Envision recently embarked on a "mystery shopper" experience, secretly testing out whether the 4 main coffee chains (Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Cafe Nero and Pret a Manger) are accessible enough for visually impaired and blind customers in their local areas - either through offering accessible menus (large print and braille) or through additional support and service. This enables us to gather evidence for our first campaign. Here are my findings:
Costa Coffee
Shop location:
The Lowry Outlet
Date and time of visit:
Tuesday, 7th January 2014 at roughly 4:30pm
Were you at the coffee shop alone or with a friend / family member?:
I never shop alone, so was with my mum at the Lowry Outlet - but had her stray behind me in the coffee shop to make it look as though I was on my own and would therefore need full assistance from the staff, rather than relying on my mum to read the menu out for me as she usually would do.
Were staff easy to identify and helpful?:
They weren't easy to identify, I have to admit, but they were very helpful to me.
Were the staff able to provide you with an accessible menu?:
I asked for an accessible menu and was provided with both a large print and Braille menu.
If the coffee shop did not have an accessible menu, was any alternative support offered? (e.g. a member of staff reading out the menu to you): N/A
If you were not provided with a menu or offered support, how did you choose the items you wished to purchase?: N/A
If you were offered a menu in an accessible format, was the menu: (Please tick any of the following that apply)
In date:
Of good quality: ✓
Include all items available on the main menu, including details of special offers and promotions:
It was of good quality, and enabled me to choose the drink that I wanted. I'm not entirely sure if included everything on the main menu, but it did seem to include the main staple drinks such as a hot chocolate, americano, espresso, etc. and I believe the large print included some holiday flavours such as caramel and toffee nut lattes.
If you were provided with an accessible menu, did you feel it enabled you to have the same level of service as other customers?:
Yes, I was able to read the menu on my own for the first time in its entirety and it was quite exciting for me to have access to that information. Usually my mum or dad will read parts of the menu out to me, reading out drinks they know that I like, none of us knowing that there were accessible menus available as they've never been offered to me before at Costa.
Did the staff demonstrate any awareness of how to support a blind or partially sighted customer? (e.g. guiding, language etc):
Yes, the member of staff who served me offered an arm to guide me to a table, helped me identify the chair, and then handed me the large print and Braille menus. I was given time to read the Braille menu and find what I wanted to order (the large print was too small for me) and then came back to ask if everything was okay with the information and asked what I would like to order. When I picked a coffee, she let me know of any additional toppings that I could have and brought it over for me, which was extremely kind as It saved me from queueing up and struggling to balance holding my tray and using a cane at the same time. I was also offered additional help from a customer who was sat nearby, and she told me that that her brother has sight loss too.
How did you find your experience?:
I really enjoyed my experience (and my drink!) and was pleasantly surprised by the staff and how aware they were and how trained they seemed to be. I didn't go in with any expectations, but have to say that I was really pleased with their support and service. I also enjoyed talking with the elderly customer who also helped me and it was lovely that she wanted to introduce herself and talk to me and find out more about my visual impairment. I left a tip for the staff in the large tip mug that they have, after asking if they accepted them and they helped to identify the tip mug for me.
Would you return to this coffee shop in future?:
Absolutely! I occasionally visit Costa Coffee already as they are connected to a lot of ODEON cinemas and I go to the cinema a few times a year with my dad, or when I'm out shopping with my mum. Now that I know that they have accessible menus available, especially Braille, and that the staff are well trained and aware of blind and visually impaired customers, I will definitely visit again in the near future.
Any other comments and suggestions for improvements?:
Due to the background noise in coffee shops, it can be very hard to hear what the staff are saying at times. I think hearing loops installed into the main coffee chains would be extremely beneficial to those who are hard of hearing with hearing aids, as they are with other places such as banks and supermarket help desks. It would help if the staff could identify themselves better as I had no idea where they were when I was first walking into the coffee shop. I think it would also be nice to be offered an accessible menu rather than having to ask for one, I had no idea that Costa even had Braille menus because they'd never been offered to me before even though my UV glasses and long cane are big clues that I'm severely visually impaired.
Marks out of 10 for your experience:
9/10
I tweeted my thanks to Costa Coffee for such a lovely experience and service, and received a response in return:
Starbucks
Shop location:
The Trafford Centre
Date and time of visit:
Thursday, 23rd January 2014 at roughly 3:15pm
Were you at the coffee shop alone or with a friend / family member?:
I never shop alone, so was with my mum at the Trafford Centre - but had her stray behind me in the coffee shop to make it look as though I was on my own and would therefore need full assistance from the staff, rather than relying on my mum to read the menu out for me as she usually would do.
Were staff easy to identify and helpful?:
They weren't easy to identify and the counter wasn't very easy to identify either as the shop was so crowded (my mum had to lead me to the counter). It was quite hard to hear where the staff were due to the background noise.
Were the staff able to provide you with an accessible menu?:
No, they didn't have a braille or large print menu available. They apologised for that.
If the coffee shop did not have an accessible menu, was any alternative support offered? (e.g. a member of staff reading out the menu to you):
A member of staff didn't read out the menu, but asked what I would like to have instead. I picked hot chocolate, and he went through the different sizes and syrups and recommended his favourite. He also let me hold some cups to help me to decide what size I would like to have.
If you were not provided with a menu or offered support, how did you choose the items you wished to purchase?:
I said what sort of drink I would like to have, and then variations were explained such as having additional whipped cream and a variety of syrups included in the drink. The member of staff's favourite was highly recommended so I went with that option - hot chocolate with caramel syrup.
If you were offered a menu in an accessible format, was the menu in date, of good quality, include all items available on the main menu: N/A
If you were provided with an accessible menu, did you feel it enabled you to have the same level of service as other customers?: N/A
Did the staff demonstrate any awareness of how to support a blind or partially sighted customer? (e.g. guiding, language etc):
The member of staff offered to help lead me to a table, but he only walked next to me rather than having me take his elbow so I was able to be lead to where I was supposed to go. My cane found the table and chairs, rather than them being pointed out to me. Also, while in the queue, there was a basket of some sort coming up towards me when I was making my way to collect my coffee. It was only until a gentleman in the queue pointed it out that I knew it was there, the staff didn't point it out to me. Those baskets of goods could be quite an obstacle for other visually impaired customers and throw them off a little bit.
How did you find your experience?:
I enjoyed my drink, and I liked that I was given the different sized cups to have a feel of what size drink I would like, but I feel like everything else was lacking - especially in comparison to Costa Coffee that I visited earlier in the month. I felt like I was left by the wayside a little bit, and wasn't checked on to see if there was anything i would have liked or whether I was enjoying my drink. Costa Coffee was definitely a much better experience for me.
Would you return to this coffee shop in future?:
After visiting Costa Coffee first, and experiencing how accessible it is in there with a braille menu and great support and service from the staff, I don't think that Starbucks will be somewhere that I'll return to in the future. At least, not until they make some changes like training the staff to support a blind or visually impaired customer better and providing accessible menus. I don't feel that I had the same level of service as everybody else.
Any other comments and suggestions for improvements?:
Due to the background noise in coffee shops, it can be very hard to hear what the staff are saying at times. I think hearing loops installed into the main coffee chains would be extremely beneficial to those who are hard of hearing with hearing aids, as they are with other places such as banks and supermarket help desks. It would help if the staff could identify themselves better as I had no idea where they were when I was first walking into the coffee shop. Perhaps tactile markings on the floor would be a great idea to help identify where the counter will be with a cane, as with curbs outside. Starbucks also need to move the baskets of goods that seem to be in the middle of the queue out of the way to prevent any accidents.
Marks out of 10 for your experience:
5/10
Cafe Nero
Shop location:
The Trafford Centre
Date and time of visit:
Thursday, 23rd January 2014 at roughly 3:30pm
Were you at the coffee shop alone or with a friend / family member?:
I never shop alone, so was with my mum at the Trafford Centre - but had her stray behind me in the coffee shop to make it look as though I was on my own and would therefore need full assistance from the staff, rather than relying on my mum to read the menu out for me as she usually would do.
Were staff easy to identify and helpful?:
They weren't easy to identify and the counter wasn't very easy to identify either (my mum told me which side of the room the counter was on) but they talked much louder in Cafe Nero than in Starbucks so that was much more helpful. After making herself known to me, the member of staff came round the counter so it was much easier to communicate with her. She was the only member of staff from either 3 of the coffee shops that I visited that did this, and I really liked it and found it effective to have her next to me rather than talking to her over a counter. She led me to a seat and went through the options for the drink I wanted to have.
Were the staff able to provide you with an accessible menu? (e.g. braille, large print etc):
No, Cafe Nero didn't have a braille or large print menu available.
If the coffee shop did not have an accessible menu, was any alternative support offered? (e.g. a member of staff reading out the menu to you):
A member of staff didn't read out the menu, but asked what I would like to have instead after she guided me to a table. I picked hot chocolate, and she went through the two different sizes (regular and large) and the different toppings that were available (whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles).
If you were not provided with a menu or offered support, how did you choose the items you wished to purchase?:
I said what sort of drink I would like to have, and then variations were explained to me such as having additional whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. I chose all of the toppings!
If you were offered a menu in an accessible format, was the menu in date, of good quality, include all items available on the main menu: N/A
If you were provided with an accessible menu, did you feel it enabled you to have the same level of service as other customers?: N/A
Did the staff demonstrate any awareness of how to support a blind or partially sighted customer? (e.g. guiding, language etc):
Yes, much better knowledge of support than in Starbucks. The member of staff correctly guided me to a table by having me take her elbow, rather than walking to me and having me try to find a table and chair with my cane. She identified and pulled out the chair for me and helped me with my money.
How did you find your experience?:
I really enjoyed my drink, and the support and service was quite good. The member of staff that helped to support me was really lovely and made all the difference for an enjoyable experience. The price of the drink was a little cheaper than Starbucks, and I got more hot chocolate for my money. Starbucks was very expensive for such a small drink.
Would you return to this coffee shop in future?:
Despite not having an accessible menu, I think I would visit Cafe Nero again - though it wouldn't be in the immediate future, as I would rather pick Costa Coffee after this experiment. It was pleasant though, and the hot chocolate drink was nice too!
Any other comments and suggestions for improvements?:
Due to the background noise in coffee shops, it can be very hard to hear what the staff are saying at times. I think hearing loops installed into the main coffee chains would be extremely beneficial to those who are hard of hearing with hearing aids, as they are with other places such as banks and supermarket help desks. It would help if the staff could identify themselves better as I had no idea where they were when I was first walking into the coffee shop. Perhaps tactile markings on the floor would be a great idea to help identify where the counter will be with a cane, as with curbs outside.
Marks out of 10 for your experience:
7/10
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Here are my final results all together:
Costa Coffee - 9/10
Cafe Nero - 7/10
Starbucks - 5/10
Summary:
Costa Coffee was definitely the best place to visit, in my opinion, having both braille and large print menus available and such wonderful support and service for a visually impaired customer. They were friendly, approachable and well trained in how to guide someone correctly. The support in Cafe Nero was good too, and made up for not having an accessible menu - though having a braille or large print menu would have given a better score. Starbucks was the least enjoyable for me, the drink was very expensive for what I got (a kids' sized hot chocolate) and the support was lacking. Starbucks definitely needs to be improved, especially as it's such a large chain and seems to be the most popular coffee shop our of the 4.
