Steak ‘n Shake Fiasco |

Barefooting– Accomplished!

Monday, March 29– definitely a fun day that I’ll always remember. But before I explain, let me back up a bit here.

Last fall, the hubby sent me a link to the TODAY show featuring Judy Myers, a 66-year-old gal who took up barefooting on a dare at the age of 53. This was not long after my 44th birthday when I was feeling a little down and discouraged. As I watched the video, I started feeling that old excitement about barefooting, a feeling that I had long ago given up on. It had been ten years or so since the last time I barefooted. It had been 25 years since I became deaf from a fall while barefooting. Heck, if a 53 year old gal could take up barefooting for the first time and compete at the age of 66, why couldn’t I get back on my feet in the water again?

I got in touch with Judy and before I knew it, the plans were falling into place. The hubby and I arranged a spring break vacation and I set up plans to join Judy at the World Barefoot Center run by Keith St. Onge and David Small in Winter Haven.

I was pretty excited when I arrived and right off the bat, I spotted Judy. What a great gal, I felt as if I had known her for years. Keith welcomed me with a big smile and then introduced me to the three other skiers, Rick Meskers and his son Brody and another kid, ten-year-old Devin. Rick is a show skier up in Wisconsin and nine-year-old Brody is a competitive skier who has won the Nationals three years in a row and going for his fourth this summer.

Brody and Devin went first– I was in awe of what these kids could do at their young age. Rick went next, and he worked on a backwards deep water start and after about his fourth start, he was nailing it. Judy practiced some tumble turns– take a look:

And then it was my turn. Gulp. Keith and I had gone over some pointers on the dock and I was reminding myself of those tips as I slipped into the water. I had never used a boom before and the grip felt thick. I wrapped my legs on the cable and looked at Keith and said, “Ready.”

And 25 years after becoming deaf from barefooting, there I was barefooting again. And it felt so good!

More on Judy Myers: Judy Myers Inspires Deaf Mom

Brody Meskers in the news: Meskers Joins World Barefoot Center Team

More on barefooting and why The Best Years of Life are Still Ahead

I hang around old people: Barefooting with a Senior Citizen

Numerous deep water starts: Barefooting, I Mean, Butt-Riding

Inspire someone, the way Judy inspired me: Start a Ripple, Inspire Someone Today

Face your fears: When Fear Holds You Back

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Steak ‘n Shake, The “Other” Side of the Story

It’s amazing to me that a year later, people still remember the Steak ‘n Shake incident where my son and I were denied service at the drive-thru window of the Bolingbrook Steak ‘n Shake. I still receive comments from time to time, and with the exception of two that were literally nasty comments, I’ve published every one of them.

Carol, a lady who bills herself as the friend of the still-employed trainer, left the following comment recently:

As a friend of the SnS manager who didn’t serve you, I just wanted to throw this out there-

Obviously what he did was wrong, since this is America and he works for a corporation and you can’t just not serve people. It would be great if SnS had a better drive thru board to better help assist all types of customers that need extra assistance for whatever reason. I’m sure that’s not in their budget at this time, however.

From his point of view,I believe, the reason he didn’t serve you is because he through you were being very rude in the drive thru. When you work in a drive thru, you get many, many, many rude customers. Sometimes it can really push you close to wanting to snap on someone, as he did you. I believe he told you as you pulled up to the window that “he wasn’t going to not serve you because you were deaf, he was going to not serve you because you were being rude.”

I guess what I’m really getting at is that there is another side of the story out there that doesn’t really get much mention, and this seems like a classic case of a manager dealing with a lot of stress on his shift and snapping on the wrong person. Not the right thing to do by any means, but maybe it really has less to do with deafness than meets the eye.

Dear Carol:

Let’s go over this one more time, shall we? I pulled up to the drive-through window and when the window opened, I explained that I could not use the speaker because I couldn’t hear and ordered two milkshakes. I was told to go around again. The trainer probably figured I just couldn’t hear clearly. I calmly explained again why I needed to give my order through the window and why going around again wasn’t the solution. The trainer kept insisting that it was company policy and that I needed to place my order at the speaker.

Yes, Carol, at that point, I’m sure on the company’s videotape, it must have looked like a rude customer was ripe and ready for an argument. After all, like every other customer, all I wanted was for the guy to do his job, which was to take my order, fill it, and send me on my merry way. Instead, I had to explain why an accommodation was needed at the drive-thru window and defend my reasons for not being able to use the speaker. The trainer had chance after chance to change his method of delivering customer service and fill the order. Instead, HE chose to threaten the cops, shut the window (not once, but twice) and leave me empty-handed.

Let me remind you that he failed to follow the Steak ‘n Shake corporation’s customer service delivery model. He had several chances to redeem himself as an employee and satisfy the customer, but he failed to do so. If the company had a policy in place for customers with disabilities as well as a drive-thru modification, chances are good that my son and I would have drove off that day happily enjoying our milkshakes.

Yes, Carol, there are two sides to every story, but when it comes to discrimination in the drive-thru, this story is pretty straightforward: My son and I were denied equal right to the same service that customers without disabilities experience in the drive-thru.

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Steak ‘n Shake, One Year Later

This morning, I was greeted with this lovely comment left by David R.:

you are a (bleep) retard. the world does not revolve around you, you lazy dumb (bleep). how are the employees at steak n shake supposed to help you when you can’t even hear them talking to you? it’s your own fault for being lazy and not just walking in. stupid dumb (bleep) people like you piss me off. if you have a problem with steak n shake then DONT GO THERE. why would the spend thousands of dollars on new technology just satisfy a (bleep) lazy (bleep) lady? THEY DO NOT NEED YOUR BUSINESS so you can take it elsewhere and shove it.

With attitudes like this out there, who needs drive-thrus that are accessible to deaf, hard of hearing and speech-challenged people? Segregation at its finest! Apparently the drive-thrus are only for people who can use them as they are currently set up. The rest of us less-than-perfect people are supposed to get out of our cars and go in and order.

Unless of course, you head over to Culver’s, the restaurant chain that has decided to make sure that their customers are welcomed in the restaurant and in the drive-thru:

Order Assist System at Indianapolis Culver’s Restaurant.

Isn’t it ironic that this Culver’s restaurant is located in the same city as the Steak ‘n Shake headquarters?

Article in Deaf Life

For those who aren’t familiar with the story, my son and I were denied service at the Bolingbrook Steak ‘n Shake restaurant a year ago. The incident was picked up by Fox and ABC news and several newspapers. Bloggers from all over chimed in: Steak ‘n Shake, Looks Like This Touched a Nerve. The Consumerist landed over 200 comments as people discussed the situation. Deaf Life did a five-page spread on the story. Down in Australia, the topic was a large part of a presentation given at an RMIT Communicator of the Year Awards banquet. Diversity, Inc. did a story and a video interview (captioned): Deaf Mother of Three Denied Service at Restaurant.

In the year since the incident, I met with the Steak ‘n Shake executives and then later, their two lawyers. I didn’t get anywhere with them. During our first meeting, Steak ‘n Shake appeared willing to make some changes and perhaps blaze the way for drive-thru access. Once it was turned over to their lawyers, I felt as if they simply wanted to sweep the issue under the rug. During our final meeting, they brought in the Steak ‘n Shake employer to issue an apology. It was quite apparent that the attorneys crafted a very lame, “I-won’t-admit-I-did-it-but-I’m-sorry-it-happened-to-you” apology that the employer droned out. The Steak ‘n Shake attorneys admitted during our meeting that they didn’t even look into the drive-thru solutions that I had suggested all along. They clearly weren’t interested in making any changes, but to simply have me shut up and go away.

I guess I’ll be seeing more of the Steak ‘n Shake lawyers. That is, unless the company truly wants to welcome deaf, hard of hearing and speech-challenged customers in their restaurants. In that case, they know where to reach me.

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Steak ‘n Shake Issue Still Creating PR Waves

Remember when I had the drive-thru window shut in my face (not once, but twice!) back in January?

The issue continues to ripple on. In April, it was the subject of Laurel Papworth’s presentation at the RMIT Communicator of the Year event in…

Australia.

That’s right, Steak ‘n Shake has gone down under. Laurel has an excellent presentation on why companies need to be aware of social media and how it can impact public relations for their companies. Be sure to check out the slide show on her blog.

Two days ago, I was doing a search and spotted the Diversity, Inc. article and the video featured as an ad on the search page. And just yesterday, a friend sent me a screen shot of his email page showing the same:

Over at Disaboom, they’re sharing my two-part series that takes a look at the solutions for drive-thru access:

Two Milkshakes, Please–Discrimination at the Drive-Through

Two Milkshakes, Please–Discrimination at the Drive-Through Part Two

Ironically, this morning I saw a Steak ‘n Shake commercial that featured Steak ‘n Shake employees pulling customer feedback suggestions out of a jar– and it wasn’t captioned.

As for me, I’m still waiting to hear back from the Steak ‘n Shake corporation to see if they plan to turn this drive-thru issue around and make it accessible for their customers. Many people have assumed that I’ve filed a lawsuit and I have not. I want to work out an accessible solution. Can you imagine the fantastic PR that would result if Steak ‘n Shake would take the steps toward welcoming their customers with access?

Steak ‘n Shake, are you listening?

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Advocating for Drive-Thru Access

Come and join me and June Prusak tomorrow night at Chicago Hearing Society. I’ll be sharing my experience of being denied service at a Steak ‘n Shake restaurant and tips on how to advocate.

NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS AWARENESS WEEK

Chicago Hearing Society

Victim Assistance Program invites you to

The Victim Rights Awareness Night!

June Prusak: Youth Services Manager, Chicago Hearing Society: “CDI For-For”?

Karen Putz: Deaf Mom Activist: “Advocating for access” on her experience with Steak-n-Shake drive thru.

WHERE AND WHEN:

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

5:30-8:30 p.m.

Chicago Hearing Society

3rd Floor Classroom

2001 N. Clybourn Avenue

Chicago, IL 60614

ASL IN USE!

LIGHT SUPPER PROVIDED

VOICE INTERPRETERS PROVIDED

RSVP: By Monday, April 21, 2008

CONTACT:

Michele Cunningham, Victim Advocate

VP: 773-248-9106

MCunningham@anixter.org

Chicago Hearing Society is a division of Anixter Center

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Can Negative PR Result in a Positive Outcome?

Jennifer Laycock tackled the issue of how negative campaigns against competitors rarely serve a positive outcome in her post, Spite is not a Marketing Strategy. Jennifer encourages companies to make themselves stand out from their competitors in a different way, a way that highlights something positive about their company.

In her blog, Jennifer used the example of Steak ‘n Shake and Culvers:

Earlier this year, a Steak and Shake landed itself in a firestorm of negative press when it refused service to a deaf woman who was unable to order from the drive through speaker. Smaller chain Culver’s received some nice positive press for their innovative drive-thru accommodations for the hearing impaired.

I find Jennifer’s post to be a timely one, as this morning, I am heading out to Culver’s to film a short documentary about drive-thru access for deaf, hard of hearing and speech-challenged persons. I’ve embraced the Culver’s chain and give them my business, because they truly make me feel welcomed in their drive-thrus as a deaf person.

Steak ‘n Shake still has time to turn the negative publicity into a wonderful PR campaign for their company. I am asking the corporation to consider putting in the Order Assist system in their 400 plus restaurants. The cost of putting in Order Assist is cheaper than what they spend on commercials for their restaurants. Imagine the press they will receive in the restaurant business for this decision.

It has been many weeks since the Steak ‘n Shake incident unleashed a firestorm of response across the internet, and I’m waiting to hear from the corporation about the direction they plan to go in to make their drive-thrus accessible. I am hoping that they will move toward providing drive-thru access. Later today, Diversity, Inc. will have a video interview about the Steak ‘n Shake incident on their website.

Stay tuned.

Update: Diversity, Inc. video interview with Karen Putz

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Why Culver’s Gets My Drive-Thru Money

My mom and my sister excitedly emailed me. “We went through the Culver’s drive-thru!” they said.

So why were they so excited?

They liked the “Order Assist” system that Inclusion Solutions installed in several of Culver’s restaurants. Quite simply, there is a sign with a large button near the speaker of a drive-thru. When customers press the button, this alerts the drive-thru employee that the customer needs assistance. Culver’s has pre-printed menus and pads and pens ready for customers.

I spent some time talking with Patrick Hughes, Jr., the owner of Inclusion Solutions after getting the drive-thru window closed on me at my local Steak ‘n Shake. I learned that he also has a system that includes an induction loop for hard of hearing persons and cochlear implant users. This allows those with t-coils in their hearing aids and cochlear implants to get the speaker orders transmitted directly into their hearing aids and implants.

After spending a considerable amount of time on the drive-thru issue and time with Inclusion Solutions, I was able to give Patrick some feedback on how to improve a few things in the system to make service even better and more equal for deaf, hard of hearing and speech-challenged customers.

I learned that Patrick has spent years, literally YEARS, on the drive-thru issue but restaurants are unwilling to change their way of service. When a large corporation was faced with this issue, their answer to the issue was to simply slap a sign on the speaker.

So what’s the problem with signs? Signs still don’t alert the employees that assistance is needed. More than once, I have driven up to a drive-thru and as soon as the window opens, I’m handed the order of the driver behind me. I still encounter flustered employees who don’t know what to do and have to take the time to figure out how to keep the orders straight.

(Photo description: Karen and Ron, the manager of Culver’s in Romeoville, IL)

I went to the Romeoville Culver’s near me and met with the manager, Ron. When I asked Ron why he chose to install the system, he said, “When deaf customers come in here and they see the Order Assist system, their eyes light up. They know they are welcomed here.”

I emailed Craig Culver, whose father founded the Culver’s chain and asked him similar questions. Craig’s father, George, was hard of hearing all of his life. While his father was the motivation behind his decision to add Order Assist, Craig shared, “I believe in doing the right thing and in my opinion it was simply the right thing to do and a good business decision, too.”

And because of that, I make every effort to patronize Culver’s and use their drive-thrus and I encourage others to do the same. Thank you, Culver’s!

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Steak ‘n Shake–Will We Move Forward?

“What’s happening with Steak ‘n Shake,” a friend asked me recently. I figured it was time to blog about it once again.

First, I have to say that the Steak ‘n Shake incident has turned my life crazy upsidedown. The latest to pick up the story was Diversity, Inc.:

Second Class Citizen: Deaf Mother of Three Denied Service At Restaurant.

Protecting Rights of People with Hearing Loss: What Does the Law Say?

A few days ago, my husband came home from work and told me that a co-worker heard the situation being discussed on the radio.

As it stands right now, I am still waiting to hear from Steak ‘n Shake to see what their solution is to providing drive-thru access for people with disabilities. I want them to do more than just slap a sign on the speaker telling us that they’ll serve us at the window. Their lawyer has stated that they are close to reaching a solution that they will present soon.

I have not filed a lawsuit– I am working with the corporation to reach a solution that will ensure that every person with a disability who goes through a Steak ‘n Shake drive-thru will do so with access.

Stay tuned!

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Business and Blogging Examines Steak ‘n Shake Incident

On Wednesday, January 28, 2008, I experienced discrimination at a local Steak ‘n Shake restaurant when a manager slammed the window in my face and refused to fill an order for two milkshakes.

After briefly debating whether to sit in the drive thru in protest and allow the manager to fulfill his threat to call the cops, I decided to blog about it instead. Thanks to the power of the internet, customers no longer have to walk away grumbling about poor businesses practices or in my case, outright discrimination. Companies today are seeing the power of Web 2.0 and the lasting effects that search engines can have on their reputations.

Liz Fuller at Business and Blogging tackled the Steak ‘n Shake incident and examined how Steak ‘n Shake is handling this public relations crisis that resulted. As she explained how the incident unfolded, she noted an interesting fact that should have Steak ‘n Shake executives concerned:

The next day, she itemized over 80 blogs that had picked up her story. The story was also picked up that night by ABC News and Fox News. Today, approximately three weeks after it happened there are almost 1000 hits on Google when typing in the search words, “Steak and Shake” and “Deaf Mom”.

More than that, this story appears in positions #3 through #9 on the front page of Google when searching on the terms “Steak and Shake”. Currently, the Steak and Shake site itself holds positions #1 and #2, but if this continues – how long will that last?

Liz notes that companies today need to implement a crisis management policy to handle any negative publicity that can occur. News via the internet travels faster than the speed of light nowadays. As Liz states:

This incident underscores what we have been saying – the traditional rules of “managing the message” don’t apply any more. Consumers have much more opportunity to take the message into their own hands with minimal cost and maximum effect.

To read the full post on Business and Blogging: Crisis Case Study: Steak ‘n Shake Denies Service to Deaf Mom

and a follow up interview:

Business and Blogging: Interview with Karen Putz

Several people have asked me for an update on the Steak ‘n Shake situation. Howard Rosenblum, a deaf attorney from Equip for Equality, is working with me on this. Steak ‘n Shake has hired an attorney with a disability rights background to assist them. We are currently waiting to hear from them.

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Culver’s Served Me Through the Drive Thru

Yesterday, I joined Patrick Hughes, Jr. and Carey Siegel at the Romeoville Culver’s to discuss drive thru solutions for fast food restaurants. Patrick is the owner of Inclusion Solutions, a company that provides products for improved access for people with disabilities.

Inclusion Solutions has installed a product called “Order Assist” in 28 Culver’s locations.

I decided to experience the drive thru myself, so I arrived a bit early and went through the drive thru. When I pulled up to the speaker, I pushed a large button below a sign that said: “Deaf or Other Communication Barriers? Review menu, Ring BigBell, Pull Forward.”

Easy enough. I pushed the bell and went forward. The employee was alerted by the bell and aware that the car coming up needed assistance with an order. She opened the window with a smile and took my order. When she told me I could wait at the window for my order, she included a casual gesture as well. I also had the option of viewing a printed menu and circling items on that or writing down my order on a professional-looking paper that was clipped to a board with a pen.

I went inside to meet with Patrick, Carey and the manager, Ron Dalrymple. They showed me around the restaurant and explained how Order Assist works. Next to every register is a display stand filled with cards and pens so that customers can write down their orders. Employees are quick to switch to written communication when a customer has difficulty understanding them.

“When deaf people come in and see our Order Assist, their eyes light up and they know they are welcomed here,” said Ron.

When Patrick first approached Ron about installing the Order Assist at his restaurants, Ron recognized that it was a simple, easy way to provide access to his customers. Culver’s has encouraged the other franchise owners to install the Order Assist. There are 28 Culvers locations in six states that feature this access.

How does Order Assist compare to touch-screen menus, I asked?

The answer was a simple one– fast food restaurants operate on efficiency and speed–touch screens will slow that whole process down. It is also quite expensive to purchase a touch screen and the customer would have difficulty customizing the order.

“This system is so simple,” said Patrick. “With this system, and awareness by the employees, customers can be served at the drive thru with ease.”

And by the way, Culver’s serves shakes!

Can you imagine if every Steak ‘n Shake restaurant had the Order Assist in place–drive thrus would be accessible!

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