The staff from Starbucks in Canary Wharf don’t just make great coffee, they’re also great singers and signers. Led by their manager Toro Manca, who is a Level 3 BSL student, the team performed ‘Joining Hands Together’ and made a video of their performance.
While working at another branch of Starbucks, Toro noticed he was serving a significant number of Deaf customers. He knew he could offer a better service if he could communicate more effectively and decided to learn BSL.
Toro is keen to promote Deaf awareness and access and thought sign2sing would be a great way to raise funds and teach colleagues about BSL.
Since making the video, Toro and his team have visited Starbucks HQ, with staff from SignHealth. Deaf staff member Chris and Toro led a signed coffee tasting session and Toro told senior staff, including UK Chief Executive Mark Fox, about how using BSL helps him provide a better service to customers and also provide employment opportunities for Deaf people.