By now, most Malaysians are familiar with Hai Di Lao as they serve decent hotpot with top notch services. Just recently, a waitress from Hai Di Lao has shared her first experience serving a hearing-impaired customer.
Zhi Yao shared in her post that the reason why she became a waitress at the well-known hotpot restaurant is because she wants to improve her people skills. “Being able to serve different customers every day is truly an experience, and it has taught me so much”, she said.
Hearing-impaired and mute?
She then mentioned that on her 60th day working in Hai Di Lao, she met a customer who suffers from hearing loss and is mute.
“When I was informed that her hearing is impaired and that she is mute, my mind was buzzing around, and I was thinking of how to present Hai Di Lao’s core values to her.
Each and every detail that we present is through our mouths, now that I can’t do that how am I going to serve her to the best of my abilities?”, she added.
Sticky notes and pen to the rescue
She then remembered that each server was given a sticky note pad along with a pen and she finally figured how to serve her customer.
“I realised that I left my sticky note in my locker and asked my colleague if I could borrow their sticky notes instead. After a simple back and forth, I left the note and pen at her table mentioning to her that she can just leave any requests she’d like on the notepad and I hope they have a great dining experience”, she said.
She mentioned that when she left the note pad and pen on her table, she was a little shocked but smiled at her as a sign of appreciation. She added that she would give extra attention to the table as she didn’t want to trouble her customer to write.
“They don’t need our sympathy”
Zhi Yao revealed that when she found out that the customer she was serving suffers from hearing loss and is mute, she felt bad for her and was very sympathetic of her condition.
“At one point, I was about to cry because I just feel bad, but I managed to get ahold of myself and treated her like a normal customer.”
Different ways of expressing but it all comes from the heart
She shared that this experience has taught her that there are many ways one can express their needs and it doesn’t always have to come from speaking. Pointing and signaling is a way, but it doesn’t showcase her excellency when it comes to serving tables.
“They can feel that I’m serving them with full hearts and when they’re happy, I’m happy. When I see the girl smiling and laughing away, it warms my heart knowing that I’ve done my best serving them”, she said.
She then ended the post saying that she’s thankful for such an experience and when her customers left, they left her note saying that they’re thankful for her service and they appreciate the effort.
“They thanked me for a wonderful experience, but I want them to know that I too am grateful for the experience”, she said.
Thank you for sharing your story, Zhi Yao, continue being the best you can be and showing the world that kindness goes a long way!
Also read: Thai Woman Performs ‘Krap Thao’ For Brother Who Quit School So She Could Continue Her Education
