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Rotorua needs to be more 'deaf-friendly' - Rotorua Daily Post - 2008-05-17 13:58:00.0 - localnews
Rotorua's Pixie Neame wants cafes, restaurants and tourism attractions to lift their game and become more "deaf-friendly."
Born deaf, the 39-year-old communicates through sign language and teaches children and their families in her role as a tutor.
She has a qualified sign language interpreter with her for important meetings but is on her own in many social situations and must point or use body language to be understood. Even then she's not necessarily understood and has lost count of how many times she's received a coffee she didn't want because of a "communication breakdown" in a cafe.
"Some people are really friendly but there are others who get shy or nervous when they discover I'm deaf," she said through a sign language interpreter. "It would be nice if there were more people in the hospitality industry who made deaf people feel welcome."
There are 450,000 deaf and hearing-impaired people in New Zealand.
Some businesses already made deaf people feel comfortable but Mrs Neame said all cafes and restaurants should consider adopting formal deaf-friendly policies in the same way some have become breastfeeding-friendly. Deaf-friendly signs could identify places happy to accommodate the deaf.
"It's in the interests of businesses to do this. It definitely would be nice if cafes became more aware about our needs and provided better service."
New Zealand's Deaf Association has no guidelines for how businesses can be deaf-friendly but Mrs Neame said there were simple things they could do.
Sign language became New Zealand's third official language two years ago and ideally, Mrs Neame said people dealing with the public could learn some basic signs.
"You see buses of people coming to Rotorua and they may have a spoken language interpreter on board. Eventually I'd love to see them with sign language interpreters as well."
Mrs Neame and her deaf friends often visit Art Cafe on Fenton St where co-owner Geoff Shaw's philosophy is to treat customers as he wants to be treated.
"This is a fast-paced industry but my advice to other cafes is to take the time with deaf people and speak clearly. It's about applying principles of good customer service to everyone."
Hospitality Association of New Zealand (HANZ) Bay of Plenty president Reg Hennessy said it was important to make everyone feel welcome but a formal deaf-friendly policy would not be practical.
Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing general manager Don Gunn said anything that added to someone's visitor experience should be encouraged.
Rotorua's Pixie Neame wants cafes, restaurants and tourism attractions to lift their game and become more "deaf-friendly."
Born deaf, the 39-year-old communicates through sign language and teaches children and their families in her role as a tutor.
She has a qualified sign language interpreter with her for important meetings but is on her own in many social situations and must point or use body language to be understood. Even then she's not necessarily understood and has lost count of how many times she's received a coffee she didn't want because of a "communication breakdown" in a cafe.
"Some people are really friendly but there are others who get shy or nervous when they discover I'm deaf," she said through a sign language interpreter. "It would be nice if there were more people in the hospitality industry who made deaf people feel welcome."
There are 450,000 deaf and hearing-impaired people in New Zealand.
Some businesses already made deaf people feel comfortable but Mrs Neame said all cafes and restaurants should consider adopting formal deaf-friendly policies in the same way some have become breastfeeding-friendly. Deaf-friendly signs could identify places happy to accommodate the deaf.
"It's in the interests of businesses to do this. It definitely would be nice if cafes became more aware about our needs and provided better service."
New Zealand's Deaf Association has no guidelines for how businesses can be deaf-friendly but Mrs Neame said there were simple things they could do.
Sign language became New Zealand's third official language two years ago and ideally, Mrs Neame said people dealing with the public could learn some basic signs.
"You see buses of people coming to Rotorua and they may have a spoken language interpreter on board. Eventually I'd love to see them with sign language interpreters as well."
Mrs Neame and her deaf friends often visit Art Cafe on Fenton St where co-owner Geoff Shaw's philosophy is to treat customers as he wants to be treated.
"This is a fast-paced industry but my advice to other cafes is to take the time with deaf people and speak clearly. It's about applying principles of good customer service to everyone."
Hospitality Association of New Zealand (HANZ) Bay of Plenty president Reg Hennessy said it was important to make everyone feel welcome but a formal deaf-friendly policy would not be practical.
Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing general manager Don Gunn said anything that added to someone's visitor experience should be encouraged.