of the drink they want on paper, the company said.

The store's signboard uses the American Sign Language (ASL) finger-spelling alphabet to spell out the Starbucks brand name.

The Vietnamese sign language system also has its own finger-spelling alphabet under national standards. While some letters are similar to those in ASL, the two systems are not identical.

The model is designed to bring customers closer to the hearing-impaired community through everyday experiences such as ordering drinks and interacting with staff, rather than only through social programs, according to Starbucks Vietnam.

The Signing Store concept originated from an initiative by a Starbucks employee in Malaysia, rather than from a standardized model developed by the company for use across its markets.

Starbucks subsequently developed operating procedures and training to help hearing-impaired employees communicate with customers and work effectively in stores.

The model has since been expanded to other markets, with Starbucks currently operating about 26 Signing Stores in Malaysia, the U.S., Japan and South Korea.

"The fact that this model was born out of an employee's own initiative shows that inclusive ideas can come from anywhere. The key is that we listen, provide support, and turn those ideas into real opportunities for the community," said a Starbucks Vietnam representative.

In addition to the store concept, the Ho Chi Minh City shop also features an exclusive collection of cups inspired by letters and symbols from sign language.

Notably, the cups automatically change color when filled with hot water.

Starbucks Vietnam has committed to donating part of the store's revenue over the next two years to support a vocational school for hearing-impaired people, while also releasing an exclusive color-changing cup collection featuring sign-language symbols.

The coffee chain is also considering opening more Signing Stores as part of its long-term development plans, with several potential locations under consideration, according to Starbucks Vietnam.

The new store is part of broader efforts to create suitable employment opportunities for deaf and hearing-impaired people, who face challenges in accessing the labor market.

Vietnam currently has about 2.5 million hearing-impaired people, around 60 percent of whom are of working age, according to statistics.

Food and beverage jobs are considered relatively suitable for this group, with various training and recruitment programs for hearing-impaired and visually impaired workers already operating in Vietnam.

Similar to Starbucks' Signing Store initiative, Osaka coffee shop in Chanh Hung Ward in Ho Chi Minh City is another model of a workplace for hearing-impaired people, with all of its employees being hearing-impaired.

In Hanoi, Flow-ee coffee shop also employs hearing-impaired and deaf staff, who communicate with customers through sign language or written notes.