Saudi Gazette The next time you enter a restaurant in Jeddah don't be surprised to find a waiter with severe hearing impairment waiting to offer you his services. He may be deaf, but his services will be commendable. When he hands you the menu card, just smile and place your order - be confident that you will be served well — make him at ease too, for he has built up the courage to stand and serve amongst the able bodied. National surveys revealed that there are over half a million people in the Kingdom who are deaf. In order to help them stand on their own feet several workshops and training programs for the deaf have commenced for the first time in the Kingdom. Such courses will help inculcate confidence in themselves and will open more and better career options for them. The training courses were held in Jeddah at Mc Donald restaurants' offices and was organized by the department of distribution of food ingredients of Reda Company. The purpose was to instill those necessary ethics and skills required to be a successful waiter. The instructors informed the waiters-to-be of their rights and responsibilities. The trainees learned the know-how to take orders, wait at tables, communicate with customers, and operate the technologically advanced computer systems used in the restaurants. They even studied special techniques for understanding the spoken language without expecting the customer to know or use sign language. This new project has also taken care of their employee rights which are medical and social insurance, residence allowance, and a working schedule of no more than six hours per day. One new waiter with hearing impairment told Okaz newspaper his pleasure in receiving the training. “We are happy to have attended this course and we look forward to serving our customers. Our seriousness and expertise at work will help us obtain the respect and appreciation of all members of the society,” he said. Additional workshops like stress management strategies, communication skills, positive interaction with others, and how to make the customer feel valued and important were also offered.And, most importantly waiters must take care of their attire and appearances and always smile to their customers. The Director of Public Relations for Mc Donald's, Yousef Abdulshakour said, “As part of our corporate social responsibility programs, the McDonald's company also endorsed this training course for those with hearing impairment. We are eager to provide jobs for these individuals as we are certain that they will prove to be adept waiters.” __
