People with hearing impairments will have the opportunity to overcome the communication barriers they encounter when purchasing a product or requesting a service. This will be possible when they enter an Orange telecommunications operator store.
The company has introduced technology in its stores through a listening system based on magnetic loops, which improves accessibility and facilitates interaction between its sales staff and any customer with this type of disability. Jesús Guijarro, Orange’s CSR director, explains that the project arose “in response to the need to eliminate the barriers that prevent us from serving people with hearing impairments on equal terms with everyone else.”
For the time being, the system is only being implemented at Orange points of sale in Spain. Specifically, it is being installed in the operator’s recently opened flagship stores, such as those on Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía in Madrid. “The installation of magnetic loops will be included in all new openings from now on, and our intention is to extend the initiative to Orange’s entire distribution network,” adds Guijarro.
As for the possible number of people who will benefit, the executive includes all customers with this need who visit the stores. “To give a figure that illustrates its importance, there are currently more than one million people with hearing aids in Spain.”
Magnetic loops transmit the signal directly to the hearing aid, reducing background noise, reverberation, and other acoustic distortions. The two stores in Madrid where this audio system has been installed also offer different environments. When asked about the investment, Guijarro explains, “We do not usually disclose this type of figure. Suffice it to say that, for us, the financial effort is not as significant as the benefit it provides to our customers.”
Collaborations
This initiative, which is included in the operator’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan for 2015, was carried out with the collaboration of the Spanish Confederation of Families of Deaf People (Fiapas). It also coincides with a recent request from the ONCE Foundation to operators to develop accessible mobile applications and devices for users with disabilities, made during the presentation of the White Paper on the Design of Accessible and Easy-to-Use Mobile Technology.
The Diversity Foundation works and collaborates with Orange on various diversity-related matters: 2011–2012 Forum Series Session
