Bench and the Hearing Impaired
PROLOGUE:
Me: Saan banda rito mga dress socks nyo, miss?
Lady: (gestures to her ID badge that read: "I'M DEAF")
Me: Saan banda rito mga dress socks nyo, miss?
Lady: (gestures to her ID badge that read: "I'M DEAF")
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Their inventory line consists of various articles, even the likes of popcorn, gummy bears, slippers, hair products, undergarments, and various styles of clothing for almost all occasions. The list goes on. That's Bench. The supplier of all my boxer briefs from time immemorial.
This afternoon, I went inside one of their stores looking for socks. Mine's all soiled and I need fresh ones to last me until Wednesday, the day I get my clothes from the cleaners. I approached one unsuspecting sales person and asked where I could find them. The lady, about 5'2 in height, shoulder-length hair, charming and pretty, clean-looking and pleasant, was everything a helpful sales person ordinarily may look like. She then aimiably pointed at the ID hanging from her neck that read, "I'm Deaf." Without hesitation, I transferred all the articles I'm holding with my right hand to my left and lifted my jeans and pointed at the ankle socks underneath my Chucks. She nodded and guided me through the maze of shelves and racks until we came to the sock-section. I mouthed a heartfelt Thank you to which I got a smile in return before she shuffled her feet to go back to her post.
As I was paying for my purchases, I still can't get over that fact that Bench was considerate enough to have physically challenged people in their payroll. I wish other stores would follow suit. It gives the company character and warrants a whole different level of respect from their customers.
Admiration aside, I bet I can never live without some of Bench's stuff and never had I been inconvenienced in any of their stores. If only they could take out their glaring names from most of their clothes. It's a bit of a turn off sometimes. Quality and design-wise, their products are almost always already above par.
This afternoon, I went inside one of their stores looking for socks. Mine's all soiled and I need fresh ones to last me until Wednesday, the day I get my clothes from the cleaners. I approached one unsuspecting sales person and asked where I could find them. The lady, about 5'2 in height, shoulder-length hair, charming and pretty, clean-looking and pleasant, was everything a helpful sales person ordinarily may look like. She then aimiably pointed at the ID hanging from her neck that read, "I'm Deaf." Without hesitation, I transferred all the articles I'm holding with my right hand to my left and lifted my jeans and pointed at the ankle socks underneath my Chucks. She nodded and guided me through the maze of shelves and racks until we came to the sock-section. I mouthed a heartfelt Thank you to which I got a smile in return before she shuffled her feet to go back to her post.
As I was paying for my purchases, I still can't get over that fact that Bench was considerate enough to have physically challenged people in their payroll. I wish other stores would follow suit. It gives the company character and warrants a whole different level of respect from their customers.
Admiration aside, I bet I can never live without some of Bench's stuff and never had I been inconvenienced in any of their stores. If only they could take out their glaring names from most of their clothes. It's a bit of a turn off sometimes. Quality and design-wise, their products are almost always already above par.
posted by Fritz @ 11:35 PM
