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The Frederick News-Post Online - Frederick County Maryland Daily Newspaper
When Kathryn Cannon first learned sign language, she couldn't have known it would help her change the way the nation's largest electronics retailer serves deaf customers.
Over the past year, changes at the Best Buy in Frederick have spread into stores across the country. These include how Best Buy collects customer data and how customers interact with workers.
As an elementary student, Cannon learned basic sign language, such as how to describe family, count and spell words. When she got a job at Best Buy in 2000, she still remembered how to introduce herself and finger spell. She was promoted to assistant manager in 2004.
After Best Buy sponsored a 5k run to benefit Maryland School for the Deaf, the school offered introductory American Sign Language classes to Best Buy employees.
MSD students teach participants basic sign language, such as how to finger spell and introduce themselves. The attendees also learn signs unique to their industry, such as how to ask if a customer needs help.
MSD held three classes for Best Buy employees -- one for Germantown workers and two in Frederick.
The program was so successful, Cannon looked for guidance from the corporate office on how to make changes company-wide.
Before the classes, Best Buy's nationwide customer database didn't included any way to show a customer is deaf. The electronic forms are primarily used to help schedule service calls and installation.
Cannon suggested including American Sign Language to the preferred language field. While preferred contact method already included e-mail -- a common communication method among deaf people -- it didn't include video phone and text relay services.
Cannon's suggestions were shared at a managers conference in Atlanta earlier this year. The corporate office added her suggested options to its nationwide database.
"Every store uses that database every day," Cannon said.
That idea led to others.
Best Buy stores include a free shopping assistant service, where customer can book time with a representative. That ensures customers can ask questions and understand their choices before buying.
Cannon thought a similar service tailored for deaf customers would be ideal. Deaf customers often can't ask questions before they buy because they can't communicate with employees.
About five employees at the Frederick store know how to sign, including two hard-of-hearing workers. Cannon created a schedule that rotated available staff to work as shopping assistants for deaf customers.
Within weeks, she posted the schedule online to help deaf customers plan their shopping trips.
Sometimes deaf customers want to shop when signers aren't working. Cannon suggested adding two keyboards to a computer terminal at the customer service desk. Deaf customers can trade text messages with workers who don't know sign language.
Cannon wanted a way to reach deaf customers as they entered the store. Simply teaching all workers how to greet deaf customers wouldn't be enough -- deaf customers might start a conversation or ask questions the worker couldn't answer.
She worked with MSD students to produce a video greeting. A television screen displays a man welcoming customers, touring departments and introducing workers who sign.
Cannon hopes the video will help deaf customers feel welcome and will encourage them to interact with workers. After watching the video, deaf customers will know who to look for if they have questions.
No other Best Buy store yet offers Frederick's level of deaf customer service, but many now offer text stations for deaf customers, and others are considering the specialized shopping assistants.
The experience helped Cannon learn how to make changes at the store level and integrate them into the corporate culture. It also helped her connect deaf customers with Best Buy.
"Best Buy has been trying for the last four and five years to become customer-centric," Cannon said. "This is just a huge step forward."
When Kathryn Cannon first learned sign language, she couldn't have known it would help her change the way the nation's largest electronics retailer serves deaf customers.
Over the past year, changes at the Best Buy in Frederick have spread into stores across the country. These include how Best Buy collects customer data and how customers interact with workers.
As an elementary student, Cannon learned basic sign language, such as how to describe family, count and spell words. When she got a job at Best Buy in 2000, she still remembered how to introduce herself and finger spell. She was promoted to assistant manager in 2004.
After Best Buy sponsored a 5k run to benefit Maryland School for the Deaf, the school offered introductory American Sign Language classes to Best Buy employees.
MSD students teach participants basic sign language, such as how to finger spell and introduce themselves. The attendees also learn signs unique to their industry, such as how to ask if a customer needs help.
MSD held three classes for Best Buy employees -- one for Germantown workers and two in Frederick.
The program was so successful, Cannon looked for guidance from the corporate office on how to make changes company-wide.
Before the classes, Best Buy's nationwide customer database didn't included any way to show a customer is deaf. The electronic forms are primarily used to help schedule service calls and installation.
Cannon suggested including American Sign Language to the preferred language field. While preferred contact method already included e-mail -- a common communication method among deaf people -- it didn't include video phone and text relay services.
Cannon's suggestions were shared at a managers conference in Atlanta earlier this year. The corporate office added her suggested options to its nationwide database.
"Every store uses that database every day," Cannon said.
That idea led to others.
Best Buy stores include a free shopping assistant service, where customer can book time with a representative. That ensures customers can ask questions and understand their choices before buying.
Cannon thought a similar service tailored for deaf customers would be ideal. Deaf customers often can't ask questions before they buy because they can't communicate with employees.
About five employees at the Frederick store know how to sign, including two hard-of-hearing workers. Cannon created a schedule that rotated available staff to work as shopping assistants for deaf customers.
Within weeks, she posted the schedule online to help deaf customers plan their shopping trips.
Sometimes deaf customers want to shop when signers aren't working. Cannon suggested adding two keyboards to a computer terminal at the customer service desk. Deaf customers can trade text messages with workers who don't know sign language.
Cannon wanted a way to reach deaf customers as they entered the store. Simply teaching all workers how to greet deaf customers wouldn't be enough -- deaf customers might start a conversation or ask questions the worker couldn't answer.
She worked with MSD students to produce a video greeting. A television screen displays a man welcoming customers, touring departments and introducing workers who sign.
Cannon hopes the video will help deaf customers feel welcome and will encourage them to interact with workers. After watching the video, deaf customers will know who to look for if they have questions.
No other Best Buy store yet offers Frederick's level of deaf customer service, but many now offer text stations for deaf customers, and others are considering the specialized shopping assistants.
The experience helped Cannon learn how to make changes at the store level and integrate them into the corporate culture. It also helped her connect deaf customers with Best Buy.
"Best Buy has been trying for the last four and five years to become customer-centric," Cannon said. "This is just a huge step forward."