Miss-Delectable
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Deaf customers welcome restaurant's drive-through device
Dana Craig visits her new favorite Twin City restaurant whenever she's in town, and she's not even that crazy about the food.
It's Culver's, 901 N. Hershey Road, Bloomington, which a few months ago installed OrderAssist, a relatively simple device that eases drive-through ordering for the deaf, partially deaf or those with other communication barriers. It's been a big hit for Craig, who is deaf, and others like her in Central Illinois who can feel slighted when ordering from the car at fast-food restaurants.
"For sure, if I don't want to cook, that's where I go," said Craig, of Chenoa, through an interpreter.
When pressed, an OrderAssist button near the drive-thru menu alerts employees a deaf customer is in line. The customer then proceeds to the window to order by special form and pen, without the frustration of holding up the line or dealing with confused staff. They can also take extra forms for next time.
"It removes some of the mystery for us," said Bret Freistedt, owner of the Culver's on Hershey. "For people that use it, it's worked out pretty well."
OrderAssist is available at about 50 Culver's nationwide, including a dozen in Illinois. But so far, no other chains have shown serious interest in adopting it, said Patrick Hughes, the founder of Evanston-based Inclusion Solutions, which put its first OrderAssist at a Culver's five years ago.
There are about 600,000 people in the U.S. who are deaf, and over 28 million who have at least some trouble hearing, according to a Gallaudet University analysis of federal data.
In a 2004 survey of 6,400 deaf or partially deaf people conducted by Inclusion Solutions, 78 percent reported difficulty placing a fast-food order, and 32 percent had never tried the drive-through because of their disability. That's despite federal disability law that requires some accommodation; Hughes said a lot of restaurants simply put up stickers directing deaf customers how to get service.
So why haven't more restaurants adopted OrderAssist -- which Freistedt said cost him around $600 -- or similar devices?
Hearing loss is an "invisible" disability, Hughes said, one that's hard to measure or assist easily. Because the deaf have long avoided the drive-thru, owners have rarely counted them as a missed customer, he said. Plus, the franchise system in fast-food restaurants adds to the workload of convincing owners to get on board, he said.
"I don't think people realize how many people with hearing loss there are in this community," said Craig, an outreach coordinator at the LIFE Center for Independent Living in Bloomington and Pontiac.
"Businesses have to take a leap of faith with us in doing this," Hughes said.
A group that meets regularly at the LIFE Center in Bloomington found out about the OrderAssist at a Chicago-area Culver's and decided to convince a local location to install one, Craig said. After some pleading, it worked, she said. (The Culver's corporate office has endorsed the device, Hughes added.)
Freistedt said OrderAssist could be installed at the Culver's on the city's west side, which he co-owns, if the Hershey one continues to perform well. Craig said she hopes it catches on elsewhere, too.
"That would be a good business decision," she said.
Dana Craig visits her new favorite Twin City restaurant whenever she's in town, and she's not even that crazy about the food.
It's Culver's, 901 N. Hershey Road, Bloomington, which a few months ago installed OrderAssist, a relatively simple device that eases drive-through ordering for the deaf, partially deaf or those with other communication barriers. It's been a big hit for Craig, who is deaf, and others like her in Central Illinois who can feel slighted when ordering from the car at fast-food restaurants.
"For sure, if I don't want to cook, that's where I go," said Craig, of Chenoa, through an interpreter.
When pressed, an OrderAssist button near the drive-thru menu alerts employees a deaf customer is in line. The customer then proceeds to the window to order by special form and pen, without the frustration of holding up the line or dealing with confused staff. They can also take extra forms for next time.
"It removes some of the mystery for us," said Bret Freistedt, owner of the Culver's on Hershey. "For people that use it, it's worked out pretty well."
OrderAssist is available at about 50 Culver's nationwide, including a dozen in Illinois. But so far, no other chains have shown serious interest in adopting it, said Patrick Hughes, the founder of Evanston-based Inclusion Solutions, which put its first OrderAssist at a Culver's five years ago.
There are about 600,000 people in the U.S. who are deaf, and over 28 million who have at least some trouble hearing, according to a Gallaudet University analysis of federal data.
In a 2004 survey of 6,400 deaf or partially deaf people conducted by Inclusion Solutions, 78 percent reported difficulty placing a fast-food order, and 32 percent had never tried the drive-through because of their disability. That's despite federal disability law that requires some accommodation; Hughes said a lot of restaurants simply put up stickers directing deaf customers how to get service.
So why haven't more restaurants adopted OrderAssist -- which Freistedt said cost him around $600 -- or similar devices?
Hearing loss is an "invisible" disability, Hughes said, one that's hard to measure or assist easily. Because the deaf have long avoided the drive-thru, owners have rarely counted them as a missed customer, he said. Plus, the franchise system in fast-food restaurants adds to the workload of convincing owners to get on board, he said.
"I don't think people realize how many people with hearing loss there are in this community," said Craig, an outreach coordinator at the LIFE Center for Independent Living in Bloomington and Pontiac.
"Businesses have to take a leap of faith with us in doing this," Hughes said.
A group that meets regularly at the LIFE Center in Bloomington found out about the OrderAssist at a Chicago-area Culver's and decided to convince a local location to install one, Craig said. After some pleading, it worked, she said. (The Culver's corporate office has endorsed the device, Hughes added.)
Freistedt said OrderAssist could be installed at the Culver's on the city's west side, which he co-owns, if the Hershey one continues to perform well. Craig said she hopes it catches on elsewhere, too.
"That would be a good business decision," she said.
